"The Wire" on DVD

I miss those characters already. Omar, Bunk, McNulty, Michael and the rest, all very entertaining characters. They all had stories to tell, and they told them well.

The show began on HBO a few years ago, and the fifth and final season ended in '08 with a very good finale. The entire thing is available on DVD which is how I saw most of it, finishing the final season over the holiday. When I turned the DVD in at the rental shop I looked around for something else to rent, but after a few minutes I gave up. There just wasn't anything that could measure up to "The Wire."

The show was filmed in Baltimore and purported to depict the illegal drug business as it was conducted on the back streets by career dealers many of whom were either children or got their start in the business as children. So the first season ended as a king pin drug dealer got hauled off to jail facing an iron clad criminal charge, and we see that absolutely nothing changed on the street as the next generation of dealers simply filled any vacancies to continue that very profitable business venture.

Each season focused primarily on one society segment that was either directly involved in the illegal drug business or affected by it it some way. One series involved the docks where the drugs first hit town. Another series dealt with the school system, the teachers and a group of kids on the fringe of the trade. There were stoop boys, the kids who would get back on the stoop when their mommas called. And there were the corner boys, kids slinging dope on the corner, all locked into a lifestyle with little hope for a decent life. As the season ended we cheered for some of those kids and cried for others.

The final season had several scenes set at the local newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, and as was typical of the show, the newspaper crew spanned the entire range of personalities. There were bosses and there were workers.  There were good people, and there was a cheater all mixed together in the same news room. Unfortunately, the goal was to win a publishing prize, and the bosses didn't want to look too deeply into the cheater's stories.

"The Wire" certainly won't entice anyone to move to Baltimore, and the local chamber of commerce must have hated the show. The political maneuvers, the city departments crippled by lack of money, the high crime, the fatalistic view of the people who are expected to solve the problems all leave viewers hoping that sort of thing doesn't go on in their own hometowns. But according to at least one writer -- see Urban Decay, an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal -- the show painted an accurate portrait of Baltimore.

Putting all of that aside, the show had some memorable characters. One especially interesting guy was Omar Little. Scarred and fearless, he made his money robbing the drug dealers. Look for him on Youtube, and you'll no doubt find some interesting scenes. One ruthless drug dealer put a huge bounty on Omar's head, so he was hunted by both the cops and by the drug dealers. One of the commentaries on the DVD told about how the real corner boys in Baltimore idolized Omar, or at least they did until the scene in which Omar tongue kissed another man.

So if you haven't seen "The Wire" and enjoy good writing, interesting characters and compelling drama, then check it out. And it was a real ending, too. "The Sopranos" writers could have learned a thing or two.

Comments

[john]

Sheeee-it...I hear ya! What a great show. If you liked "The Wire," check out the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill," which is new to DVD. It was produced by "The Wire" folks. Not quite as good as "The Wire," but still great stuff.

[Geo]

Thanks John. Ah, Clay Davis' favorite expression of contempt. You know, when the Illinois governor's pay-to-play dealings became public it was as if Clay Davis had come to life.

Thanks for suggesting "Generation Kill." I'll check it out.

[Redman]

I watched the first season of Mad Men on DVD last week and I was very disappointed in it. Have you seen it?

[Geo]

Redman, I tried to watch "Mad Men" when it aired on AMC. But I couldn't watch a complete episode. A lot of people seemed to have liked it, but it just didn't hold my interest.

Speaking of AMC, it's a shame they didn't bring back "Breaking Bad."