The Wire: The Complete Series

In writing school they tell you to write what you know or learn to write what you want to know. If you focus on something with which you have a strong connection than a deeply personal story will inevitably unfold. This is how many writers gain their voice. Virtually all of Woody Allen's films can be boiled down to comic meditations on failed relationships or his morbid fascination with death. Working at a convenience store helped Kevin Smith develop the idea for Clerks. When a writer stays true to his own expertise, a rare truth is exhibited on the screen.

Ed Burns and David Simon, the co-creators and chief creative backbones of HBO's acclaimed series The Wire, use their expertise in extraordinary ways. Burns, a former police officer and schoolteacher and Simon, a journalist team up to pen an ambitious tragedy about the inner workings of their beloved city of Baltimore. Their experiences on the street, on the beat, and in the classroom have left them frustrated and disheartened. The Wire is a carefully orchestrated documentation of their anger. The result is one of the most vibrant and entertaining social commentaries in television history.

Part of what makes the show so essential is its delicate mix of large, overarching themes with painstaking attention to detail. The content is largely based on the day-to-day procedural elements of various wings of the Baltimore lifeblood, each showcasing similar failures of a fractured metropolis. In Season one, the focus squares mostly on drug dealers in the crime-laden streets of West Baltimore and the murder police trying to stop them. In Season two, the writers move to the docks where unionized stevedores import and export illegal goods for an international narcotics organization. In Season three, politics get added to the mix as an ambitious city councilman inches toward a run for Mayor. Season four takes us through his political campaign. It also introduces us to a schoolteacher who attempts to influence the future of a young crew of potential hoppers (Baltimore slang for a street drug dealer). Finally, Season five introduces us to the world of newspapers where the lines between journalistic integrity and fiction are blurred.

These are, of course, highly generalized explanations of over sixty hours of content. An analysis of specific plot points could span the pages of an entire anthology of writing. The Wire, simply put, is the most complex show ever on television. The constantly weaving web of storylines and character arcs demands a lot from its audience and part of the reason the show never caught a major mainstream following is because the show expects too much of you. While this notion proves troublesome for a week-to-week casual viewer, it provides endless enrichment

on DVD.

The Wire is never afraid to point fingers and never shies away from controversy. No stone in Baltimore is left unturned. The police department, the public schools, the Baltimore Sun, and the city's government are all criticized. Within each wing of the many factions of the city's dysfunction are intricately designed characters. There are no good guys or bad guys on The Wire. There are crooked cops and good-natured ones. There are murderous thugs and dealers who long for a way out. Every character comes across a myriad of moral dilemmas. Sometimes they make the right choice and sometimes they make the dirty one. Meanwhile, the city of Baltimore falls further and further into violence, debt, and corruption.

What do all these details provide the viewer? The Wire provides unique incite into the world of institutional dysfunction. In nearly every corner of the city lays a strong-willed individual who tries to make Baltimore a better place but ultimately gives in to the powers at be. In the police department there is protagonist Jimmy McNulty, a hard-nosed detective stubbornly intent on solving cases and putting criminals behind bars who is constantly blocked from doing his job. Mayoral hopeful Thomas Carcetti wants to change the way politics work in the executive branch, but eventually learns upon taking office that no real change can occur in a city with no money. Even in the drug world we find D'Angelo Barksdale, the wide-eyed cousin to a dealing kingpin who dreams of getting out of the projects. With all the show's social commentary comes a high level of emotional intensity. The characters lives change season to season, but rarely for the better.

The Wire is not all doom and gloom though. Much of the joy of the series stems from the show's wit and charm. While one may never find a character in The Wire that they would like to have dinner with, there are plenty of characters the audience feels compassion for. Season four, the best of all the show's seasons, is the emotional backbone of the series, showcasing the tragedy of inner city schools. The kids all come off as punks in the beginning. By the end, we understand their plight.

The show is not always perfect, but when it makes mistakes it's often because the writers become over-ambitious. In the fifth season, they take a step too far in trying to further their statement. The storylines become a bit unrealistic and social consciousness turns into narrative chaos. The show has always been at its best when it tells the truth.

Outside of the critical world, The Wire came and went without much of a bang. In five years, the show only received two Emmy nominations,

both in the writing department. The show lost both times. The last few seasons were plagued by threats of cancellation due to poor ratings. How could a show receive nearly unanimous critical acclaim (a hefty 98 score on Metacritic for Season four) and fail to sustain an audience? How could 69 million voters ignore the favorite show of their President-elect Barack Obama? Perhaps the public response is fitting for The Wire. A show about the weakness of institutions probably should not be accepted by one.

Series Grade: A