Thursday, January 25, 2018

The Wire (2002-2008)

My season-wise ranking :
Primarily revolving around the Baltimore schooling system, season four was when the show hit its peak. 
The characters have either matured or evolved and the newer ones are intriguing enough to make their presence felt.
This season brings closure to the main story arc from Season One while also adding another fantastic plot about a cop with an unconventional solution to Baltimore's drug problem. 
Got so hooked that I ended up watching all thirteen episodes (an hour each) in one day. 
Fucked up my eyes, sure, but definitely worth it.
'tis how it all began, a show about a bunch of police officers assigned to a special detail that requires wire taps for surveillance of drug traffickers. 
I was drawn to it like nothing else.
I'm not sure if one more season was even required, considering how most of the relevant sub-plots were concluded already by Season Four
The few that were left loose felt justified, a realistic injustice of sorts. Nonetheless, it still is a good season. 
Subject tackled: print media and it's dying quality in the face of sensationalism.
I must've fallen asleep around six or seven times while watching this. We see the action shift from the police unit of Season One to a dockyard in Baltimore, a key player in the drug supply chain. 
Almost all episodes were equally boring. 
Some of them drag on and on about nothing in specific and had I not been aware of the remaining seasons being of a better quality, I would've stopped watching at episode four, maybe even earlier.
With no background score to assist in creating the mood, The Wire is one hell of an example of uncompromising and original writing that is able to bring to the screen content that is immersive purely for its quality and depth.
HBO sure did show a lot of guts in backing something of this sort back in 2002, each season basically being nothing but a twelve hour long movie.
Recommended for its fascinating story-telling technique where the problem of drugs and its impact are shown from multiple POVs.

PS: Omar Little is now one of my most favourite TV show characters.

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