The Wire

By jeffnearlife Sadly, Jasper Howard will never get that chance but maybe this tragedy, no matter what the circumstances, will help us all to pause and remember that while shows like The Wire are not real, there are literally millions of kids trying to make the best of themselves and their families.  The re...

By Iain Steve If you’re that desperate to write about Burns and Simon, why not start previewing Generation Kill – equally as good as The Wire, arguably as relevant and, crucially, due to be aired in the UK soon. Now, let’s get one thing straight before we start. I don’t actually hate The Wire, despi

By Lincoln In one of the best scenes in The Wire, from the middle of season three, Bunk confronts Omar, reminding him that they grew up together: “Rough as that neighborhood could be, we had us a community. Wasn’t nobody, no victim, who didn’t matter.” It hits home to Omar, too: just watch the last shot an...

By The Cajun Boy Back in May David Simon, creator of The Wire, asked lawmakers to relax the nation's anti-trust laws so newspaper owners could get away with collusion. Now he's telling the New York Times and Washington Post to flaunt the laws completely.

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) I've been accused in past "Wire" reviews of being too hard on McNulty, so I should say upfront that I don't dislike the guy. As impeccably played by Dominic West -- one of those actors with a gift for becoming more appealing, not less, the worse his behavior gets -- how could you not find Jimmy l...

By davidbarb I first heard of The Wire from Charlie Brooker in his TV show, ‘Screenwipe’.  From his Guardian columns and his TV shows I had come to massively respect his opinions, and his endorsement of The Wire was so warm and sincere that I knew I had to check it out.  If you click here you can see  Charlie’s...

By Tim Weaver Nay, this is about the book that served as the inspiration for The Wire; which affords it an immediate hollowed status in contemporary literature. Clockers by Richard Price is quite frankly one of the best books I have ever read in my life.

By Paul Levinson(levinson.paul@gmail.com) First, though, let me offer the ever-relevant apples and oranges proviso - television series, like all works of fiction, are never completely comparable. The Wire is in a superb now classic class of its own, not as police drama, but in its vivid, scalding, anthropologically rich presentation of life in the drug drenched hood. The Shield, in contrast, is more about police. And neither show has much in common with Lost, which inhabits a unique position in story telling that transcends even the science fiction of which it partakes. But television series can nonetheless be compared on some levels. See also ... The Sopranos Anti-Ending and The Sopranos Conference at Fordham University May 2008   [read the full post]

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) Or is Avon, like The Greek, and like Frank Sobotka, just about getting his, no matter the cost or consequences to others? • Also making her season two debut: Ronnie Pearlman, getting the worst of all possible Jimmmy McNulty booty call worlds.

By Weston Cutter What’s funny is that there’s a decent chance you’ve watched more George Pelecanos writing than you’ve ever read (the guy was one of the writers for The Wire). And if you have watched The Wire, you know the series’s arc is as thick and rich and inbent as any novel (ar, at least, as any novel by Den...

By Jonah I demand that you buy the complete series today, while the price is outrageously low. Click here to purchase, then read the top review by R.A. McKenzie, which explains the show very well without giving anything away. You’ll need to use subtitles to watch the first couple episodes, and it’ll ta...

By ohmars The breadth and ambition of “The Wire” are unrivaled and that taken cumulatively over the course of a season — any season — it’s an astonishing display of writing, acting and storytelling that must be considered alongside the best literature and filmmaking in the modern era. - Tim Goodman...

The Wire: The Complete Series" offers the wider audience it never had during its TV run to discover the dazzling pleasures of the best television novel ever made.

By Alan Sepinwall(asepinwall@starledger.com) So, in writing my review of "The Shield" finale, I'm going out on a limb and declaring it my favorite drama series finale ever. This prompted a question from my editor about what other finales I would put in my top 5. "The Wire" is definitely on there (though, as with all things "The Wire," it was...

By justinmoss A television drama series created by David Simon, The Wire is set in Baltimore, Maryland; each season of the series focuses on a different part of the city. A group of characters, mainly in the Baltimore Police Department, appear in every season.  Quite simply the best police drama on TV. Sea...

After finishing the final episode the other night I re-watched episode 1 and found lots of cool parallels I'd missed from just 1 viewing. The "nicely done" line used between McNulty and Stringer was particularly good. Have season 2 on order from amazon and can't wait already :)

You can go over to the iTunes store and download episodes of THE SOPRANOS, THE WIRE, ENTOURAGE, SEX AND THE CITY and ROME - basically every cool HBO ever ... iTunes to offer HBO TV shows in Britain for the first time Times Online HBO now on iTunes Techwatch

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) Spoilers for episode 9, "Game Day," coming up just as soon as I put on my sun visor... I just don't wanna play. Don't wanna play no more." -Wallace Coming up next Friday: "The Cost," in which the detail tries to find the stash, Stringer reaches out to Omar and Kima has a night out.

