The Wire : Complete HBO Season 1

This boxset brings together all the episodes from the maiden series of The Wire, spread across thirteen episodes. Yet those episodes, unlike many in the police genre where the show spends a good deal of its time, are dedicated to just one case. Furthermore, it follows both sides of the case. Thus, there's the Baltimore police department, with its statistics to manage, its internal politics to manage and its chain of command to respect, set against a highly organised drug gang, who too have more than their fair share of problems.

The Wire is a slow burn show, taking time to delicate put its pieces in place. Rarely do you get a dramatic end to an episode, and it's not afraid to humanise and blur the lines between good and bad. But, bluntly, there's nothing--not even The Sopranos--that US TV has broadcast in the last ten years that can hold a torch to it. This first series is genuinely outstanding television, and really deserves your attention. And the good news? Excellent as it is, this first series isn't even the best that The Wire has to offer…--Simon Brew

[I call it a TV drama but the fact is that it's suited purely for DVD, it has complete disregard for the casual viewer and is perhaps best viewed in two or three sittings, a minor detail in episode three will find its significance ten episodes later, etc]

Focusing on the drugs business of Baltimore from the police to the dealers to the longshoremen on the coast, I simply cannot rave about this show enough. The profane writing snaps and pops beautifully, the plots are intricate and profoundly gripping, and the acting is nothing short of perfection. What a cast! I don't say this lightly. The characters run deep and authentic, and there are no minor characters in this show, some simply have more screentime than others. The performances are an absolute delight across the board.

Being in the UK I've only so far seen the first two seasons [although the third was broadcast I missed it] on DVD, and having loved the first [even more with repeated viewings] couldn't believe that the second series not only kept up the standard, but perhaps even exceeded it.

I've heard that the third season is even better still.

The show requires attention and commitment and will reward both to a degree that means when each case ends you'll be edified in a way that the "CSI" franchise etc can never even fractionally compete with. They are pizza, "The Wire" is a banquet. We don't get enough banquets, so accept this ones invitation, you wont regret it.

Heartbreaking, funnier than many comedies, beautifully played and written with enviable brilliance, if you're unaware of this show then I urge you: invest, it's likely you'll thank me later. Get season one, you won't understand a lot of season 2 without it, and sit back, prepare to find yourself in the midst of genuine greatness. Don't expect episodic entertainment, these are 12 and 13 hour procedural movies divided by necessity by HBO, a network with the balls to have greenlit this series four times, even despite its low ratings, simply on the basis of the fact it's going to enter the pantheon of all time greatest. A little hyperbole there, but it's really above and beyond.

So many classic moments, each growing more rich with time, to say more about them or name the moments would spoil the experience of seeing them fresh, as I did and as I heartily recommend -- avoid spoilers [not that the text on screen will do justice to this cast, this direction], you'll be rewarded by the story. It has moments that truly compete with Brando in "On the Waterfront", with "Prince of the City", with "The Godfather", while cutting its own fierce path.

Do youself a favour, if you haven't already -- check out "The Wire".


Possibly the best drama series I've seen.   October 25, 2005
Robin G. N. Pierce (London)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

This series can't be described as "cops and robbers." It engages on so many levels, you are drawn into a world that has well developed, realistic characters, in situations that explain why the western world is in such a mess. The series is set in Baltimore, a city that's already familiar to those of us that enjoyed "Homicide, Life on the streets." The bad guys are shown as human beings, with strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, desperation, et al. The deprivation that they live in, and the tragedy of a system that has failed it's citizens show the collapse of society, and highlight the reason why drugs and murder are seen as a way to make it to the top in a world where you're either predator or prey. As they say "If you in the game, you either play, or you get played." Likewise the civilians, police, and politicians, even the best of them has their flaws; with the surprise that you find that sometimes, the supposed good guy turns out to have a lot in common with the villains. This series has you rivetted from the start as you follow the intricacies of the case. This is not a drama for those with a short attention span, as you will need to watch carefully if you want to understand what's going on. The humour is as dark as a moonless night at the bottom of a dissused coal mine, and the language used is as real and crude as you would imagine, given the subject.

It's a shame that those who decide what we can and can't watch are usually so cautious that we finish up with a surfeit of rubbish in the form of "Big Brother" and it's like. I wonder how a brilliant series such as "The Sopranos" slipped through the net and made it onto our screens. The cast and production team that made "The Wire" were of top quality, turning out a product that is of equal quality to "The Sopranos" and should have been shown on terrestrial TV (albeit well after the watershed). I only stumbled on the show (half way through the first series) because I was bored with the usual bland rubbish on offer; coming across FX289 (now FXtv on channel 270 on Sky digital). As a result of five minutes of viewing, I was hooked, and bought the DVD set to see what I'd missed as soon as it was released.

If you haven't already realised, this is a genuine five star product, go and buy it, then settle down for some marathon viewing, coz you won't want to turn off the TV 'til you've seen the whole series; you'll be engrossed in McNulty's struggle to juggle his collapsing personal life, while trying to solve a series of murders, at the same time trying to avoid the wrath of Captain Rawls. You'll wonder if De Angelo Barksdale will survive as he struggles with his conscience, as people he knows are killing, and then being killed themselves. And if you like series one (and personally, I think you'll be brain dead if you don't), series two is every bit as good!!!!!


Real Art   July 1, 2007
C. J. Weekes
21 out of 21 found this review helpful

Over the last few years the quality of the US dramas have been outstanding. The shortned List -: 24, West wing, Battlestar Galactica Rome, Deadwood and of course The Sopranos.

I borrowed The Wire on the strength of this and it was very hard going at first. It had a gritty and unappealing setting(inner city Baltimore). The Pace was pendantic and there was so much street slang and police jargon, it did not seem to be going anywhere. I had not even read the reviews. I was truly going to return it. But at about the 6th or 7th episode. I began to understand the reason for the earlier seeming directionlesness.They were laying the foundations, indeed there was line I think the character Lester made about building things piece by piece till all the characters fit. I aslso began to realise what the writers had done they had created a whole universe, I simply had to see things in thier context.

Now having watched all 3 Seasons on DVD. I concur with the other viewers is saying that this is truly an extraordinary piece of work, A tale of an American city taken from different perspectives as an allegory for something that is happening in the society at a more profound level. Kudos to the writers for the complexity and depth and to HBO for being so bold (as they have always been). The acting is simply seamless, you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching a documentary. The show scope is breathtaking. It has truly raised the bar on what televison can produce