The Wire - Season 1 Television Review

I've been meaning to get back to this series as I never actually finished it when I first began viewing. I wasn't sure if I should even review this as it's so well known as an incredible series, but it would seem that time takes a toll on all things and there are viewers out there today that have not even heard of this show. Having personally visited Baltimore on many occasions, and lived in Maryland, I felt it was my duty to finally return to this series and look at it with fresh eyes. It's a joy to return to HBO's 2000's series as I generally consider that period to be when HBO hit its highest of highs. 

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this on HBO Max, where the entire series is available to subscribers, however one can also rent/purchase each season/episode on Amazon Video.

General Information 
The Wire is an American crime drama that was originally released on HBO on 2 June 2002. It was conceived jointly by acclaimed Baltimore Sun crime reporter, David Simon, and former Baltimore Police Detective, Ed Burns. Both Simon and Burns filled multiple credits for the series, with Simon acting as executive producer, head writer, and showrunner. The series ran for a total of five seasons from 2002 through to 2010. Overall, the series maintains a legacy as one of the greatest fictional television series of all times as it has been featured at the very top of multiple "Greatest Television Shows of All Time" lists to include Entertainment Weekly and Time Magazine. Season one holds a 79 Metascore on Metacritic, while it also boasts an 85% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Story

After west-side drug dealer, D'Angelo Barksdale (played by Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), dodges a murder conviction, Baltimore homicide detective, Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), convinces a district judge to push for an official investigation into D'Angelo's uncle, Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), and the trafficking syndicate he runs out of West Baltimore. Nothing's easy in Baltimore law enforcement though, as even after a special investigation unit is authorized, it's immediately set up for failure by the top brass while the new unit is packed with a ragtag team of incompetent and lazy detectives. Beyond the police, D'Angelo takes over new turf at a low-rise neighborhood nicknamed "The Pit," and tries to rally the street hoods that live there.

Explaining the plot of The Wire isn't easy as the show (and season one) are so much more than a simple police drama. One of the most incredible aspects of season one is how it examines Baltimore's very real and ongoing narcotics epidemic from every angle. The police are not the heroes, the politicians can't be trusted, and the dealers are far from gentlemen hoodlums. Everyone is incredibly flawed, which only enhances the overall depressing message that Baltimore (and the overall system it represents) is beyond redemption. I've mentioned on numerous occasions that I'm fascinated with the theme of humanity in television and film, but this is one of those shows that truly exemplifies such themes from top to bottom.

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Everybody hates McNulty

The character interactions are also pretty incredible as chemistry seems to just work across the board. Facial expressions and body language are more than enough to observe that nearly everyone hates McNulty, while the relationships Lieutenant Daniels (Lance Reddick) juggles between his bosses and subordinates shows just how tight of a rope he must walk despite being the man in charge. These relationships play into every facet of the show, with the dialogue being outright fantastic. One of the best scenes in the entire season is when McNulty and his partner, Detective Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) essentially solve how a murder took place in an apartment while (almost) only using the F-word as a means to communicate. The dialogue of the street toughs is just as unique, as we see Barksdale lieutenant, Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), explain economics to hoodlums while D'Angelo schools his crew of underage dealers.

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Bunk and McNulty perform forensics the Baltimore way

Special Effects/Atmosphere
A really neat way that this season and the overall season are filmed is that nearly all music (excluding the opening and closing music) are diegetic by design. For those unfamiliar with this term, what it means essentially is that the only time viewers will hear music playing in the show is if it is playing in the show's world at the same time. This makes nearly all use of background music completely organic, which adds a whole new level of immersion while watching.

The set design and costume/makeup for this show is equally immersion building as everything looks exceptionally realistic. Although I haven't been to most of the areas of Baltimore that this show has been filmed in, I've seen enough of it in real life to know that the show stacks up to the actual thing incredibly well. The characters too look like how one would expect with the drug addicts and dealers looking particularly grungy. 

The Acting

Before I get into the individual actors and their accomplishments, I want to address just how well Baltimore's culture is emulated through this show. The majority of the actors/actresses almost perfectly get that Baltimore accent, while the mannerisms and behaviors of everyone is done impeccably well. All of this adds to the layers of immersion and really makes everyone feel real.

