The Wire Season 1 - HBO At It's Finest

Network:HBO
Cast: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn, Andre Royo, Michael K.Williams, Larry Gilliard Jnr, Wooh Harris, Wendell Pierce
Plot: Baltimore Homicide Detective Jimmy McNulty (West) starts an investigation into elusive drug kingpin Avon Barksdale (Harris) after his nephew D'Angelo Barksdale (Gilliard Jnr) avoids a murder charge. Much to the dislike of McNulty's superiors the case begins to take shape when the investigation team led by Lt.Daniels (Reddick) discover corruption beyond the low level streets of Baltimore.

HBO have had some truly incredible landmark series such as 'The Sopranos', 'Six Feet Under', 'Deadwood' and more recently 'Game Of Thrones', but none have garnered the critical acclaim that this seemingly generic cop drama did upon its airing way back in 2002. More people may have watched the other shows, but that's what makes 'The Wire' even more special for those people that did follow it for it's five season run - it felt unique and untouched; a series as good if not better than 'The Sopranos' without the constant hype and expectations building up each season.

Having just finished its re-run of the first season on UK channel FX it seemed a good time to praise this most addictive of shows. At first glance 'The Wire' may seem like a routine cop series and admittedly that is what I thought at first, but nothing could be further from the truth. 'The Wire' is an analysis of how derelict the policing system is in Baltimore, with the show's creator and writer David Simon being an reknowned former police reporter. With Simon's writing we see all the pitfalls and problems faced by detectives and just how difficult it can be to get a 'career case' going without angering somebody on a higher floor than you. It is truly insightful stuff.

A show is of course nothing without great characters and 'The Wire' has them in abundance. There are too many memorable personalities to count from McNulty's cigar smoking partner Bunk (Pierce) to street level informant Bubbles (Royo), who's desperate to kick his dope addiction. The interesting thing about 'The Wire' is that the criminals aren't archetypal villians who sneer and twirl their moustaches, they are deep, complex characters who have clear and somewhat understandable motivations. You become connected to the characters you are supposed to want see behind bars because Simon spends as much time fleshing out the drug dealers as he does the cops pursuing them, and the show benefits hugely from it.

The performances, like with any HBO show are superb. Dominic West makes for a conflicted and rebellious lead as McNulty, while Michael K.Williams is a standout as robber Omar Little who becomes a thorn in Barksdale's side. Lance Reddick's Lt. Cedric Daniels is fantastic portraying the difficulty he has in handling both McNulty and the pressure from his superiors to end the much unwanted case as soon as possible. Up and coming star Idris Elba made his name as Barksdale's right hand man Russell 'Stringer' Bell, who is another standout proving to be both a cool, calm, intelligent business man and a ruthless drug enforcer.

The only thing left to say would be watch this show. Buy it, lend it, rob it or just wait for it to come on Sky Atlantic, do anything to become hooked on the greatest show in recent history. There is nothing else quite like it.

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