The Wire - Series 1 - Complete (DVD)

For the best part of a year a good friend of mine had been constantly telling me to watch a show called 'The Wire', telling me that out of everyone he knew I would love it more than anyone else, and that I would love a character called Omar. Knowing little about the show except what my friend had told me my partner and I instead watched (for the first time) the DVD box sets of shows like '24' and 'The Sopranos', preferring to go with the more well ...
...in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, with the first season being centred around a specially created police squad's investigation into drugs king pin Avon Barksdale and his crew. Created by former journalist David Simon and creator of award winning mini-series drama 'The Corner', executive producer Robert F. Colesberry who had worked with Simon on 'The Corner', and (to a lesser extent) former teacher and homicide detective Ed Burns. Much of the basic story ... more

For the best part of a year a good friend of mine had been constantly telling me to watch a show called 'The Wire', telling me that out of everyone he knew I would love it more than anyone else, and that I would love a character called Omar. Knowing little about the show except what my friend had told me my partner and I instead watched (for the first time) the DVD box sets of shows like '24' and 'The Sopranos', preferring to go with the more well known names before chancing a programme dubbed a cop drama by most, a genre I've never been overly keen on. When we finally got through everything else we decided to give 'The Wire' it's chance and quickly found ourselves hooked.

'The Wire' is a drama set in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, with the first season being centred around a specially created police squad's investigation into drugs king pin Avon Barksdale and his crew. Created by former journalist David Simon and creator of award winning mini-series drama 'The Corner', executive producer Robert F. Colesberry who had worked with Simon on 'The Corner', and (to a lesser extent) former teacher and homicide detective Ed Burns. Much of the basic story line is based on Burns real experiences in the police force and the office politics that frustrated him during his police career. Now 'The Corner' received wide spread acclaim for it's no hold barred realism in depicting the life of drug addicts living in a housing project in Baltimore and the 'The Wire' picked up right where that left off, often being called the most realistic show ever on television, depicting both police and street life as openly as possible (with extra themes developing season by season). Creator Simon credits Colesberry's work as executive producer as the major force behind bringing this realism to the small screen, often casting people from troubled back grounds and with no acting experience in parts such as drug addicts, gangsters and dealers, which really intensifies the feel of the show. The shows production and sets are all from the local Baltimore areas they are meant to depict so what you see is what you get from this show, no dressing up of the facts here.

The Characters

The show features roughly 90 different actors in speaking roles across the 13 episodes of the first season, which only adds to the depth of the show and really illustrates the lengths creator Simon went too to really build a compelling storyline with more layers than most programmes can bring in their entire lifetimes. Also due to this fact it's impossible for me to discuss all the characters that play a role in this season so I'm going to take a look at some of the more important faces.

The Police

Homicide detective James 'Jimmy' McNulty is probably the closest thing we have to a main character, played superbly by English actor Dominic West (300, 28 Days, Hannibal Rising). McNulty is what they call in the show 'real police'. A supremely talented homicide detective born for the job, with a higher than average clearance rate on murders, possessing a massive problem for authority, and who will often go above his superiors heads (or behind their backs) when things aren't going his way to try and help develop his cases. Jimmy can be credited with first noticing the Barksdale gangs rising drug trade and pushing for an investigation into their organisation. There is no doubting the passion or the talent McNulty shows for the job but his problem with authority, his unwillingness to respect the chain of command, his habit of often drinking on the job, and his down right arrogance do him no favours with his employers or with his colleges. Add to that an ex-wife and a custody battle for visiting rights to his two young sons and you'll realise McNulty is a much more complex character than he first appears. I love McNulty, he amuses me to no end with his maverick actions and constant use of his almost catch phrase 'what the f**k did I do?', when people have a go at him.

One of the more likeable characters is detective William 'Bunk' Moreland, played by Wendell Pierce (Sleepers, Waiting to Exhale, Hackers). Often referring to himself as 'The Bunk', Moreland is a supremely talented detective with similar skills to his best friend and drinking partner McNulty, but without having Jimmy's problems with authority, Bunk definitely has his head screwed on when it comes to working in the police force. The Bunk is not without his own problems though; he drinks as often as McNulty and has a major problem with infidelity once he gets into these states. One of the funniest scenes of the whole series involves a drunken Bunk attempting to burn his clothes in a bath tub after cheating on his wife to destroy 'trace evidence', whilst wearing a pink ladies robe.

Narcotics Lieutenant Cedric Daniels, played by Lance Reddick (The Corner, Lost, Oz), is passionate about his job, has a straight down the line attitude and ambitions to climb the career ladder to the top. Supremely intelligent (the character posses a law degree) and loyal to his staff, Daniels often clashes with the higher ups, such as Deputy Commissioner Burrell, but often his ambitions and a rumoured shady past prevent him from taking actions that might upset the rank and command above him for fear of hindering his career progression. Reddick is another actor perfect for his character.

