The Wire: The Complete Series

It is very easy to get caught in the media hype of current popular entertainment, considering the longevity of so many reality-TV, sitcom and hospital drama series that play so perfectly to the nuances that reign in the mainstream demographic.

Enter... The Wire. No media hype - just critics that have been blowing a horn with few people taking the time to open their ears to hear.

Critics have hailed it as one of the masterpieces of TV - one of the best ever produced (See: Metacritic, Salon, Slate, Time, New York Times, London Guardian, London Telegraph)

The series was created by David Simon, a former police reporter with the Baltimore Sun, in partnership with former Baltimore homicide detective Edward Burns. Over its 5 seasons it didn't gain a large audience, but it is saturated with relevant social and political themes that will resonate for a long time to come.

The name of the series refers to the small squad of Baltimore detectives who's directive is to bring down the burgeoning drug business of Avon Barksdale. Their tactic is to implant wire-taps on the pay phones in and around the tenement buildings surrounding an inner-city Baltimore courtyard where most of the small but lucrative drug deals go down. As a viewer, the problem you are immediately faced with is that both sides of the law in this series have characters that you are empathetically drawn to. Jimmy McNulty provides the outward bravado for the team of detectives, with his supporting crew of Herc, Freamon, Sydnor, Greggs and his new lieutenant Cedric Daniels each having richly written story-lines that are equally compelling. The same holds true for Barksdale and his ilk - his nephew D'Angeloe Barksdale, Bodie, Poot, and most notably Stringer Bell being the business minded mastermind, using Robert's Rules of Order for his meetings with his underlings. Throughout the first few seasons he is suave and persuasive but not afraid to lay a heavy hand when it comes time to claim territory.

The cast is composed of numerous character actors, mixed in with the likes of folks you've seen playing fantastic roles in other series. Watch for the singer/songwriter Steve Earle as Walon, the leader of the 12 step program attended by Bubbles, a scene stealing drug addict who is quick to to give a tip now and then to the detectives for a few bucks. The opening song, "Way Down in the Hole" is a song composed by Tom Waits. Each season it is performed by a different artist. In the first season by The Blind Boys of Alabama, then in successive seasons by The Neville Brothers, DoMaJe, Steve Earle, and for the final season, Tom Waits.

Season 1: Deals primarily with the Barksdale syndicate, and sees the introduction of Omar, the somewhat equalizing foe who plays both sides to his advantage. The detectives work to build their team, while Barksdale sees to build his empire.

Season 2: Focusses on the corruption on the Baltimore docks, with a Russian/Greek mafia understory that adds even more mystery as the episodes play out.

Season 3: Brings a political theme to the forefront, with the power-plays of city councillors and mayoral candidates in their quest to make their way to the top, exposing the gritty reality of all levels of government in the microcosm of Balitmore politics.

Season 4: The school system is explored, as a member of the detectives team, having made a fatal error in judgment on the police force, takes a job as a teacher. His attempts to divert one of his students from a life of crime are noble, yet too little for the magnetic pull of the upward mobility of a young drug hustler.

Season 5: A serial killer myth is perpetuated by McNulty and Freamon, leading the media down a path that they think serves their needs, but ultimately becomes the machine of their undoing.

This series is entirely satisfying. It serves as a magnifying glass on any big city and the various cultures that ultimately result. It is not a case of "favorite episode", "favorite season" or "favorite quote" - the compendium of The Wire should be watched in its entirety.

Immerse yourself in the phenomenon, you won't be disappointed.

I've never encountered anyone who has not been able to wholeheartedly recommend this show. It's incredible. I'm only up to season 3, but there's no doubt that it's something special. The reason that I'm leaving this review is - as many others have stated in their reviews - the manufacturing quality of this box set is so incredibly poor that at least some of the DVDs are defective (not scratched, but actually defective). I didn't encounter a problem until the last disc of season 2 when the ending of an episode froze up and simply refused to continue. I moved the disc between my XBOX 360 and my Sony Blu-ray player, and neither one of them would let me finish the episode. When I went to play the other episode on the same disc, the season 2 finale, the episode wouldn't play at all. The disc had never left the box set before I popped it in. When I inspected it: no scratches, smudges, or other marks. I tried giving it a clean, no luck. Thankfully I had a Chinese DVD player in the house that is designed to play DVDs of any quality. But even after I set that up, the disc immediately skipped to half way through the episode; I had to rewind it back to near the start just to watch it properly.

Amazon has a return policy of 60 days. Obviously, watching 5 seasons of The Wire takes longer than that, unless you have a much less busy lifestyle than I do. By the time I stumbled across a clearly defective disc, I had nowhere to turn. Now I have to cross my fingers that I don't come across another disc that doesn't work, as I'm still not finished working my way through the full show.

Buyer beware - it's great to own a box set of The Wire, but picking up this set could be a risky proposition. Or at least a frustrating one. If you've got the coin, it's probably safer to buy the individual seasons.

Also, I do want to point out that a blu-ray version of this show is unlikely. Also, the show displays naturally at a 4:3 aspect ratio because of the way it's filmed (all five seasons are like this). The show's creators have stated this aspect ratio is part of the feel of the show. They were going for a less polished look, meaning that you might need to adjust your screen settings and shouldn't hold out for blu ray. That being said, the show looks gorgeous as it is (when the DVDs work).

Great characters (Hey, it's Omar!), great plots and dialogue. The best TV series people haven't heard of.

This is not mindless entertainment. It *is* entertaining but it also makes you think. It doesn't spoon feed you, you have to pay attention to figure out what's going on. In the meantime you end up learning a lot about police procedurals, gang life, inner city life, working on the docks, teaching inner city schools and working in a city newsroom -- because each season takes the core group of characters through different venues.

There are no stereotypes, no plot twists that are put in just to amp up the story line. Instead there are characters that feel real, that you end up caring about.

Check it out!