Posted March 13, 200916 yr BBC Two to show US TV's The Wire source BBC Entertainment News British actor Dominic West leads the cast in the hit US drama Hit US series The Wire is to be shown on BBC Two, it has been announced. Led by British actor Dominic West, the critically acclaimed drama shows Baltimore life from drug users to politicians to local journalists. Although it has been aired in the UK on satellite TV, it will be the first time it has ever aired on terrestrial TV. All 60 episodes across the show's five seasons will be shown stripped across the week. Transmission dates have yet to be announced. "We are delighted to offer terrestrial viewers the opportunity to watch this ground-breaking series," Sue Deeks, the BBC's head of series, programme acquisition, said. "It's a wonderful chance for everyone to see what the critics have been raving about for so long." 'Nothing's close' Created by David Simon, The Wire's first season tells the story of a single drugs-and-murder police investigation from the point of view of both the police and their targets. The show, which previously aired in the UK on pay-TV channel FX, has been championed by TV critic Charlie Brooker, who told viewers of his BBC Four show Screenwipe: "Quite simply, it's a stunning piece of work." Author Irvine Welsh called it "the best thing on TV. By far. Nothing's close to it". The deal to broadcast the series comes after Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan argued the BBC should stop buying shows from overseas and put the cash into original productions instead. A BBC spokesman said: "The Wire is one of the most acclaimed series in television history. It has not previously been shown on UK free television and in acquiring it the BBC did not compete against any other broadcasters. "Comedy and drama acquisitions on the BBC such as this make up less than 1.5% of the total primetime output across all four channels. "The money spent on these programmes is a very cost effective way of bringing original and distinctive shows to UK audiences which complement our UK-originated output." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, it's about bloody time that this absolutely fantastic Police drama was shown on terrestrial television.... Fans of "The Bill" should really watch this, as this utterly pishes on that show with a sort of realism and grittiness that you just wont really see in mainstream UK police drama (apart from things like Red Riding..). It's not exactly easy going, pulls no punches and doesn't treat the audience like an idiot with easy solutions or cosy, neatly tied-up conclusions... The series basically runs through 13 episodes of one investigation, but that investigation reverberates throughout the entire 60 odd-episode run of the show and takes on new and more interesting dimensions as the series goes on.. Needless to say, you WONT really be able to miss any episodes of this, it does tend to involve a bit of commitment... But, trust me, it's worth it, because as far as I'm concerned this is arguably the best Police show ever made, even better than stuff like NYPD Blue, Homicide or The Shield..... And, it's pretty mind blowing to think that Dominic West (who plays McNulty) is actually from SHEFFIELD... God, you just wouldn't twig it at all.. His accent is perfect, even my American friends had a hard time believing West was a Brit..... :lol: In fact, ALL the acting in this show is note perfect, an absolutely brilliant cast was formed... Idris Elba, who plays one of the main druglords (who has very real ambitions to go "legit" and leave the "life"), Stringer Bell, is from Hackney.... Why is it that Brit actors seem to be able to do American accents, but Americans by and large just have no clue how to do Brit ones.....? :lol:
March 13, 200916 yr Hmm... a new show, uh? :lol: I think they might just lose more cash for broadcasting another show... but it's critically acclaimed so no doubt BBC2 can publish the right programme style/technique. ;) Edited March 13, 200916 yr by funmaker11
March 13, 200916 yr Author Hmm... a new show, uh? :lol: It's FAR from being new.... The HBO produced show's actually been running from 2002-2008 and has been all over cable/satellite networks.... It's surprising that it's taken so long to get to terrestrial screens considering that Beeb and C4 have been pretty up to date with similarly acclaimed fare such as The Sopranos and Mad Men.....
March 13, 200916 yr It's FAR from being new.... The HBO produced show's actually been running from 2002-2008 and has been all over cable/satellite networks.... It's surprising that it's taken so long to get to terrestrial screens considering that Beeb and C4 have been pretty up to date with similarly acclaimed fare such as The Sopranos and Mad Men..... I was just kidding about new. :D
April 6, 200916 yr I have been reccomended this over and over, mightaswell start watching when it starts on BBC2, when does it start?
April 6, 200916 yr Author I have been reccomended this over and over, mightaswell start watching when it starts on BBC2, when does it start? Oh, dude, it started last Monday..... :lol: You've already missed about five episodes, the Beeb are showing it Mon-Fri.. Part 6 is on tonight at 11.25 on beeb 2... Good luck in catching up.... :P :lol:
April 6, 200916 yr Oh, dude, it started last Monday..... :lol: You've already missed about five episodes, the Beeb are showing it Mon-Fri.. Part 6 is on tonight at 11.25 on beeb 2... Good luck in catching up.... :P :lol: i fail then lol, future downloading project for me then :P
November 4, 200915 yr Don't post on this site really anymore cos I'm too cool etc... but thought I'd look for any topics about this show. One of my favourite TV series ever, feels like I've been watching it forever and I'm only halfway through season 4 (out of 5). Really gripping story lines and as Grimly said, it's a huge commitment but ultimately worth it. Everyone I know who've I've recommended it to loves it. Brilliant acting, brilliant story and a brilliant social commentary.
November 4, 200915 yr I've been studying this in Media :o I will near enough be writing an exam, or part of on The Wire. We only watched the first episode though, and were not watching others because of the narrative, you cant just jump into an episode, and watching them all in order would be silly. I might just download. Also if we say a bad thing about The Wire our teacher either bollocks us or sends us out, but every other thing we look at he just stands there and takes the p*** out of it. he takes the wire a bit srs.
September 15, 201212 yr Started watching this last month, and am a few episodes into Season 2. Really, really powerful, gritty stuff. Season 2 is already better than Season 1, so i can't wait to see how far it goes!
September 16, 201212 yr For me the end of season 2 was the point at which I really started understanding the magnitude of the show. The way the characters' stories unfolded in such an unpredictable yet, when looking back, completely inevitable fashion was simply brilliant. It's a portrait of a society, and an excellent one at that, so keep watching :)
October 13, 201212 yr For me the end of season 2 was the point at which I really started understanding the magnitude of the show. The way the characters' stories unfolded in such an unpredictable yet, when looking back, completely inevitable fashion was simply brilliant. It's a portrait of a society, and an excellent one at that, so keep watching :) Just finished the second series. Completely blown away by how big this whole project really is. I also had to rewatch the first episode of Season 1 as part of my course, and to look back on it is so rewarding, because the complexity of the script and character developments is really highlighted. Really can't wait to get a crack on season 3!
November 6, 201212 yr LORDY LORD!!! What did i just see!?!? Can they do that?? Stringer just got shot down in almighty fashion. I was warned not to warm to any characters, but damn. Genuinely shaking. :hand:
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