“The Wire” ruined me for other shows

I finally got through all five seasons of HBO’s “The Wire.” And real quick, before I tell everyone why you need to see that show by tomorrow, and how all other shows suck to me now, I need to tell you a funny story.

And, for you to understand the funny story, you need to know that journalists get a bunch of news off something called “the wire.”

So, the other month, I was texting my journalist friend (a HUGE wire fan) (his name is Tom Loewy) with a reference to the show, about how I couldn’t believe [name withheld to prevent a spoiler] died and he texted back, who? And then I was all, [name withheld to prevent a spoiler] died! I seriously cannot believe he [method of death withheld to prevent spoiler]! And he was like, wha? huh? So then I was like, ‘ON THE WIRE DUH!’ And he was like, “dude, I haven’t been on the wire today, can you just tell me who the heck you’re talking about???

Lol. It’s funny because he was so confused.

Or, maybe you had to be there.

Anyway, the show is awesome and I cannot watch anything else, except, (oddly) Glee, which I love in spite of the random bouts of choreography and classic rock. And really, wasn’t the episode about religion fantastic? I mean, Grilled Jesus was great.

But anyway, this isn’t about Glee, this is about The Wire, which has the best writing ever. I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of like a novel, so the first season or so, I was all, ‘I don’t see what the big deal is and really, how in the name of Omar am I supposed to follow 67 main characters, many of whom already died?’

But I stuck with it. Mostly because Allan Speinwell told me to.

He’s written amazing reviews of the show (which you can find here) and over, and over, he kept telling me this was the best drama ever. So, I went through hour, by hour, by hour, and then, in season three, [second name withheld to avoid spoilers] was shot and killed and I was like HOLY HOLY BALTIMORE! THEY JUST KILLED [second name withheld to avoid spoilers]!!!!!

And I knew I was officially in real-life love with a TV show.

Season four was my favorite, if you’re wondering. It’s the one about the schools. I probably liked it because I write about schools at the newspaper I work for. Or maybe it was just because I like Bunny. (He’s main character 89).

But ya, anyway, I loved this show.

But now, I have to move on. I have to see what else is out there. So I got Dexter through Netflix. And everyone told me that Dexter was DA BOMB! BEST SHOW EVER, but well, it’s not. Because The Wire is. And the lame narration and one-dimensional characters (so far) stand out to me like a light in the middle of an alley because, well, like I’ve said, The Wire has ruined me for other TV.

I mean sure, sure, I’ll dabble into some Grey’s Anatomy if my roommate wants me to, and I might even get excited about the scene where April wins the trauma competition, but in my heart all I’m thinking about is that scene on The Wire where [Character 83] kills [Character 6] in a convenience store. And how AMAZING that scene was because [Character 6] and I had grown so close to each other and he had just seemed like the only character who would never get got.

It’s kind of like hockey really.

When I watch hockey, I just stare at the screen fantasizing about football. Even when the Blackhawks beat the world last year, I couldn’t get too into a game where I couldn’t follow the puck and all the players had long beards and half their teeth.

Football will always be the best game ever for me.

And when I think about it, I  start to wonder if my friend Tom Loewy ruined me for other guys. Because he’s wonderful and attentive and smart and funny, and you don’t find guys like him every day. But I’m at a point where I have to move on and see what else is out there because he and I aren’t on a path to be anymore than friends right now.

Except, of course, all other guys pale in comparison.

But it’s all right, because I’d rather have my time with The Wire, and the Bears, and Tom Loewy and be slightly disappointed with everything else than to never know greatness at all.

  • Share/Bookmark

Ten things

1. The camera on my Droid X is 8 mega pixles and I’m not going to lie, it’s too good. Dudes, I do not need to see EVERY blemish on my face when I snap a photo of myself in front of the mirror. Those are supposed to be the most flattering pictures of all.

2. Speaking of my Droid, I just spent the last like 40 minutes trying to upload photos onto my computer from it. And I don’t know if it’s my computer, the phone or the usb cord, but dang I just cannot get it all to work. :: Droid sigh ::

3. I dressed up as a Ladybug for Halloween Sunday, because in paragraph 7, clause 8 of my non-existent youth director contract, it states that anytime the holiday falls on a Sunday, I must dress up in some sort of non-witchcraft, non-slutty costume and look totally serious when I take communion while wearing antennas. I have the cutest pair of red heels you ever saw in your life, so I thought the red and black insect was the way to go. Then, a man came up and said, ‘You make a lovely moth.” #fail.

4. Are you going to vote tomorrow? You should. Ya, ya, all the candidates are jerk-face lameos, and sure, most politicians plan to drive our country into the ground with their policies, but I’m going to vote anyway, and you should to! What’s that? You don’t know who any of the candidates are? Well, lucky for you God created the Internet, and then he gave you 24 more hours to figure it out. YAY!

5. In an effort to burn vacation time before Dec. 31, I’ve randomly had a slew of days off work. It’s been awesome. Mostly, I just slept, watched the history channel and slept, but it was the most fun this girl has had in a long time.

6. Fine, I was a little bored. I like stress, all right. I like functioning on deadlines and coffee. But I’m sure all this sleep is going to come in handy as I start on a string of working 9 days in a row.

7. Youth group work is going awesome! When things are good there’s never much to say about them. But I want you, God, and the Internet to know that I’m happy right now with church, that I’m thankful things are progressing, and that the praise band has really grown on me.

8. Speaking of church, we just started a 5 p.m. service on Sunday nights, and you should come! Also, I’ve started a high school group at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday nights. (You should come to that if you’re in high school). Find more information at our wonderful website.

9. I’m glad the Bears had the week off because as of late they seem to suck and whatnot. I’m hoping a solid week of bye will help Culter figure out how to throw to our team.

10. I’ve started praying more. Like before, I used to only really pray at night and when I was getting in trouble, but now I’ve started praying before meals and during the day when things are going well, and so, well, if you were so kind as to read all ten of these, I’d love to pray for you! For serious. Feel free to leave a comment here with a request or shoot me an e-mail at cs.lindell@gmail.com if you’re more into the private prayer thing. And yes, I’m serious. God Bless.

  • Share/Bookmark