"The Wire" (2002) TV series 2002-2008

User Rating:

9.7/10   

Creator:

David Simon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

2 June 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Rules change. The game remains the same. (third season)

Plot:

Baltimore drug scene, seen through the eyes of drug dealers, and law enforcement.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Ghetto | Drug War | Labor Union | Drug Dealing

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 9 wins & 35 nominations

Cast

Dominic West	...	Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty / ... (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
John Doman	...	Dep. Comm. for Operations William A. Rawls / ... (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Wendell Pierce	...	Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Lance Reddick	...	Lt. Cedric Daniels / ... (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Deirdre Lovejoy	...	Asst. State's Atty. Rhonda Pearlman (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Sonja Sohn	...	Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Seth Gilliam	...	Sgt. Ellis Carver / ... (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Det. Thomas 'Herc' Hauk / ... (60 episodes, 2002-2008)
Clarke Peters	...	Det. Lester Freamon (59 episodes, 2002-2008)
Andre Royo	...	Bubbles / ... (52 episodes, 2002-2008)
Michael K. Williams	...	Omar Little (51 episodes, 2002-2008)
Jim True-Frost	...	Det. Roland 'Prez' Pryzbylewski / ... (50 episodes, 2002-2008)
Frankie Faison	...	Commissioner Ervin H. Burrell / ... (47 episodes, 2002-2008)
Corey Parker Robinson	...	Det. Leander Sydnor (45 episodes, 2002-2008)
Delaney Williams	...	Sgt. Jay Landsman (45 episodes, 2002-2008)
J.D. Williams	...	Preston 'Bodie' Broadus (42 episodes, 2002-2006)
Wood Harris	...	Avon Barksdale (38 episodes, 2002-2008)
Idris Elba	...	Russell 'Stringer' Bell (37 episodes, 2002-2004)
Aidan Gillen	...	Councilman Thomas 'Tommy' Carcetti / ... (35 episodes, 2004-2008)
Jamie Hector	...	Marlo Stanfield (32 episodes, 2004-2008)
Gbenga Akinnagbe	...	Chris Partlow / ... (30 episodes, 2002-2008)
Robert Wisdom	...	Howard 'Bunny' Colvin / ... (27 episodes, 2003-2008)
Chad Coleman	...	Dennis 'Cutty' Wise (26 episodes, 2004-2008)
Anwan Glover	...	Slim Charles (26 episodes, 2004-2008)
Michael Kostroff	...	Maurice 'Maury' Levy (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Michael Salconi	...	Off. Michael Santangelo / ... (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Tray Chaney	...	Malik 'Poot' Carr (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Isiah Whitlock Jr.	...	State Sen. R. Clayton 'Clay' Davis (25 episodes, 2002-2008)
Felicia Pearson	...	Felicia 'Snoop' Pearson (25 episodes, 2004-2008)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Greek | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M (some episodes) | UK:18 (some episodes) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (some episodes) | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Blown Deadline Productions

Trivia:

The character of Sgt. Jay Landsman played by Delaney Williams was based on Jay Landsman, a real-life Sergeant with the Baltimore County Police. He was featured in 'David Simon (II)''s book "Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets". Landsman himself joined the cast in the third season playing Lt. Mello.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Omar testifies against Bird he gives his age as about twenty nine and says that he has been ripping and running for "eight or nine years." However, in the webisodes later produced for the series they show Omar as a child participating in a hold up, suggesting that his career as a stick up boy began much earlier.

Quotes:

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: I got to ask you. If every time Snotboogie would grab the money and run away, why'd you even let him in the game?
Witness: What?
Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: If Snotboogie always stole the money, why'd you let him play?
Witness: You got to, this is America, man.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Office: Night Out (#4.11)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Way Down in the Hole

Fantastic

I don't subscribe to HBO. A couple of weeks ago I heard an interview with a young actor from this series on NPR. It was described as a "gritty crime drama" with many Baltimore locals portraying variations on themselves. The interview made it sound interesting enough that I decided to check out the first season on DVD.

After the first few episodes I became seriously hooked and devoted 36 hours of the next ten days to the show.

Having now watched the first 3 seasons, I believe it to be the best television series I have seen.

I do not understand why this show hasn't generated the buzz or the awards of HBO's other series, such as the Sopranos or Deadwood. It is more gripping, faster paced, and more intelligent. The other shows can be a bit plodding, with plot lines that go nowhere, and a few characters I don't much care about. That wasn't the case here.

The show is a cross between the Sopranos and the old NBC show Homicide: Life on the Street. The crime/sopranos side and the law/Homicide side run in parallel. Individually, the parallel plot lines are compelling. In tandem, they are complimentary and brilliant.

There is no way to avoid having "the best show ever" tag sound like anything but silly hype--regardless, what makes this show substantially better than any other realistic and compelling crime or police drama is the fact it is... searching. It doesn't just delve into the individual psychologies motivating these people (ala the Sopranos) or the complex interactions amongst the members of a community (ala Deadwood) it asks "what the hell can be done for all of these people" and points out the problems with any and all of the answers.

It's truly brilliant. If you like intelligent television, I envy the enjoyment you will have watching this for the first time.