Although he's technically the main protagonist, West's McNulty shares much of the spotlight with the rest of the cast, but he also does a fantastic job when he does take centerstage. West perfectly captures McNulty's egotistical and self-destructive nature. Equally so, I applaud Lance Reddick (who I fawn over in nearly all of my Bosch reviews), who shines as a conflicted man who has to make tough decisions. Although a lot of recognition in this show typically goes to Idris Elba (whom I enjoy), I think Lawrence Gilliard Jr. delivers the best performance out of everyone. Gilliard Jr. displays almost every range of emotion through the season, and although his character does plenty of horrific things, his performance manages to make D'Angelo a figure in which the viewer can empathize with.

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Gilliard Jr. and the rest of the Pit

Younger actors/actresses typically don't get much love due to their lack of experience and training, but the ones in this do a phenomenal job. This is one of the first projects Michael B. Jordan (plays Wallace) got a chance to show his quality. Equally so, I personally loved J.D. Williams as Bodie. Although I give some credit to David Simon, the contrast between the similarly aged Williams and Jordan is really fascinating to examine as the season continues, and I don't think it could've been accomplished without both of them doing an incredible job. Although it seems Williams has a fairly successful career, I'm somewhat disappointed that he doesn't seem to get the same level of recognition Jordan gets now.

The Best of the Best: When Kima takes a ride with Orlando.

The Worst of the Worst: Deputy Commissioner Burrell can die in a fire. 

Calhooey Score: 10/10 - Outstanding

Would I Recommend?

5

You better check this out before Omar finds you

Even after nearly twenty years after it first came out, The Wire shines as one of the greatest shows ever made. I'm not sure if we'll ever see another time period where HBO cranked out as many amazing shows at the same time, but this one stands the test of time and deserves a watch. I would debate that Sopranos is just slightly better, but it's a tough call to be sure.
-------------------------------------------------Spoiler Comments-----------------------------------------------------

• The speech D'Angelo gives on chicken nuggets is incredibly foreshadowing. Lieutenant Daniels headed one of the most intense investigations in the department's history and ended up stuck in a basement with no future.
• I'm ashamed to say that I completely forgot to bring up Omar Little (Michael K. Williams). He does a fantastic job as well, however I can only spread so much love around.
• Is it just me, or did D'Angelo's crew all experience growth spurts halfway through the season? Poot, Wallace, and Bodie all look like they got considerably bigger by the end of the season.
• The thing that makes Kima's near-death so frustrating is that everyone but Burrell knew it was a bad idea. If they'd stuck with the wire, they could've gotten everyone and Kima wouldn't have nearly died.
• McNulty's confession that the investigation was all about his ego after Kima was shot was deep. Rawls and Daniels both had some pretty interesting takes on this too.
• The death of Wallace was tragic. Daniels could've saved him, but got caught up in Kima's shooting. The kid never really grew out of wanting to just play with his toys in peace.
• I found it pretty entertaining that the crime syndicate in this show is named "Barksdale." For those that aren't familiar with Baltimore's history, Barksdale was the name of one of Baltimore's most successful policemen, Anthony Barksdale. Tony Barksdale reached the heights of acting commissioner within the Baltimore Police Department as he oversaw one of Baltimore's most successful periods of low homicide rates. Baltimore's now-legendary high murder rates began shortly after he left service.
• Stringer Bell might just be the smartest one in the entire show.
• Sheesh...After all those tapes, wires, raids, and arrests, nothing has really changed. Everyone but Freamon seems worse off too. All in the game, I suppose...

----------------------------------------------------References--------------------------------------------------
(1) Amazon. (n.d.). The Wire season one cover image. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/Wire-Season-1-Dominic-West/dp/B00I94KUBS.

(2) Lenehan, K. (2015, November 20). Jimmy McNulty meme image. Twitter. Retrieved from: https://twitter.com/wirefans/status/667844659331342336.

(3) Ajack2boys. (2013, August 24). The Wire Jimmy and Bunk Discuss a Crime Scene [video]. YouTube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at8FUPwlIYM.

(4) Lam, T. (2020, March 20). The Pit image. Kote. Retrieved from: www.magasinetkote.no/artikler/2020/3/20/great-shows-about-city-planning-the-wire.

(5) WiffleGif. (n.d.). All in the game gif. Retrieved from: https://wifflegif.com/tags/75121-jimmy-mcnulty-gifs.