Ed Burns & Sam Simon
HBO (2008)

Get High On The Wire

by Nicholas Nocketback

The battle for HBO series supremacy began in the 90s with The Sopranos and continued through the millennium with such bangers as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Big Love, Flight of the Conchords, Entourage, Deadwood, and the superlatively crafted Six Feet Under. But in all honesty, there’s a show that’s been carving a trail of complete and utter realism for the past six years called The Wire. Perhaps you’ve heard that name ring out at some point. Nevertheless, I had to write a review of the series (The fifth and final season is finally out on DVD) because, more often than not, people I’d run into hadn’t seen an episode. And, what’s worse, those that had stopped watching. If there’s one thing Americans can commit to, it’s television.

This Baltimore based crime drama, no, scratch that, cultural declarative, is a bottom up dissection of crime, social corruption, and a failing educational system—sounds a lot like a little farm town I know that starts with an F. Ed Burns and Sam Simon (creators, producers and writers for the series) hash out emotionally charged episodes that read like novels with depth, tenor, and agony. While it is certainly a character driven piece of art, the stories—real world shit—carry the load.

Ultimately it’s a series about a Baltimore police department that sets up a wire on a dope crew. This, however, is only a smattering of what makes The Wire so good. While the criminals are volatile and sadistic, it is the city’s police chief, mayor, and unions that highlight real, disturbing behavior. Each of the five seasons follows another aspect of corruption in Baltimore: coke and dope, unionized dockworkers, the educational system, the media. Every minute is polished and honed to reveal the most truth.

I’m not one to promote television watching, but this, my friends, is a piece of art that needs your help—snubbed by the sick and twisted Emmy committee and aired with little to no promotion on HBO and BET. Now, thanks to the fine folks at Hollywood Video, you too can empower yourself with the most fascinating modern day Dickensian drama ever transferred to celluloid.