Truemors
It was such an ugly demise to an intense drama set on Baltimore, Maryland's tough, inner-city streets –and, no, I’m not talking about the shocking deaths of two of Baltimore's most notorious criminals. I’m talking about the ugly, dismissive and undeserving omission of HBO’s incredibly taut series, The Wire, from 60th Primetime Emmy® Award nominations!
The Emmy® Awards recognize and celebrate supposedly outstanding television and cable series in the United States, and to be recognized the award means increased revenue for your program, possible syndication, and more advertisers. It's also an awards show that shows who's "in" and who's "out" in American television, regardless of the quality of your show. If The Emmy® nominations are any indication of how The Wire's creators' peers feel about them, then it's auf wiedersehen for any future options for film, spin-offs, or other syndication beyond markets that cater to a decidedly urban audience.
On July 17th, 2008, the 60th Primetime Emmy® Award nominations were announced by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences from the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre, North Hollywood, California. Sadly, The Wire only receive one nomination (David Simon and Ed Burns for Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series). Not one actor on The Wire (or other cast/production staffer, for that matter) received a nomination!
No nominations for such memorable characters as Det. Shakima “Kima” Greggs (Sonja Sohn), Omar (Michael K. Williams), Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), Snoop (Felicia Pearson), Det. William “Bunk” Moreland (Wendell Pierce), Officer James “Jimmy” McNulty (Dominic West), and the fabulous Stringer Bell (played by Idris Alba).
Dare I also mention that The Wire had one of the most realistic and diverse casts on television since Roots? Yup; there, I said it. I haven’t seen this many Black folks working since The Dave Chapelle Show, and they weren’t all “cooned” up like in most crime series.
The characters on The Wire were believably flawed, where the line between “them and us” was blurry, and malleable. Sometimes “good” characters made bad decisions, and bad characters’ seemed touched by angels.
But of course, you’ll never get that type of performance from say, Grey’s Anatomy…but who’s watching, right?
HBO hasn’t delivered a series as imaginative and well-written since The Wire tried to wrestle viewers from grieving fans of The Sopranos. It was always the underdog; The Wire never had a chance of survival, but it was a scrapper. It struggled through gushing reviews by such television reviewers as The San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman, who applauded it as, "(T)he best series ever made for television."
HBO stuck it out long enough for critics and surprised viewers -- who stumbled upon it-- to get hooked. Written by Ed Burns (a former cop and inner-city teacher), and ex-journalist David Simon, The Wire was truly authentic. It was written by people who had "been there"; not by some cocaine-addled, Hollywood desk jockey who’s only concern is how much money there is in a program’s “authenticity.” Yes, The Wire presented the occasional crack-whores, or over abundance extras portraying dope addicts, and crooked cops with borderline personality disorders, but, oddly, not one of these characters ever felt out of place. Oddly…
If you just watch your average, American network television cop show, you would either retreat further into your antiseptic suburban world, or you clutch your purse a little tighter on public transportation. Network shows –and some cable shows– present the same, dried out stereotypical criminals, with the same bad haircuts. (Apparently bad barbershops are “hot” in criminal areas because everyone has some version of a pompadour, mullet or rusty ‘fro…)
While watching The Wire, you actually believed the characters were real people, no matter how flawed, and no matter how untouchable. I never got that feeling from watching a show like CBS's “The Unit,” or one of the umpteen “Law & Order” franchises on NBC.
Unfortunately, all of the brilliant writing, acting and directing couldn’t get more than one nomination from the Emmys® and their peers! What may have also hindered The Wire from wider acknowledgement is that the nuanced backstories were lost on the average viewer, and that may have turned them off. For those of us who followed it, it was intoxicating! The plots weren’t simple, easily digestible bits of a whole. Each episode of The Wire was a Greek tragedy, sweeping into a larger epic of heroes, oracles, warriors, and villains, with the ever looming presence of the Underworld and Mount Olympus.
But apparently, that can’t get you an Emmy® nod…but Dancing with the Stars is well represented. I’m just sayin’…
Don’t get me wrong, I love 30 Rock and Mad Men (and they’ve got nominations coming out the hoo-ha), but that doesn’t serve as a healing balm when The Wire was so obviously overlooked.
Alas, to make matters worse, March 9th, 2008, marked the final episode of The Wire.
In protest to the insulting lack of Emmy® nominations for The Wire, I'm making a decision to protest the Emmys®. No viewers, no ratings. Of course, my one little absentee blip from the Nielsen Ratings won't matter a bit...but if other viewers join in, well then, you've got a voice.
Apparently, a lack of an audience is what makes the film and television industry tick: i.e., don’t patronize their product, and the advertisers don’t buy their product.
If you'd like to offer your own little mini-protest, then please celebrate September 21, 2008, with your friends, colleagues and drinking buddies, as The Wire Recognition Day!
You can sign a petition declaring September 21, 2008 as The Wire Recognition Day, or find party ideas at The Wire Was Robbed!
Cheers!
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