i think plotz and goldberg should watch the show with a cop or a couple of cops so they can tell them that some of the police procedural or even kima's actions are even more ridiculous than the scenes at The Sun. its as if they never had to watdh their own profession depicted and reduced to a cliche' on tv.

My ex-girlfriend's brother is a homicide detective. We dated for close to 10 years and I remember her asking him which cop shows were the most realistic. He said that Simon's previous show, Homicide, was the most realistic portrayal of police work on TV. Given the similarities between that show and The Wire, I think its fair to say the newsroom plot is much less realistic than the police elements of The Wire.

I don't find the police actions to be unrealistic or contrived - with the exception of the McNulty scheme. Kima's decision is wholly realistic and keeping with her character.

What is "agonizingly stupid" are not the scenes at the Baltimore Sun....it is the constant digs that Plotz and Goldberg make about anything that refers to their "sainted" profession.

how about explaining some of these snide remarks? How about backing them up with some facts....

sloppy commentary...maybe these guys need a decent editor

I see that Plotz and Goldberg never respond to the criticisms of their criticisms of the Baltimore Sun plots..

Why am I not surprised. They are cheap shot artists. Too weak to actually defend their positions. In other words, their name..is not their name.

i'm not saying that the police depictions are off the mark--i was a big fan of homicide too. but short of cinema verite', its always going to be condensed and corners cut and some chararcters one or two dimensional. all i'm saying is that when others in different professions watch shows that try to imitate life--there's plenty of criticism to go around. i think Grey's anatomy gets medicine so wrong that its too painful to watch--but its a hit. go figure.

Yeah I agree with zephyrdoc. All institutions and careers portrayed in the show have been condensed for the purposes of the story, just as the newspaper plot has.

Just because we don't have to suffer through Prez developing a lesson plan, or Carver filling out run sheets, or Spider cutting product does not mean we are being lied to. We see the actions that impact the story; this is not a documentary, it is a drama.

The fact that we assume that all portrayals are perfectly realistic is just a testament to the artistic value of the show.

You left the impression that you believed the portrayal of police work on The Wire takes as many liberties with reality as the portrayal of newspaper work. In defense of this blogging team, I'll say that is not at all fair. Plotz and Goldberg find the entire Sun plot to be unrealistic - Gus is too saintly, Templeton too venal, the love of grammar by the copy editor too implausible and over done. This isn't cutting a few corners for the sake of clarity and concision - they find all the characters cardboard cut-outs for David Simon to target with his derision. I don't think any cop would say that about the police work scenes.

I don't necessarily agree - I have heard other people in the business, for example, KC Star columnist Jason Whitlock, think the Sun plot is fair.

October271986 I don't think any cop would say that about the police work scenes.

It's great that you don't think so, but do we have any evidence to support this? I would argue that there are almost certainly cops who would consider the police in the show unrealistic, teachers who would consider the schools in the show unrealistic, and drug dealers who would consider the "game" in the show unrealistic.

That is not to say that these storylines are flawed in any way; it is just due to the fact that this is a drama trying to tell a story, not a documentary trying to give us a slice of life.

I actually DO have evidence for this. I've been told by at least one city cop that Homicide, David Simon's earlier cop show, is very realistic. Many of the characters and situations from the two shows are similar. In fact, one of the most-c

Numerous rap artists and athletes from similar neighborhoods have praised The Wire's realism (including Carmelo Anthony, who is from the neighborhood where much of the show is shot). Ed Burns is, in fact, a cop turned teacher and used that experience to develop Presbo's story last season.

There is also evidence - see Mark Bowden's piece in The Atlantic - that David Simon has an axe to grind with The Sun. His anger at the people who worked over him there clouded may have clouded his ability to be objective.

If I wanted to look, I am sure I can find some articles or reviews of the Wire featuring peopel from the street, police, and teachers praising The Wire. Its not a documentary, but it is grounded in real experience.