HBO's The Wire wound up after five seasons of venerated work from 2002-08. A gritty cop show set on the mean streets of Baltimore, Maryland, it earned itself a reputation as the Best Television Show Ever in many people's eyes. Graphic novelist Alan Moore proclaimed it "the most stunning piece of television that has ever come out of America, possibly the most stunning piece of television full-stop." High praise indeed, but a common appraisal of this critically-adored, but widely-ignored cop drama...Until now, I counted myself as one of the ignorant masses. HBO may be subscription-only in the US, but its ability to penetrate the mass consciousness of Brits was crippled because it languished in the digital hinterland of FX. Intrigued to see what all the fuss has been about (or as a subconscious act of atonement?), I belatedly sat down to watch the thirteen episodes that comprise season 1 of The Wire's five-season opus; originally broadcast in the summer of '02. Television nirvana, or a case of emperor's new clothes?
"The Target" is the introductory pilot -– written, as the vast majority of these episodes are, by former Baltimore journalist David Simon (Homicide, The Corner) and former Baltimore detective/teacher Ed Burns. It drops us into a sea of characters and expects us to keep our head above water -- refusing to throw many life-lines, so we're forced to grasp the basics and allow the stew of faces, relationships and tacit histories to swim around our heads. The Wire is often described as a "television novel", and it certainly resembles one in structure and tone -- no doubt because creator Simon is an author. Like most crime novels, it takes a half-dozen chapters/episodes to begin comprehending the world presented, and its authenticity comes at the cost of traditional TV aids for audiences (no episode recaps, few straight explanations, references to incidents you may not recall, etc.)Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) is our de facto hero; a subordinate, idealistic Baltimore Homicide detective who smells corruption during the murder trial of a drug dealer called D'Angelo Barksdale, after a key witness inexplicably changes her story and Barksdale is acquitted. McNulty complains to Judge Phelan, suspecting that D'Angelo's kingpin uncle Avon (Wood Harris) and his second-in-command Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) pressured a witness into changing their story. Believing the Barksdale's are heavily involved in West Baltimore's drugs trade, McNulty wants to bust the whole family, and his candid meeting with Phelan triggers a political domino-effect that allows him to give it a shot -- as part of Lt. Cedric Daniels' (Lance Reddick) narcotics task force...
In the great tradition, Daniels' assembled detail are a motley crew: tough-cookie lesbian Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn); the squabbling double-act of Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam); on-the-shelf detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters), who embraces the opportunity to put his methodical nature to good use; and the police chief's son-in-law Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost), a liability who discovers a gift for paper trails. All the characters eventually putting their individual skills and temperaments to good use as a cohesive collective.
The Wire avoids the clichés of its genre with admirable skill; best of all, no character can be defined as wholly good or bad. McNulty's a bitter divorcee who later admits he took on the Barksdale case just to stroke his ego, Daniels' own crooked past threatens to emerge in a later episode, cops abuse criminals being interviewed, police misconduct is covered-up by superiors, and the legal system is built on a cesspool of corruption that makes honest policing extremely difficult. Forget "cops n' robbers" simplicity, The Wire shows how internal politics and personality clashes threaten to destroy a case before cops even set foot outside their office.It's a dysfunctional institution, echoed in the Barksdale organization. Ignoring clichés of arrogant blinged-up "gangstas", the street-level drugs trade is realistically humdrum, and bosses like Stringer even attend college night classes on economics to improve the business-end. The whole situation is referred to as "The Game", which generations of unprivileged kids become pawns in, knowing no other life and with few opportunities otherwise. This blinkered upbringing is exemplified by 16-year-old drug dealer Wallace (Michael B. Jordan), a close-friend of D'Angelo's in the low rises, whose naivety of the world is understandable, but no less tragic (see: his confusion at the sound of chirping crickets when taken to a country safe house.)
For D'Angelo (or D), nepotism probably resulted in his position as a trusted dealer, but he's clearly doing impressive work to support his family's empire, and is noticeably more intelligent and sensitive than the "mopes" that circle his backyard sofa-throne. His arc is one of gradual realization that the so-called Game isn't fair... and it's up to individuals to break the vicious circle of street life, or risk being stuck on the carousel forever. Other characters are woven throughout the story, beginning on the sidelines – like criminal informant Bubbles (Andre Royo), a junkie trying to quit his habit; and Omar (Michael K. Williams), a local gun-toting menace who targets Barksdale's cronies when his boyfriend is killed.
The ear for dialogue is excellent; every scene sprinkled with authentic slang and terminology (like cops being referred to as "po-lice"; a Baltimore trait), and the staff writers (many of them authors) have fun with the hardboiled chit-chat. In one celebrated scene, McNulty and his dour Homicide partner Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) search a kitchen murder scene for clues, their dialogue pared down to various intonations of "fuck".Despite ultimately hinging on the eponymous "wire"-tap to gather evidence on Barksdale's street dealers (who only use pay-phones and pagers to communicate in code), you get the impression the writers prefer classic cop shows of the '70s -- where today's gadgets would be seen as science-fiction. To that end, particularly in the early episodes, people are often seen using antiquated equipment (typewriters, pagers, analogue cameras) and golden oldies play on radios. It all gives the show a slightly retro feel, with most technology given an omnipresent, yet furtive role -- scenes often cutting to the grayscale Big Brother eye of security cameras.
If The Wire has one failing, it's how unsuited it feels to weekly broadcast. I watched three or four episodes a week for about a month, and it was still tough to comprehend certain scenarios, remember past events being referred to, or even recognize second-tier characters that were introduced a few episodes beforehand -- until, slowly, everything of vital importance began to coalesce in my mind through sheer osmosis.
All that leads me to believe it must have been near-impossible to keep track of The Wire during its airings on HBO; perhaps half the reason why the series was never a ratings winner, and only really found an audience on DVD -- where episodes could be consumed faster. The piecemeal deliver is like cutting The Godfather into thirteen episodes, each lasting thirteen minutes, then being spoonfed one per week for three months -- it's just not conducive to how the material has been written. The Wire requires sustained, vigorous commitment over a relatively short period, for best results.
Overall, The Wire definitely isn't for everyone. If you don't like cop shows, this won't change your mind -- despite being a fine example of the genre you may appreciate on other levels. If you're ambivalent about police procedurals, it's certainly worth seeing -- as long as you're aware it makes no attempt to cosset viewers, and only starts rewarding your patience and commitment in its third quarter. And, if you're an aficionado of likeminded drama, chances are you own The Wire box-sets, and already hold it in high regard. If not, there's no excuse not to indulge yourself in this ode to Baltimore; it's beautifully-acted, extremely realistic, elegiac, complexly plotted, credible and insightful human drama... albeit very tough, in more ways than one. Make no mistake: this wire's barbed.
Writers: David Simon, Ed Burns, Rafael Alvarez, David H. Melnick, Shamit Choksey, Joy Lusco & George Pelecanos
Directors: Clark Johnson, Peter Medak, Clement Virgo, Ed Bianchi, Joe Chappelle, Gloria Muzio, Brad Anderson, Steve Shill & Tim Van Patten
Cast: Dominic West (Detective Jimmy McNulty), Lance Reddick (Lt. Cedric Daniels), Wood Harris (Avon Barksdale), Idris Elba (Stringer Bell), Sonja Sohn (Kima Gregg), Wendell Pierce (Bunk Moreland), Michael B. Jordan (Wallace), Domenick Lombardozzi (Thomas "Herc" Hauk), Seth Gilliam (Ellis Carver), Clarke Peters (Lester Freamon) & Jim True-Frost (Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski)