By Jimmy Stamp That quote comes from The Guardian’s architecture-centric review of HBO’s The Wire, a series often hailed as “the best television show ever in the history of television shows.” A series that, despite my well-documented love of the ...

By Jason Collin The creators of the best show of the 00’s, THE WIRE, have a new HBO series, GENERATION KILL. I have now watched the first two episodes of GENERATION KILL and I can definitely say that this second episode had a definite WIRE vibe to it ...

By Myles What sets The Wire apart from other crime shows on television is its emphasis on all impacts of a particular event or scenario. It is not a story of the police fighting against the Baltimore Drug Trade, but a show about the expansive impacts of that trade on the people fighting it, the people t...

With The Sopranos and The Wire off the air, Matthew Weiner’s series on Madison Avenue in 1960 stands along as TV’s best drama.

By Media Maven David Simon is a smart, smart dude.  That much is clear.  He never shies away from dealing with important, contemporary issues in important, contemporary ways, like racism, disillusionment, corruption, hope, and many more.  But at the same time, it's also crystal clear that David Simon began his career as a journalist, not an author or screenwriter.  David Simon looks for the story, the verisimilitude, the interesting idea.  He doesn't look for the emotional hook, the character arc, or the vulnerability of his primary players.  And until David Simon can crack this code and find a way to combine his journalistic eye for riveting stories with the human need for emotional connection, not only will his projects struggle to find viewershi...   [read the full post]

By culture_vulture The Wire, by the way, is a phenomenal show - I dunno that I'll ever write a review of it, but take my word for it - I've just finished season 3, and goddamn it's good. Anyhow, I'm back now, and reading away, and updates are imminent. ...

By noreply@blogger.com (Alan Sepinwall) There's an episode coming up called "The Cost," but in some ways, that title applies better to this one, as the murder of Brandon illustrates the emotional cost of living in this police/drug world. The episode opens and closes with the image of Brandon, no longer beautiful after being tort...

By shadowcampaigner It's an absolute travesty that "The Wire" -- probably The Single Greatest Television Series in History -- has for years now been snubbed by people who decide what's best on TV.  After 5 seasons of positively brilliant, wrenching work, the Wire may -- may -- receive an Emmy nomination t...

By Alan Sepinwall(noreply@blogger.com) David Simon likes to say that the first scene of each season of "The Wire" encapsulates the themes of that season. In the case of Detective Jimmy McNulty investigating the murder of one Omar Isiah Betts, known to friends and family as Snot Boogie, Simon gets to explain what the entire series...

By Alan Sepinwall Blogging activity's been pretty minimal of late, I know. The end of "The Wire" took a lot out of me (and also robbed me of the most-commented topic each week), and I'm hoping to start the season one rewind soon. (I'll provide plenty of advance warning before I do, so people can dust off their DVD...

By ac I can’t review The Wire Season 5 without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, but I’ll do my best. There’sa scene towards the end of the last episode where a character has a monologue pretty much summing up the entire 5 season run ...

By jason@kottke.org Yanksfan vs. Soxfan views The Wire through the lens of Baltimore sports. Assorted other articles that I'll leave unexcerpted: AV Club interview with Simon, final episode recap from Thoughts on Stuff, and a letter on HBO's site from David Simon to the fans of the show.

The Wire has just shown its final episode on US TV, and series four is out on DVD in the UK today. Following on from Saturday’s blog about good TV, here’s Charlie Brooker’s spot-on review: ...

By Mark Namond is the lucky one. Someone pulled him from the soup. The "system" failed him as much as it did the other kids, it's just that he was lucky enough to end up where there was someone with a hand to lend. Dukie was too smart and Michael too functional to be in the "corner kids" program, never got a c...

By Mark Freamon and Leander crack Marlo's code. Marlo is going down, and so is Chris, thanks to Bunk. Now, we know Micheal didn't sell out Chris but he's sure to be blamed - probably not by Chris, though. Marlo may go down due to the cell phone number that Herc stole from Levy's office. Levy is sure to figur...

By Kirstiecat Jandek’s appearance was rare…so rare in fact that when it had been announced last year that he might appear one of the days at the Wire Festival, many people bought tickets for every night of the event just hoping to catch him. Jandek played guitar with his back turned for a substantial porti...

