Thanks to a generous co-worker, I was able to watch the first season on DVD recently. And, thanks to HBO, I was able to watch all of the upcoming fourth season (which begins 10 p.m. Sunday on HBO). I'm now almost done watching the second season, and I'm completely hooked.
I must say, of all the HBO shows I've watched, I think this one may be the best. It's so rich, so intelligent and so unwilling to condescend to viewers. No wonder it's not one of the network's splashier hits. Instead, it's a respectable success, blessed neither with huge numbers nor with awards, but possessing nonetheless something that so few shows have -- class.
The show's storylines change somewhat from season to season, but, at its core, "The Wire" is about cops and criminals in Baltimore.
The cops include Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West, possessing more raw sex appeal than he has in any movie role), a brilliant cop with a ton of personal demons. In the fourth season, McNulty, a former plainclothes cop, is a patrol officer -- a fact he's taken in stride. No longer busting high profile cases, he's finally gotten his personal life under control.
His former plainclothes colleagues are more or less led by quietly brilliant Detective Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters). In the grand tradition of genius cops, Lester at first seems like a doddering fool, quietly crafting antique dollhouse furniture at his desk. But, by the middle of the first season, it was clear that he had a head for cracking cases and, in the new season, his crimefighting powers are on full blast.
In earlier season, the criminals were led by drug dealer Avon Barksdale. Now, they answer to borderline sociopath Marlo Stanfield (Jaime Hector).
Lurking in the shadows, as always, is the menacing but strangely honorable stick-up man, Omar Little (Michael K. Williams, in a charismatic, Emmy-worthy performance). Omar terrorizes the drug dealers, and has no problems using violence on other thugs. But the man, unlike Marlo, has standards about who he brutalizes.
I've only listed a few of the characters, and mentioned almost none of this season storylines.
Suffice it to say that the season centers on the race for the mayor of Baltimore, and on the development of a new generation of street kids. The kids are torn between the world represented by Marlo and drug dealer Bodie (JD Williams), and the one represented by two former police officers who have somehow landed in the city's school system. Those officers are former Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzblewski (Jim True-Frost), who is off the force and working as a middle school math teacher, and former Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Robert Wisdom), who is piloting a program to help at-risk kids.
The battle for the souls of the young is as hotly contested as the race for mayor. It's all fascinating to watch. The show is so smart, but never dry. It feels real. Though I'm a late arrival to this show, I'm glad I found it. I hope you will, too.