Last year, the last episode of the fifth and final season of HBO’s The Wire was aired (Alston). For many viewers this was a sad day because The Wire is a truly amazing show and more importantly, meaningful show. Although The Wire was never a commercial hit like HBO’s Entourage or The Sopranos or broadcast shows like 24 or Lost, The Wire is critically acclaimed and deserves to be watched by every serious fan of television (Is this the best TV series ever made?). The Wire is in fact so good, that some articles written it about are called “The best TV show of all time: A classical masterpiece: Laura Miller argues for “The Wire”” and “The Wire on Fire: Analyzing the best show on television.”
At first glance The Wire may seem like a cop show. At its most primitive, the plot of the show is about cops trying to arrest drug dealers. The show is not about on specific individual or group, rather it is about the city of Baltimore. Jacob Weisberg of Slate writes, “Its protagonist is the broken American city of Baltimore, depicted with obsessive verisimilitude and affectionate rage” (Weisberg). Each season has a different focus of an aspect of Baltimore: the first one on drugs dealers, the second on dockworkers, the third on reform, the fourth one on Baltimore public schools, and fifth one on the decline of newspapers. Each season’s focus is intertwined with the Baltimore Police Department and to a lesser degree the Mayor’s Office.
The Wire is an extremely complex show, which has multiple plots, sub plots, and many characters. Sometimes an extremely important plot development happens very quickly and it will not be returned to. The characters are complex as well. No character is a stereotype and the characters are not stagnant, just as in real life. There is the serial killer Omar, who refuses to kill people who are not in the drug game. There is the drug lord Stringer Bell, who wants to become a legitimate businessman and who takes economics class at a local community college (McCabe and Smith). Laura Miller of Salon explains this complexity very well: “The series is complex, with a lot of characters, and its never going to hold your hold through the intricate curlicues of each season’s story. You have to pay attention, even when you’re not sure what’s going on” (Miller).
Another reason The Wire is great is its realism. It is not a show that is filled with feel good stories and characters. It is not a show which is about a world that does not exist or the world as we want it to be. Rather it is a show about the world how it is. Weisberg explains The Wire’s realism by writing “No other program has ever done anything remotely like what this one does, namely to portray the social, political, and economic life of an American city with the scope, observational precision, and moral vision of great literature” (Weisberg). The Wire’s realism is heightened because it is an unsentimental show. This is epitomized by the fact that one of the most beloved characters in the show, Stringer Bell, is killed in the third season (Ogunnaike). As in real life, anyone can die at any time on The Wire. Much of its realism comes from its creator, who was a Baltimore Sun crime reporter before The Wire. Moreover, Ed Burns, Simon’s writing partner is a former homicide detective (Weisberg).
Another reason The Wire is great is because it is an angry show. This is because David Simon is angry about the state of the American inner city and the lives people live in them. In the article “Arrogant? Moi?” Oliver Burkemen writes about his interview with Simon. About the show’s creator, Burkemen writes, “Simon the other hand is very angry indeed.” Simon sees Baltimore as an indicator, which reveals The American Dream is dead. In his interview with Burkemen Simon states “You are sitting in the deconstruction of the American Dream,” he says, indicating Baltimore” (Burkemen). The anger found in the show gives it real meaning, something all too missing today on today’s television shows. Watching the show causes viewers to think about parts and people of our society that do not get enough attention, parts of our society that are too often forgotten.
The Wire is more than entertainment, which makes it truly great television. It is great on so many levels, that almost all viewers will find something to like about it. Whether it’s the realism, the characters, or plot, there are many elements of The Wire which different viewers like best. Give it a shot and more than likely you will immediately become a fan.
More info on the characters in the show
Here are some great scenes from this show:
Works Cited
Alston, Joshua. “Hanging Up ‘The Wire’” Newsweek. 10 Mar. 2008. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.newsweek.com/id/120319>.
Burkeman, Oliver. “Arrogant? Moi?” The Guardian. 28 Mar. 2009. 20 Apr. 2009 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/28/david-simon-the-wire-interview>.
McCabe, Bret, and Van Smith. “Down to The Wire: Top 10 Reasons Not to Cancel The Wire.” Baltimore City Paper. 12 Jan. 2005. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.baltimorecitypaper.com/film/story.asp?id=9538>.
Miller, Laura. “The best TV show of all time: A classical masterpiece: Laura Miller argues for “The Wire”" Salon. 15 Sept. 2007. <http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2007/09/15/best_show/>.
Ogunnaike, Lola. “Whacked! Another HBO Main Player Meets His End.” The New York Times. 13 Dec. 2004. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/13/arts/television/13wire.html>.
Weisberg, Jacob. “Why The Wire the best show on television.” Salon. 13 Sept. 2006. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.slate.com/id/2149566/>.
Welsh, Irvine, John Harvey, Dreda Mitchell, Mark Billingham, and John Williams. “Is
this the best TV series ever made?” The Guardian. 20 July 2008. 18 Apr. 2009 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/20/television.irvinewelsh>.
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I love the wire and I watched the final season over spring break, I think it was the most amazing show I’ve ever seen and it constantly kept me on my toes. The characters constant evolution and advancement left me wondering what would happen to the characters whose stories hadn’t ended such as Mcnulty. I think the most shocking part to me was the entire Hamsterdam ordeal, it definitely gave an example of what would happen if a city were left unchecked without the police to look over them. Also the 4 boys from the middle school, I wish that they had started their story from the first season and kept their story going.
So many people have mentioned this show to me! I liked this post because your intro was very capturing and to the point and your sources were proof to me that you did your research and made your argument move believable. I have heard a lot of great things about this show but never had time to get into it and watch it. So for me, and probably for most of your blog readers – I think you spoke well to the audience. Your overview and explanation of the show is very easy to understand and makes me want to watch it. The last season sounds especially interesting to me – about the decline of newspapers. I am interested in media and society and I think this is a very interesting topic (and also has a lot to do with pop culture).
Laura Miller’s quotation “You have to pay attention, even when you’re not sure what’s going on” (Miller).” This makes the show sound very intriguing – seems very suspenseful! I think this kind of fast paced show is what Americans like – we get bored very easily which is why a lot of shows are losing their audience but if something is fast paced, especially if there are chase scenes or actions scenes, we are captivated. As you spoke about the show is very realistic – meaning anything could happen at any moment. This does not seem like one of those predictable shows. This will keep me on the edge of my seat!
I thought this part of your post was really captivating – it really moved from the analytical to the critical: “The anger found in the show gives it real meaning, something all too missing today on today’s television shows. Watching the show causes viewers to think about parts and people of our society that do not get enough attention, parts of our society that are too often forgotten.” I am in a sociology class now and we talk about this kind of stuff all the time. How you have to step back and look at the big picture – see the unseen.
Your final paragraph is really a selling point. It makes me want to watch the show. And im not a big show watcher — I watch 2 shows and that’s about it but this makes we want to add a third to my list.
One thing I would have liked to see in this blog was pictures throughout the post. Its nice to have images to break up your text and also to support what you are saying, but I really like the videos.