The good, the bad, and The Wire

It's good to see that The Wire has been getting such good press recently, just as the 4th series comes on to FX Channel in the UK.  I've only seen series one and two but it is without doubt the finest TV drama i've ever seen.  I've had the pleasure of watching them on box set rather than one per week on TV, and i cannot wait to see the 3rd series.

There are going to 5 series in total, each focusing on a different institution in the city of Baltimore.  The show's creator, David Simon, quite rightly claims that the series is more novel than typical television programme.  The complex set of characters, the interweaving story lines, the lack of simple answers, the far reaching narrative, all add up to a truly amazing show.

It is the unflinching, unapologetic portrayal of American inner city life which is so unlike anything else on television.  For instance, there is no score to The Wire simply because there is no score to life.  The only time you hear music is when it's  blaring out of someone's apartment or car.  There are no "good" or "bad" guys, there are just people, with all their frailties, their imperfections and contradictions.

The bravery of the show's creators derives from their disillusionment and anger at the situation their city is now in.  In a fascinating podcast on HBO's website David Simon talks about trying to dispel the ultimate myth that large portions of people still cling on to in his country, that "if you work hard and do what your told America holds a place for you".  He challenges that this simply is not the case anymore, and the writers and creators of the show illustrate this in the most honest way possible, bringing us crashing down to earth via the escapist medium of television.

I'm going to write more on The Wire but i just wanted to get this down while it was fresh.  In summary, it's frigging awesome.

Also a great example of user-generated content with this spoken word battle.

Comments

[Jonathan Clarke]

Yo! Been a little out of touch out here, mainly 'cause I never bothered installing cable, so I haven't really watched much TV for the last year and half. However, I've come out retirement and am currently wading through The Wire DVD box sets after you and few others (http://www.fxuk.com/series/thewire/videos) had hyped it up. Just wanted to say thanks, the show is amazing, light-years ahead of everything else. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

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