The Wire

The Age

Thursday September 18, 2008

Philippa Hawker

The Wire

Warner, 703 min, MA,

TV series, Season 3, 2004

5/5

Television doesn't get much better than The Wire. ThisHBO series, shot in Baltimore, is a dense, engrossing tale of crime, its practice and its pursuit, and the way it seeps into the every corner of the life of a city. The show's title refers to a wiretap placed on suspected drug dealers in season one, and this covert monitoring continues to be a significant plot element throughout the series. Each season highlights a different aspect of the city; season two took us to the waterfront, while season three revolves around local politics. The characters in The Wire are drawn in rich, complex detail, whatever side of the law they are on, and there are often subtle parallels between what drives them. In season three, an ex-con tries to go straight; a drug lord attempts to get into property development; and a cop on the verge of retirement experiments with a radical new way to handle the drug problem. Relationships begin and end; political ambitions are nurtured and dashed. Theshow's plotting matches the complexity of its characters: it's demanding but rewarding. The show finished after five seasons, and all but the last one are available on local release.

DVD extras include:

five commentaries; Q & A; interview