I first heard about the wire through my fiancé's brother, who was at the time getting to the fifth series. Having not really enjoyed police dramas before and having no real interest in anything in that genre, I was extremely sceptical. Little did I know. After some persuasion to borrow the first series on DVD we sat down and watched. From then on we've been totally hooked. It's gone from watching one episode a night to about 3 - we're now half way through the fourth series and it's only been a few weeks since we were given the first. Prepare to become a recluse.

Each season of The Wire concentrates on different aspects of the city. Series One is about the drug trade and the often futile efforts of the police to infiltrate the largest drug ring in West Baltimore. Following series include themes such as the docks, education, bureaucracy and the news media.

On the Police side of things there's Jimmy McNulty, an over involved detective who seems pretty decent and dedicated to the job. But no one seems to like him, which is mysterious at first but soon enough we see why. He's just too involved with the job - willing to step on anyone to get what he wants a heavy drinker and a serial philanderer, recently divorced. He's played by Dominic West, an Englishman from Yorkshire with an incredible talent for the American accent. I literally couldn't believe that he was a Brit. Dominic can also be spotted in 300 playing Theron, Mona Lisa Smile, Stingray and in smaller roles in Spiceworld: The Movie, and Star Wars; The Phantom Menace.

Then there's Omar, who for me really made the show. His character is a legendary Baltimore stick-up artist who earns his money by hitting up the 'stash' or various dealers, usually belonging to the Barksdale crew. He's one of two gay characters (the other being Greggs) and was listed by USA Today as one of the 10 reasons why they still loved television. And quite rightly too. Michael Kenneth Williams, who plays Omar, adds a natural (and often hilarious) humour to the show but at the same time features in some of the most emotional scenes. This character is simply amazing, you've really got to see it to know what I mean!

The characters in The Wire are so varied and really fill all the gaps, representing the reality of the situation - there aren't just gangs and police. It's not just gangs who live in run down areas such as West Baltimore and it's not just police who live in nice houses, with nice pay packets. Not all police are good (or bad!) and not all of those working the streets are bad. I'd say that The Wire does so much for the understanding of those who'd never considered these aspects of society.

What's interesting about The Wire is the background of the actors behind these characters, some of whom (in various series) are actually from the background that they portray in the show. This includes street dealers, politicians and journalists.

The Show

The first season of The Wire opens episode one, The Target, with D'Angelo Barksdale on trial for murder. The scene appears to be as you would expect, but it unravels that one of the eye witnesses has been threatened and is now refusing to accuse D'Angelo of any crime. The jury too, strangely find him innocent and he is released. This is our first glimpse of McNulty and Stringer Bell, as well as D'Angelo. It sets the scene quite nicely as you are shown the unspoken power that the Barksdale crew have over ordinary citizens. After the trial ends, D'Angelo returns to the streets, where his Uncle shows him his anger, but reminds D'Angelo that he's family. The next morning D'Angelo realises that he's been demoted from watching over the drug dealing in the high rises to the less prestigious low-rises. It's here that we see other young male characters in the same line of work. Bodie, Poot,

Without giving too much of the plot away, the first series can be summarises as follows. The police are having difficulties fighting the high level of crime that goes on under Barksdale and other notorious drug dealers in the district. A special unit is put together, under the command of Lt. Daniels, which proceeds to watch the Barksdale crew with a view to prosecuting and getting them off of the street. Whilst everyday life carries on out on the

Pictures of The Wire - Series 1 - Complete (DVD)

Low rises

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street, those who don't want to be 'in the game' have to live with what goes on around them. For those who get caught up in theft, murder and drugs, things continue to worsen. Anymore would really be spoiling it for you, and you might get angry whilst watching that cliff hanger moment and realising I've given the game away.

My advice is to not read anything else about the wire (too many internet sites contain spoilers) but to just rent or buy the first series and start watching. For those who love the police/streets type of genres, you'll love this as The Wire is so much more in depth and realistic that any other programme. For those who don't usually enjoy that type of thing, I'd say watch it anyway as I was highly reluctant to watch for that specific reason. The Wire really transcends the normal TV drama. The level of complexity and incredibly well thought out and gripping plot, as well as the excellent characters will make this something that you'll be very glad you watched. I promise. Otherwise, I'll sincerely apologise.

How The Wire Came About

David Simon and Ed Burns wrote the series based on Burn's experience as a police officer in a homicide unit in Baltimore. The running issue of frustration with bureaucracy features heavily as it was something that Burns encountered frequently. Simon too, encountered this when working as a reported for the Baltimore Sun. They wrote a series that intends to show the reality of the system and the streets, and of course how the two interact.

Simon has also written books of a similar nature, including Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets, which was particularly well received. NBC aired a show created by Simon, based on this book. Instead on continuing with NBC, Simon and Burns took The Wire to HBO as they were happy with how the station handled The Corner, an Emmy awarding winning mini series written by the pair.

Warnings

Other than the warning I gave you at the beginning of this review, about losing your life to The Wire until you've finished season 5, there are a few other things I should point out. Firstly, over the course of the series there are a few scenes of a sexual nature, one or two are extremely graphic - none of those 'under the cover' moments here. Full on, out and out sex, basically. So, if you've got kids then wait until they've gone to bed.

Conclusion

The good news is that there's 4 more series...the bad news? You'll forfeit a weeks worth of any other telly and anything remotely social. But it's worth it.