Wire Roundup
- Here's the last entry on Sudhir Venkatesh's page on the Freakonomics blog about watching the show with real-life thugs. Funny how they stopped participating. Favorite quote, "This is fun if you work all day behind a desk, or you’re sitting in some suburb. But for us, it’s like watching somebody make a movie about you." I guess the show hit home.
For those of you interested in the sociology and street economics behind the show, I highly recommend reading "Freakonomics." At the very least read the chapter, "Why Drug Dealers Live with Their Mothers" which is based on Venkatesh's research in Chicago housing projects. UCLA had the book on its summer reading list and I read it (and I'm a very slow reader) in about two days.
- For all the print "The Wire" got the ratings did not back it up. Only 1.1 million people watched the finale at its originally scheduled time. That's less than "John from Cincinatti" got! And it's less than last season's finale as well. I can't remember any show who's reputation so far out performed its ratings.
One thing I've always wondered about is the business model of HBO and indeed all premium TV channels. "The Wire" can't be a cheap show to make. How did it stick around for so long given its low ratings? If this show were on NBC or CBS or something, we would have never made it past the middle of Season One.
- Here's the last entry on Sudhir Venkatesh's page on the Freakonomics blog about watching the show with real-life thugs. Funny how they stopped participating. Favorite quote, "This is fun if you work all day behind a desk, or you’re sitting in some suburb. But for us, it’s like watching somebody make a movie about you." I guess the show hit home.
For those of you interested in the sociology and street economics behind the show, I highly recommend reading "Freakonomics." At the very least read the chapter, "Why Drug Dealers Live with Their Mothers" which is based on Venkatesh's research in Chicago housing projects. UCLA had the book on its summer reading list and I read it (and I'm a very slow reader) in about two days.
- For all the print "The Wire" got the ratings did not back it up. Only 1.1 million people watched the finale at its originally scheduled time. That's less than "John from Cincinatti" got! And it's less than last season's finale as well. I can't remember any show who's reputation so far out performed its ratings.
One thing I've always wondered about is the business model of HBO and indeed all premium TV channels. "The Wire" can't be a cheap show to make. How did it stick around for so long given its low ratings? If this show were on NBC or CBS or something, we would have never made it past the middle of Season One.
posted by Andy Sywak at 10:49 AM
2 Comments:
I don't know how cheap The Wire was, but it was a helluva lot cheaper then, the equally brilliant, Deadwood, Rome, and The Sopranos. Also, not many people realize, that David Simon always came in under budget.
It is sad that more people did not watch this show. But also keep in mind that the On Demand numbers are not included and that DVD sales of the show are pretty good. The Wire might be better to watch when you can watch the show in 2 - 3 chunks at a time.
You have to remember that everyone (especially in Urban Areas' watched this on ON DEMAND!!
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