By mcnulty Bunk seem to be about to crack soon, don’t think he’ll rat on McNulty or Freamon, but he’s pretty pissed off. Also liked the scene when he’s interrogating Michael. Hope he gets to Chris and Snoop soon. btw, did you notice that Dominic West (playing McNulty) directed this episode? How cool is th...

By mcnulty And Omar, what a mess he got himself in. Hope I gets out on top, but from the looks of it that won’t happen. Yepp, a little bit late I know. But I’ve finally got the time to type up my impressions of episode 5 (just in time for tonights episode 6, can’t wait!). For the first time during the course of this...

By mcnulty McNulty and Freamon are really working the case, it’s kind of creepy seeing them messing around at the crime scene. Well, it’s for the greater good at least. I wonder if Bunk will ever come around. And on the note on McNulty, man he’s one screwed up anti-hero. Looks like his family life is about to...

By Paul Levinson McNulty has picked up the pro-active make-things-happen and damn-the-consequences approach he played so well in the very first season of The Wire. It's good to see McNulty really on top of his game again. This time, he's trying to make his colleagues and bosses think there's a serial killer loose in Baltimore - the only way McNulty can think of to keep the cops focused on Marlo and the drug business. The only person wise to what McNulty is doing - because he was there when McNulty started hatching this plan - is Bunk, who is none too happy about it. See also The Wire's Back! Review of Season 5 Episode 1 and Episode 2: The Great, Dangling Conversation challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News   [read the full post]

By mcnulty I can’t wait for episode 3. What’s your verdict? Whereas episode 1 set the scene for the final season, episode 2 really kicked things off. The common theme seem to be to ’stretch things’. The up and coming journo who’s trying to hard, stretching the truth for a good story. The unlikely joint vent...

By mcnulty Another bright point was the journo crew at the Baltimore Sun which seem to be just as much of a  motley crew as the gangsters and police. It was great to see so many familiar faces in one single episode - McNulty, Bunk, Kima, Herc, Marlo, Prop Joe, Bubs, Carter, Carcetti, Chris, Snoop, Michae...

Pittsburgh Post Gazette TV Review: Writers' strike a good time to tap into 'The Wire' Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - By Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The new season of HBO's "The Wire" goes into the newsroom of the Baltimore Sun. Pictured: Clark Johnson, left, ...

The Wire' Set to Start on HBO: Here's What Director, and ... So far on the four seasons of the HBO television show "The Wire," creator David Simon has chronicled Baltimore's seedy drug trade, the vanishing ... The Sun' TV Critic Offers Harsh Review of HBO Series Set In His ... Editor & Publisher

Michael K. Williams on Playing Omar on ‘The Wire,’ Discovering ...   USA - HBO's The Wire returns this Sunday! To kick off Vulture's wall-to-wall coverage of every media outlet's favorite TV show, we've got an interview with ... The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season - DVD Review Inside Pulse

DVD Review: The Wire - The Complete Fourth Season Blogcritics.org, OH - HBO’s The Wire, the best television show to air during the decade, is large, sweeping tale about the American inner city and its institutions. ...

By El Bicho In a 2004 interview, Norman Mailer claimed, “The Great American Novel is no longer writable.” He was wrong about that, although he may have been looking in the wrong place. HBO’s The Wire, the best television show to air during the decade, is a large, sweeping tale about the American inner ci...

The Wire: Season 5 premieres Sunday, January 6th on HBO. Q: Now that The Wire is finally winding down, how do you feel? Q: Do you think your depiction of Baltimore has had any effect on the life of the real Baltimore? Q: What were the high points of working on The Wire?

By Bruce Dancis The 4th season DVD shows why The Wire is the best show on TV.

By Patrick Walsh There's Quentin (Idris Elba, Stringer Bell on The Wire -- the best show on television), a musician who owes big money to some bookies. There's Lisa (Regina King), trapped in an emotionally abusive marriage with the hissable Malcome (Laz ...

By Diane Kristine Outstanding Drama SeriesOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Hugh Laurie, naturally)Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (for David Morse as Detective Tritter. Even though I was disappointed in the resolution to his story, the man formerly known as Boomer creeped the hell ou...

By Eric Berlin Like a new chapter in a grand and sweeping novel, The Wire returned tonight, opening up its fourth season on HBO. Perhaps The Great American Novel is making way for something else. If that's so, I'd argue that The Wire is a Great American Story, made up of some of the richest and most fully reali...