Detective Lester Freeman is one of the more interesting and deeper characters in the show. Played to perfection by Clarke Peters (check out his Wikipedia page to see the many talents of the man), the Freeman character is another example of the sheer brilliant casting. Freeman work's in the Police Pawnshop unit until he is transferred to Daniels team, and has a hobby for making dollhouse furniture. From the outside this character may look like a simple house cat but looks can be deceiving.

An openly 'out' lesbian (to keep the male officers away from her) Detective Shakima 'Kima' Greggs, played by actress Sonja Sohn, is as tough as they come on the police force. Capable of administrating a beating like she was one of the men, Kima also has the same sort of off the job issues as many of her co-workers. She is excellent at her job and her list of informants only adds to her value to the team.

Detectives Thomas 'Herc' Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) are like two peas in a pod. The jokers of the pack they are immensely loyal to each other, best friends, and dedicated to the task at hand. Both are young with aspirations to rise up the ranks, but have a history of police brutality and cutting corners to progress a case and bring a charge.

Detective Leander Sydnor (played by Corey Parker Robinson) is a young and talented police detective who was specially requested by Lt. Daniels to work on the Barksdale detail and described by him as the departments best. Sydnor is often used for under cover work due to his African-American heritage and the fact Carver, the only other young and black detective in the team, is pretty well know to the gangsters due to his brutality.

Last but not least on the Barksdale detail is detective Roland 'Prez' Pryzbylewski, played by Jim True-Frost. He has a history of erratic behaviour and general incompetence on the force, the kind that would get most people sacked. Of course most people aren't married to the daughter of police Commander Stanislaus 'Stan' Valchek, who is willing to pull any strings needed to keep Prez in a job.

There are a few more members of the detail but I'll let you discover these for yourselves, besides they have minor roles compared to the above named detectives.

The Streets

One of my personal favourite characters is junkie Reginald 'Bubbles' (or Bubz) Cousins, played by the brilliant Andre Royo. Living rough with only his wits, his supreme knowledge of the streets, and his close friend Johnny Weeks (Leo Fitzpatrick), who he's schooling in the game, to help him survive and, more importantly, to help him with the everyday struggle of finding some money to buy his next batch of drugs. Bubz also works as an informant for friend Kima, both as a favour to her and to earn a few extra dollars. Royo brings a tremendous amount of emotion to the role, and I can personally say I felt quite attached to this particular character, he's an actor whose talent, by checking his past work or rather lack of, has obviously been greatly over looked for various parts. Keep an eye on Bubz, he has quite a journey to take.

Which brings me to my personal all time favourite character in anything ever, the man so feared he's referred to only by his first name - the legend that is Omar. Played by the ultra charismatic Michael K. Williams ('Gone Baby, Gone', 'Alias', 'Six Degrees'), Omar Little is a legend on the streets, a stick up guy who makes his living robbing drug dealers with the help of his trusty shotgun, who often has full blocks of people running away screaming 'Omar's coming' such is the fear he strikes amongst the drug dealing community. Yet for all his disregard for people who are 'in the game' Omar lives by a strict code not to harm anyone not involved, a code that he never deviates from, and that earned him the respect of some of the community. He is also the only character that makes a point of not using profanity. The world of black street gangsters is a traditionally homophobic one, one in which gay men are usually cast as hiding their sexuality from the world around them, yet Omar is openly gay and doesn't care who knows it, often seen in public shows of affection with his boyfriend Brandon. I thought this was a very brave decision by the writers due to the lack of precedent of a male gay character in such a role, it could have easily backfired and if not portrayed correctly, yet if anything it only adds to the many different layers of the man such is Williams talent in playing this role. For me Omar constantly has the best lines in the show and the character only develops more and more throughout the seasons. In many ways it's a part unlike any you will have seen, indeed Williams said a major reason he auditioned to play Omar (he got it after 1 audition) was the fact it would make him stand out from others black actors such was the unusualness of the character. Williams was born to play Omar, he's my favourite, he's everyone I knows favourite, he's even Barack Obama's favourite character! I could talk for much longer about him but you really should check out the show yourself and see the legend in action.

Which brings me to the Barksdale organisation and who better to start with than the drug king pin himself Avon Barksdale, played by Wood Harris a veteran of many roles. Avon was born into the game and is extremely smart, he runs his organisation like a business trying to crush all competition and distances himself away from handling anything illegal or talking on mobile phones. He's very short tempered and extremely concerned with maintain his image and name on the street, and trusts few but the trusted members of his gang. Yet for all these things I really liked Avon. Maybe it was his charisma, maybe it was some of his lines, no matter he's a great character.

Below Avon is second in command Russell 'Stringer' Bell played by English actor Idris Elba, which was again perfect casting. If you were going to describe him in one word it would have to be cerebral, he's an 'A' grade economics student, who makes most of the financially decisions for the Barksdale crew. With ever expanding ambitions to enter the legal business world through the collection of property and small businesses, such as a strip club and a print shop, Stringer often looks past the initial violent plans made by Avon and tries to advise him in a way that will benefit him more financially in the long run as opposed to just building his name on the streets. Stringer Bell is the true brains behind the Barksdale crew, a cold, calculating, ruthless character. Elba has come a long way from bit parts in 'the Bill' and 'Absolutely Fabulous'.

