The Wire
This is not going to be a quick bite, this is a full on Series review. The Wire is one of those cult hits that you hear about in conversations every couple of weeks. When I had discussions about a GREAT TV SHOW I either get an earful about The Wire or Breaking Bad. So I am going to talk about 'The Wire'. Is it an over-rated mess or is it a great series that the fans say it is.
This series has had a team of Directors work on it for various episodes so start off by giving the credit to its creator David Simon, who is known for the series Treme, and 7 Homicide, Life on the Street. There are tons of stars in this show as well. Dominic West is the first main character introduced as a homicide detective with a bit of a drinking problem. Idris Elba also stars as one of the prime suspects in a crime family. Micheal Kennith Williams plays Omar. The list of Cast members goes on, but the talent associated with this show is amazing. Everyone came to the show to play serious roles whether they were portraying the Street thugs or the Police investigators.
The Story
Some would think that this is a story about just cops and street hustlers. However the wire is the story about the city of Boston. For the most part we are given the story of the hustlers vs the police. But after the first season you are introduced to the public schooling system, the labor unions, and political candidates battling for the seat of mayor. You understand that an incredible amount of research went into the story and by season three, this TV drama becomes more of an expose' or a documentary.
The Wire starts with an officer that pushes back on the flawed system and kind of stirs a huge drama internally. This leads to the creation of a crimes unit that was made strictly for political reasons. The unit is supposed to simply make drug busts but ends up finding ties between the street thugs and people of power, so the situation escalates as the audience is brought through this entire investigation. While we see the story of the police, we are also given the story of the hustlers, and the people that live in their neighborhoods.
What makes this story shine is the amount of character stories you come in contact with as a viewer. Each story is gritty, dark, and realistic and the show has this charm that makes you care for its characters. You will meet druggies trying to get to thier next high, but see the internal struggle they deal with. You will meet dealers and killers and come to an odd understanding with the situations that they face. This story doesn't give you the generic street cop versus the generic street thug but instead shows that both sides have monsters and good people.
Performances
The performances of our main police are great. However, these performances are not unlike other cop dramas you have seen in your days. The Wire shines in the performances outside the precinct. The Dealers, and the neighborhood children provide some of the most entertaining performances I've seen. Everything from the Boston street slang to the behaviors that you witness are realistic and acted with care. This is not one of your regular films featuring mindless black thugs that only get high and kill one another with no reason.
The kids were amazing actors. There are portions of the show that include middle school children in a Boston school and these kids were unlike soooooo many children that I have seen in movies and TV. When critics see kids, we expect to see a bad performance but the times that the children were involved in the series were some of the most intense and dramatic parts of the series.
But when you talk about The Wire, there is one performace that resonates with every fan. Omar Little.
To me, Omar was the most interesting character in this series. In a nutshell, Omar is the neighborhood drug deal robber. If you are making money he will be paying you a visit. However, unlike most people in the street Omar has an honor code that he abides by religiously. He becomes an important character to the investigators and a thorn in the side to the gangsters. He is the neutral cast member that plays both sides between justice and criminality and he is amazingly well acted. Omar is also homosexual and is shown in a light that has probably never been used in film to represent homosexuality.This character is also hilarious on screen. You would see these hustlers looking all tough trying to sell their drugs then Omar appears, whistling 'The Farmer in the Dell' and they scatter like roaches screaming "Omar comin Yo!"
The Rating
There is only one rating that would fit a show like this. Actually two. I feel that The Wire is a show to watch just to get a better idea about the conditions that people actually live in to better understand how to fight crime. There are people out there that are essentially born into crime and the only way to prevent those individuals from falling is to improve their living conditions. This show addressed that and even more issues that this country should face. With stellar performances, a captivating story, and a Strong Cast The Wire is definitely..
Delicious and Nutritious
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