For a couple of years now Jon and I have heard amazing things about The Wire here and there. I put the first season in our netflix queue just so that we would eventually remember to watch it. We weren’t sure what to expect from The Wire but started watching it months ago. We finished it not that long ago – it’s a big committment.
The Wire is 5 seasons long, each episode is one hour and its about Baltimore Cops. It’s really more than that though – it’s about politicians, teachers, families, kids that fall through the cracks, drug dealers, homeless people and much much more. If you’re going to pick up The Wire you need to be prepared – it is HEAVY and GRITTY – but it is SO WORTH IT!
Season 1: The first season of The Wire introduces us to all of the players in the Baltimore Police Department (McNulty, Bunk, Greggs, Daniels, Herc, Carver, Freamon, Landsman, Rawls & Burrell – just to name a few). In addition, it introduces us to the players on the street, namly the Barksdale crew (Avon Barksdale, Stringer Bell, Omar, Bodie, Bubbles and D’Angelo Barksdale – just to name a few). It shows the battle for the streets between the cops and the drug dealers & sellers that run them and follows the subsequent investigation to put the Barksdale Crew behind bars. They use a wire tap, hence the name of the show, The Wire. The first season is good and really sets up the entire series.
Season 2: Season 2 focuses on the docks of Baltimore and illegal smuggling of drugs, people, and regular household items. The Barksdale organization is still a main focal point of the season in combination with the story of the longshoremen that work the ports. In the end they kind of run together a bit which was good, because I have to say that while this season was definitely interesting it didn’t fit in with the entire series the way that the other seasons did.
Season 3: They bring the focus back onto the Barksdale organization and look into the power struggle in the organization and how that affects not only those that are part of Barksdale’s crew but also the drug trade on the streets. In addition, they take the story one step further and really show the political scene in Baltimore. The mayoral race, bribes to city employees so drug organizations could also run legitimate businesses, “you rub my back, I’ll rub your back” politics. This season certainly did nothing to enstill a positive feeling about how politicians operate, but it was incredibly fascinating to watch.
Season 4: Education, or lack thereof is the focus of Season 4. It was the MOST heartwrenching and depressing season but at the same time I would say it was the best season because it was some of the best television I’ve ever watched. I cried, I felt helpless, I really saw the entire “story” of The Wire in this season. They take the focus off of the adults on the street and put it on the kids, the young kids, about middle school age. It shows you what their home life is like, what their school experience is like, and during this season you begin to understand why they end up on the streets. As dangerous as it is, it’s the one place where you are wanted, accepted and cared for. The end of the season was just – I can’t even put it into words. The Wire is worth watching just to watch this season of television. It will make you want to change the world, it will make you really understand the crutch of the problem.
Season 5: After Season 4 I had to take a break from The Wire, I was just so beaten down. I mean, it really is a pretty depressing show when you think about it. We finally returned to it and Season 5 brought in the Media aspect from the viewpoint of a newspaper in Baltimore. This season depicted what stories get told and why. It was short only 10 episodes long but it wrapped up all the unfinished storylines while at the same time adding another view point to the entire series.
I write about The Wire as if it is a non-fiction account because it seemed so real, so very real. The emotions I felt while watching it were raw. I was incredibly frustrated by what I saw. The series is written by real people that lived some of the experiences depicted on The Wire. David Simon was a writer for The Baltimore Sun and Ed Burns was a Batlimore police detective and a teacher in the public school system. While I know that the show is fiction, I will say that it felt very real, very authentic, which was what was so disturbing about it. I couldn’t turn off my television and say to myself, “Well, that’s not real, so I’m not even going to think about it.” So many elements of the story rang true.
Aside from great writing, there were also some great performances! I would say that Jon & mine’s favorite characters were easily Bubbles (the only redeeming character in the entire show) and Omar. We also loved McNulty, Bunk, Prez & Bodie. It really hit home how hard it is to escape the cycle. I mean you always hear people say that “you can get out, you just have to work hard at it.” I don’t disagree with that statement but I’ll say that watching this show certainly made me think about it differently, made me question, how difficult it really would be to make it when you have to deal with all of the factors thrown at you and how easy it is for the cycle to continue regardless sometimes of how hard the cop, teacher, writer, redeemed convict, pastor, or friend work to help you….
This was certainly a powerful series, one that we are incredibly glad we watched. It will stay with us for a long time. It’s not for the faint of heart but if you are up for it, I would definitely recommend it. I’ve heard that if you liked The Wire that you would also like, Homicide: Life on the Street. Maybe we’ll check that out…but not soon….we need a break from the streets.
Overall rating 5 Stars.
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