I've never blogged about a TV show before. Of course I have my favourites; Modern Family, Entourage, Sex & the City, Seinfeld, Law & Order, and a few others. But I never found the need to blog about any of the shows I enjoy. Until now.Created by actor, director, producer and former policeman Edward Burns, ‘The Wire’ is a cop show unlike any other. Unflinching in its realistic portrayal of crime – those who commit it, and those who fight it – this show goes further into the systems of law (from both sides) than anything I’ve ever seen. And I love watching detective/cop shows.
Season One consists of thirteen one-hour long episodes delving into one case against relatively new, but rapidly powerful Avon Barksdale, a drug dealer who has control of Baltimore’s poorest and most drug-affected areas. Jimmy McNulty is the detective who pursues the case, despite the entire police department’s apathy towards catching Barksdale. With the help of a judge who empathises with his cause, a small team is assigned to quickly work the case and bring in some results. Sending a clear message about their feelings towards this case, and its unorthodox impetus, the superiors resign the team to a small dungeon somewhere in the cellars of a decrepit police building. From here, the team, with a cautious and initially-reluctant Lieutenant Daniels, work the case with civilian informants, bits and pieces of the puzzle, and gradually building up to wire taps. Wearily overworked and painfully under-resourced (no CSI gadgets here, in fact, they’re still using type writers, and it’s 2002!), the detectives must deal with constant calls for swift results and cessation from the top, and an increasingly cautious and intelligent pool of suspects from the bottom. Meanwhile, Barksdale and his crew are on their game, making an estimated $20-something million a year in drug money. Stringer Bell, Barksdale’s right hand man, goes to community college to improve his business skills. But within this tightly-run hierarchy, some underlings can’t handle the pressure, and start to question their dismal place in the world. In a legitimate organisation, this would be inconsequential, but in the game, no one can flip, and there can’t be any rats.
The events which unfold throughout this season are too much and too complex to try to summarise in one short blog. One of the best scenes, however, is a three and a half minute sequence of McNulty and his partner Bunk piecing together what happened at a murder scene that’s long-since been cleaned up. With nothing but a tape measure, pliers and crime scene photographs, the two engage in a highly-choreographed dance of sorts, trying to figure out how the murder took place. The best part is the dialogue; nothing but the F-word, and its various permutations, repeated to farcical extremes as the pieces fall into place. YouTube it! Indeed, the entire series is punctuated by the authentic Baltimore dialect in which the characters speak, so subtitles are a must.
What really does deserve close attention and praise is the way in which the story is told. Disturbingly real parallels are drawn between those working on both sides of the law, and also between their efficiencies and ineptitudes. On the one side is a ridiculously dense bureaucracy and system of accountability which slows down effective police work. On the other side is the mean environment of the streets, hardening some but leaving a depressing path of destruction for all who inhabit it. Career advancements and rank are the only lines that both sides follow, with those who step out receiving the harshest consequences and condemnations. And of course, there is the ubiquitous stench of corruption and backstabbing which permeates both the world of the law and the underworld.
As such, there is no real winner in this game, only pursuits which are accomplished or failed. Yet there is a sense of defeat on both sides (despite apparent victories), which paints a disconcerting picture of the nature of this kind of ‘game.’ In this, there are good guys and bad guys on both sides, with distinctions so blurred that the characters, and viewer by extension, lose track of what they’re fighting for or against. The anti-climactic finale, disturbingly beautiful and believable in its cyclicality, attests to the reality of such drug cases all over the world. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has to offer! [Image from http://thewire.wikia.com]
Season One consists of thirteen one-hour long episodes delving into one case against relatively new, but rapidly powerful Avon Barksdale, a drug dealer who has control of Baltimore’s poorest and most drug-affected areas. Jimmy McNulty is the detective who pursues the case, despite the entire police department’s apathy towards catching Barksdale. With the help of a judge who empathises with his cause, a small team is assigned to quickly work the case and bring in some results. Sending a clear message about their feelings towards this case, and its unorthodox impetus, the superiors resign the team to a small dungeon somewhere in the cellars of a decrepit police building. From here, the team, with a cautious and initially-reluctant Lieutenant Daniels, work the case with civilian informants, bits and pieces of the puzzle, and gradually building up to wire taps. Wearily overworked and painfully under-resourced (no CSI gadgets here, in fact, they’re still using type writers, and it’s 2002!), the detectives must deal with constant calls for swift results and cessation from the top, and an increasingly cautious and intelligent pool of suspects from the bottom. Meanwhile, Barksdale and his crew are on their game, making an estimated $20-something million a year in drug money. Stringer Bell, Barksdale’s right hand man, goes to community college to improve his business skills. But within this tightly-run hierarchy, some underlings can’t handle the pressure, and start to question their dismal place in the world. In a legitimate organisation, this would be inconsequential, but in the game, no one can flip, and there can’t be any rats.
The events which unfold throughout this season are too much and too complex to try to summarise in one short blog. One of the best scenes, however, is a three and a half minute sequence of McNulty and his partner Bunk piecing together what happened at a murder scene that’s long-since been cleaned up. With nothing but a tape measure, pliers and crime scene photographs, the two engage in a highly-choreographed dance of sorts, trying to figure out how the murder took place. The best part is the dialogue; nothing but the F-word, and its various permutations, repeated to farcical extremes as the pieces fall into place. YouTube it! Indeed, the entire series is punctuated by the authentic Baltimore dialect in which the characters speak, so subtitles are a must.
What really does deserve close attention and praise is the way in which the story is told. Disturbingly real parallels are drawn between those working on both sides of the law, and also between their efficiencies and ineptitudes. On the one side is a ridiculously dense bureaucracy and system of accountability which slows down effective police work. On the other side is the mean environment of the streets, hardening some but leaving a depressing path of destruction for all who inhabit it. Career advancements and rank are the only lines that both sides follow, with those who step out receiving the harshest consequences and condemnations. And of course, there is the ubiquitous stench of corruption and backstabbing which permeates both the world of the law and the underworld.
As such, there is no real winner in this game, only pursuits which are accomplished or failed. Yet there is a sense of defeat on both sides (despite apparent victories), which paints a disconcerting picture of the nature of this kind of ‘game.’ In this, there are good guys and bad guys on both sides, with distinctions so blurred that the characters, and viewer by extension, lose track of what they’re fighting for or against. The anti-climactic finale, disturbingly beautiful and believable in its cyclicality, attests to the reality of such drug cases all over the world. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has to offer! [Image from http://thewire.wikia.com]
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