D'Angelo 'Dee' Barksdale (Lawrence Gilliard Jr) is the nephew of king pin Avon and a high ranking member of the crew, and like his uncle born into the life. After beating a murder case D'Angelo is demoted from running one of the high rise buildings the Barksdale Organisation control for the drug trade, to running the project area known as 'the pit'. Dee is among the best examples of someone involved in the sale of drugs who is also a very good person at heart. He often makes the morally right decision, and sometimes the more shocking moments effect Dee's conscience more than the other gangsters.

Working below Dee (among others) is the trio of Preston 'Bodie' Broadus (J.D. Williams), Malik 'Poot' Carr (Tray Chaney), and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan). Bodie is by far the toughest of the youngsters, embracing life in the game with open arms, while Poot seems to be more interested in girls than anything else. Wallace is the same age as the other two (16) but easily the least mature. We see scenes of Wallace playing with a toy or getting shouted at by the other gangsters for acting like a kid, but we also see a very caring side of the young man as the season develops. For me Wallace (along with Bubz) provokes the biggest emotional reaction from the viewer during this season, with the journey the character takes being one of the more intriguing storylines in the show. Young Jordan is superb in this role and I would hope future acting jobs would follow after this kind of performance.

As you can see there is a massive amount of characters in this show but there's many more who have roles to play I've not mentioned such is the depth of the programme. From the other members of the police department like Major William A. Rawls, Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell, Sergeant Jay Landsman, and more, to the Barksdale Organisation, which is much larger than just the few people I've talked about so far. Wee-Bay, Bird, Orlando and more all have roles to play, with each member bringing their own personality and filling the roles Avon and Stringer want them to.

The Show and More of What I Thought

The casting of the show is one the programmes strong points and the creators really should be proud of the job they did choosing these individuals. I do however think the on screen chemistry between many of the actors was almost guaranteed due to the fact over a dozen of them had worked together on 'Oz', and around ten had worked on 'The Corner' together. The use of real people with no acting experience was also an interesting move which only really adds to the realism of the show, with many of these people filling roles they occupied in their own careers and advising on how thing were really done, adding just another reason why The Wire is called the most real show on TV.

The show does not, unlike many programmes, make out every police officer to be a good person, and it also doesn't make out every African-American drug dealer/gangster to be the villains that the more narrow minded sections of society would class them all as. It shows that many members of the police are people with real faults in a job most assume is filled with decent personalities. Whether it being the depiction of alcoholism, police brutality, department politics, the chain of command or even their love lives it is clear for all to see the many similarities between the criminals and the crime fighters, as we learn many of the dealers and gangsters are good people born into a situation out of their control and trapped in the game. People who are capable of caring for others and having a real sense of what's right and what's wrong. The characters D'Angelo, Bubz and Wallace being the best examples in season 1 of this for me.

Obviously the name of the show is 'The Wire' and the whole structure of police surveillance and the use of wiretaps on phone lines is quite central to the shows structure. As I mentioned earlier Ed Burn's real life experiences and frustrations in handling these types of cases was a major influence on the whole show and the depiction of these techniques has been deemed so close to life that there has been reports of real criminals watching the show to take notes on how to avoid the police. I found it very interesting to learn about the sort of politics and red tape surrounding the police department and the guidelines they had to follow, I must say some of them sounded just crazy.

The Wire can be quite shocking at times in its depictions of violence, homelessness and drug addiction. They think nothing of it to show the true effects drugs like heroin and crack can cause with long term use (although not quite to the level they did in 'The Corner'), of showing the alcoholism involved with some of the police departments homicide detectives, or the side of being a drug dealing gangster that isn't usually spoken about. This is a major reason I love this show, I hate it when programmes try to glorify certain people, or also vilify individuals trapped in certain ways of life such as drug addiction.

My one complaint with the show is that the start of the first season is quite slow, the first three or four episodes feel almost like they are going into a little too much character development but considering the show was written from the start as a 5 season, 60 episode show it should really be expected the first few episodes will just start to feel things out with such a journey ahead. Every episode is a full 60 minutes long unlike most shows these days such as 'Lost' or '24'.

Overall I truly believe 'The Wire' to be the greatest television show ever made. From the casting to the direction, to the production, nothing is weak about this show. So many characters jump out the screen at you, while you can't help but get lost in Baltimore's world of drug addiction, gangsters, and police force. I truly believe anyone who watches this entire season will be hooked and want the other four box sets as soon as possible such is the quality of the show. If you made it all the way to the end thanks for reading, I know this was a long one but this is a 5 star show and there was no other way to do it justice.

Also posted on dooyoo and ciao.com. 

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