The Wire virgin’s diary – drug dealing, bureaucracy, and cops on the street

(Season 1, Episodes 1-6)

About a month ago, I asked all my fellow TV fans to help me figure out which show I should be catching up on via DVD. Now, Dexter did win by a comfortable margin, and I plan on watching it, but I ended up choosing The Wire. In my defense, I was going to start Dexter until I saw that season 1 is due out on Blu Ray in January. Plus, The Wire is over and I can experience the whole thing without having to wait for it to come back on the air.

Well, I’m halfway through season one at this point, and I’m really digging The Wire…

I can totally appreciate why every person I ever heard talk about The Wire told me it was the best show on television. The production value is absolutely top notch, and it seems really authentic. I say it seems authentic, because I have never been an inner city police officer or drug dealer, so I can’t really say how accurate the show is. It feels real, though, and that’s probably more important than actual authenticity.

These first six episodes have had a lot of introduction and set up, but they represent the first half of the season, so there was a lot going on too. I love that this a cop show that is not a procedural. We actually get to see how a case can develop and how it takes time to set up cases. This isn’t one of those other shows where an entire case can go from being committed to being prosecuted within the span of an hour. Not that there’s anything wrong with that type of show, it’s just not for me.

What I have really been enjoying is the depth that The Wire has. It goes deep into the characters, all the characters. We get to see the drug dealers and how they work and live, as well as seeing most of the cops in their personal lives. There’s a huge cast and it took me a little while to get comfortable with everyone, figuring out who is who and how they are all related, but I think I’ve got it all straight at this point.

I have to say that Omar has been a really interesting character. A rival drug dealer to the Barksdale ring, Omar found himself on the wrong side of the gang war real fast. At the end of this block of episodes, the Barksdale crew had his boyfriend killed. I’m really interested to see how this story line with Omar is going to play out. He seems like a real wild card in everything.

Another thing that has struck me is all the bureaucracy. It is highlighted inside the police department, with the higher ups constantly undermining the drug case just to save face or make a couple of arrests. It’s fascinating to see how it all works, with the police department working with the state’s attorney’s office. At the same time, there is a bureaucracy and hierarchy at work in the drug dealing ring too, which is a great dramatic foil.

Any fans of The Wire out there?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Dec 31, 2008 @ 10:00 EST5EDT