The Wire Seasons 1-3

I know most of you have been wondering what television shows I have been watching since everything is on winter break.  This time of year is great for catching up on shows that I have always wanted to watch, such as Fringe and The Wire.  I can see why people think The Wire is one of the best shows of all time.  Once you start, it is hard to stop watching.

I am sure you can find all sorts of sites saying why it is such a great show, but I just want to focus on how the characters are so dynamic.  Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.

You have cops like McNulty and Greggs, they are great at their job, but they are pretty shitty as people.  McNulty gets blackout drunk all the time and tries to sleep with anything he can find.  His wife left him because of the cheating.  He has also brought Greggs down to his level by covering for her while she cheats on her girl.

You have the bad guys like Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale, who despite being major drug dealers, you can see them trying to do good for their community or for family.  We first meet Avon and he is doing some kind of cookout for charity, and then later he gives Dennis $15,000 to set up a boxing club for the young kids.  Stringer was trying so hard to get Avon out of the street game and rising to the next level.  He wanted to run the game like it was a business.

We see the ineptitude of the top members of the police.  Instead of trying to bring down the major drug dealers, they are only focused on quick results and since Stringer makes political contributions, getting to him seems like a bad idea.  I love what McNulty says at one point when someone asks how he knows that the drug dealers will promote the idiot to lieutenant and he responds “we do it all the time.”

Omar is a hardcore stick-up man.  He has no problem putting a bullet in someone.  However, he is also a homosexual and he loves his grandma.  The final straw for him is when they try to take him out on a Sunday and Barksdale’s men accidentally shoot her hat off.  He also does not believe that people outside the game should be involved, it was not right that Avon’s people killed a witness.

My favorite character was probably D’Angelo.  He tried to be hardcore, but it was just not in his nature.  When he comes to the Pit, he explains to his new crew that they needed to stop busting heads and be cool with the users.  No sense in bringing the police around.  Also, he felt terrible when the witness in his murder case got shot.  When Wallace was killed, he was ready to give up his uncle’s entire operation.  I was pretty much heartbroken when he was killed.

I am excited to finish season’s four and five and see what happens in Baltimore…

Author: Ngewo