First Impressions: The Wire, HBO (2002)
Friday 24 October 2008
Related articles
Baltimore returns to prime time and it does so on the most prestigious stage in American television: Sunday nights on HBO, the home of The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. The news is that The Wire, a 13-week series about life on both sides of a major drug investigation in the Baltimore housing projects, deserves to breathe that rarefied air.
Like those two dramas, The Wire might be an acquired taste for viewers who warm to innovative programming slowly. But those who stick with the show for two or three episodes are going to find themselves caring about people with whom they might never have imagined becoming acquainted.
For some viewers, though, the biggest reward will spring from the way the show speaks to widespread feelings – anger, disillusionment, unease – about the workplace or other once-trusted institutions.
The pilot for The Wire starts out looking like a traditional police drama – specifically, Homicide: Life on the Street. That's not surprising since The Wire's creator is David Simon, author of the book upon which Homicide. Furthermore, Clark Johnson, who played Detective Meldrick Lewis on Homicide, directed the debut episode.
The first episode is not perfect. At times, it assumes an insider's sense of city government. And in the drug dealers' world, the use of dialect and slang make it difficult to catch the nuances of what is being said. Some viewers may bristle at the idea of Simon, a white writer, creating this sort of dialogue for African-American characters. There also are problems with how women are portrayed. Overall, the combination of flaw and innovation is enough to give me pause in predicting how large an audience the series will ultimately find. But I'm rooting for The Wire – not because it is produced in Baltimore and creates local jobs, but because of how high it tries to reach.
Arts & Ents blogs
The Photography Blog: ‘Control Order House’ by Edmund Clark – Photographing our response to terrorism
Recent events in Boston have served as a painful reminder of the threat posed by terrorism. In Contr...
Parachute Youth: Supporting Rudimental is not a clash of interests
I’ve not heard many bands that had quite the same kick as Pendulum did. Their unbelievable fusion of...
Review of Glee ‘Sweet Dreams’
The episode begins with Finn (Cory Monteith) at college, partying and accidentally participating in ...
Travel Shop
- 1 The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North
- 2 Gareth Bale agrees new £130,000-a-week Tottenham contract - but can leave next season for £50m
- 3 'Revenge porn' is no longer a niche activity which victimises only celebrities - the law must intervene
- 4 The moral case on tax avoidance is overwhelming - and we all know Google wants to do the right thing
- 5 Sam Wallace: The second coming of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea will be a reunion that can only end in tears
Get your summer started with British Military Fitness
BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes
Visit York
Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
The price of pacifism
Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond
Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?
Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'





Comments