The Best Show on Television.

It seems the older I get, the more disillusioned with primetime television I get. When I was a young teenager I would watch primetime shows every night they came on to the point that I was constantly parked in front of my tv. These days there is little that keeps my interest. New television shows fail to deliver anything meaningful (Sarah Conner Chronicles, Cavemen, Bionic Woman) while shows that were good when they started have grown stale with age (24, Sopranos, Prison Break.) It had gotten to the point where I was more interested with watching Law & Order reruns than watching anything new. I had almost given up on modern day television until I stumbled onto The Wire.

On the surface, The Wire seems just like another cop drama like The Shield and this made me a little skeptical since I am really not a fan of the latter. To be honest I knew the show had been on the air since 2002 but it had really never interested me. I knew the show took place in my hometown of Baltimore and that was something that stood out to me. But it wasn’t until I rented the first season and watched it from the beginning that I realized that I was watching a truly special show.

Plot

The main plot of The Wire focuses around a rogue cop, Jimmy McNulty, telling an ambitious judge about a local crime lord, Avon Barksdale, that has been responsible for most of the murders and drug deals in the city. The judge seeks to bring Barksdale down so he orders some higher ups in the police department to put together a special unit focused on putting the cuffs on him. The unit, which includes McNulty, is initially told to make it a quick case and use tactics that would only work on low level gangsters. McNulty is angered by this and tells the leader of the unit, Lieutenant Daniels that they need to put a wire up on Barksdale if they want to bring him down. Daniels eventually comes to agree with McNulty and they make strides to bring a case against Barksdale but they anger the higher ups in the department in the process.

On the flip side of the coin, Barksdale and his second in command, Stringer Bell, have to adjust to the cop’s investigation against them and at the same time maintain business. Barksdale in hindered by a freelancing gangster by the name of Omar Little, and by his nephew, D’Angelo who has become disillusioned with the whole gangster lifestyle.

What Works

The great ensemble cast ofThe Wire is probably the most appealing aspect of the show to me as they do their part to create some of the most interesting characters on television. Michael K. Williams stands out as the modern day Robin Hood, Omar Little, while the British actor Idris Elba gives an Emmy worthy performance as the business minded Stringer Bell. Another of the more interesting characters on the show is Bubbles, a street smart heroin addict who helps the Barksdale unit immensely, as a cooperating informant.

Another thing I love about the show is the parallel between the cops and the gangsters. Both Daniels and D’Angelo are in middle management in their respective fields and both must deal with strict bosses and incompetent underlings. Often times on the show, the gangsters seem more organized and focused than the police do.

Not Your Typical Cop Show

Unlike the Law & Order franchise, the cops are not always the good guys on the show. There are no “super cops” with genius ability on the show like Columbo or Horatio Caine. The majority of the cops on the show are lazy and lethargic who will only put in effort if they are working a case that they’re interested in. Several of the cops are corrupt as they use brute force, steal evidence, and blackmail other cops. The “hero” of the show, Jimmy McNulty is an alcoholic who cheated on his wife and is behind on the child support. There are several times on the show where you find yourself rooting for the gangsters on the show as they come off as more sympathetic than the cops do.

My New Favorite Show

The Wire has quickly become my new favorite show as it is very addicting. My only recommendation to people who want to watch this is that they watch it from the very beginning and that they do not miss an episode. The Wire is not typical like other shows that give you a plot that is resolved by the end of the episode. The case that the cops are working on lasts the whole season, and the show requires that you put in the full time and effort to watch it.