Saturday, January 27, 2007

The Wire

I resisted, strongly. Pals of mine told me this was a superb show, not to be missed. Eventually, I put it on the list. First episode, hmm. Second episode, huh? Third through sixth episodes, what the...? It wasn't until much later in the season that I eventually recognized what the creators of this show were doing. While it may be obvious that the story is about both the drug dealers and law enforcement agents of Baltimore, it's not at all obvious where that story is going for a long while. I am surprised the show ever got a following when it requires a commitment from the viewer to wait for it to unfold over several episodes (it reminds me of The Sopranos in that respect). It goes without saying that the acting is supreme, especially the drug addict trying to go straight (Andre Royo) and the clever drug boss with ESP (Wood Harris). The show does its best to capture every bit of the grittiness of a big-city project and its inhabitants, and that remains my only issue with it. I am not steeped in street language, so it was frustrating to try and understand the street code at first-- good thing I have rewind capabilities. HBO never makes it easy for you (the only HBO series I can recall that was fluff was Sex and the City), and as long as you realize this, you'll be rewarded. No spoilers-- experience it for yourself. Besides, it has the best theme song ever. I double-dog dare you to disagree.

year: 2002-?
length: seasons 1-3 on DVD, season 4 aired, season 5 picked up
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0306414/combined