Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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44 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
Don't miss this, June 21, 2007
The story so far... (Don't read any further if you don't want to know any detail of what happens in this Season of the show).
On street level, Stringer Bell is dead, Avon Barksdale is back behind bars and the cold and wilful Marlo Stansfield (played by Jamie Hector) looks like he's squaring up to be crowned king. Preston "Bodie" Broadus (played by JD Williams) is the only true Barksdale soldier still holding it down but finds it's a whole new game with a whole new set of rules. Meanwhile, the drug dealers' nightmare that is Omar (played by Michael K Williams) has a new protégé in tow and he's as busy as ever. The scene when he and Marlo finally come face to face is pure TV heaven.
On law level, political involvement in the Major Crimes Unit sends its best personnel off in all different directions: Lieutenant Daniels (played by Lance Reddick) gets promoted out, Detectives Kima Greggs (played by Sonja Sohn) and Lester Freamon (played by Clarke Peters) are squeezed out - and back to Homicide - and Detective Jimmy McNulty (played by Dominic West) realises he's running the risk of losing his soul and goes back on patrol. He also gives up the booze and tries to become a family man. The end result of all this is that no one is really up on the wire and by the time the incredible number of bodies being stacked up in vacant houses by Marlo's two lieutenants Chris and Snoop (played by Gbenga Akinnagbe and Felicia Pearson) come to light, there are so many of them, the task of solving the crimes seem pretty much unsurmountable to the shocked law enforcement personnel.
On City Hall level, Councilman Tommy Carcetti (played by Aiden Gillen) does the unimaginable and wins the mayoral elections in Baltimore but finds it might be the beginning of his battles rather than the end.
And if all that were not enough, in the middle school system, the 'No Child Left Behind' programme is shown up for what it really is, while 8th graders - some, like Michael (played by Tristan Wilds) and Dukie (played by Jermaine Hawkins) with drug addicted parents; some, like Namond Brice (played by Julito McCullum) with drug dealing parents - dad Wee-Bey (played by Hassan Johnson) is in prison and mother De'Londa (played by Sandi McCree) wants her little boy to grow up and be just like his daddy - and tragically, some with no parents at all - Randy (played by Maestro Harrell) is in foster care and Sherrod (played by Rashad Orange) is taken under wing by Bubbles (played by Andre Royo) of all people - are left to their own devices and to the lure of the streets. Some of the younger kids like the streetwise and smart-mouthed Kenard (played by Thuliso Dingwall) and the car-stealing, joy-riding Donut, so small he can barely see over the steering wheels of the cars he jacks (played by Nathan Corbett), we don't get to see their parents at all. Ever.
And this is not even the half of it. The scene is thus set for the fourth season of this incredibly articulate HBO series and on many levels, primarily due to the focus of school-age children, it might prove to be the most explosive season of all. With its awesome ensemble cast, "The Wire" continues to draw the highest praise from the most unexpected of quarters all over the world. Don't miss this. And don't let the complex storylines, unglamorous settings or gritty (and often violent) scenes and colourful language put you off. It's like watching real life or reading a novel. In the real world, situations do not usually get resolved within 50 minutes, just as they don't get tied up neatly within a chapter of a book. It was appointment TV for me on the FX channel earlier this year and I so cannot wait for the DVD. This is without a doubt, the best thing on TV.
PS. I've deliberately refrained from using the B word because I've come to understand that it upsets certain people and I totally understand why.
We could be missing the point though, with the utmost respect. The stories that are being told here - and they are just stories by the way; "The Wire" is not a documentary series or even a docudrama - could be told from Washington DC, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit or any major US city and still be just as authentic, and just as believable. I don't believe The Wire is a statement about a particular city. I think the creators and writers have just gone with the location they know - and love, it has to be said.
I don't feel it's a statement about America either, particularly. Drug addiction, drug wars (the so-called wars being fought against drugs and the wars the drug dealers are contantly fighting amongst themselves), the proliferation of guns in our communities, political corruption and, (as is highlighted in this particular season), deficient child educational systems in particular and the way children are collectively being failed by the very society that is supposed to protect and nurture them in general, are all evident all over the world if we know where to look.
IMO, these are stories about human nature and the different ways in which man's actions affect the world we live in. That's what makes "The Wire" so fascinating.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Another spectacular season , September 11, 2007
The fourth season of HBO's critically acclaimed The Wire picks up after the explosive events the conclusion to the third season, as cop Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) finds himself patroling the streets of Baltimore and seemingly out of the loop (McNulty is relegated to more of a supporting player in these episodes than ever before) as this season focuses on the coming election between Mayor Royce (Glynn Turman) and Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), and a group of young corner kids getting ready to go back to school. What makes this season of The Wire so surprisingly compelling isn't the drama between the cops and the crooks like we've seen before, but what this group of young corner boys (Maestro Harrell, Julito McCullum, Tristan Wilds) experience and the choices they make, which not only effect their own lives, but inexplicably effect the lives of everyone else involved as well. In the meantime, new kingpin Marlo (Jamie Hector) makes even more of an impact as the cops try to nail him, Herc (Domenick Lombardozzi) finally gets his stripes, Prez (Jim True-Frost) becomes a teacher, and Omar (Michael K. Williams) gets in over his head when he goes toe to toe with Marlo. By the end of season four, it is apparent that the end is near, and that McNulty and his crew are sitting on a powder keg that will be as explosive as anything that has ever been seen on HBO. Undoubtedly one of the finest and most realistic TV dramas ever crafted, The Wire is once again spectacular entertainment.
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34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
A show that is addictive as dark bitter chocolate. CHECK IT OUT!!!!, July 4, 2007
Sopranos' song has been sung, Rome is ancient history, Deadwood's dead, and the Carnivale has come to an end. What are we left with? Only maybe one of the greatest shows of all time, the Wire. I would say out of all of these shows, the wire is the only one that started brilliantly and has consistantly gotten better and better. David Simon came to my school to speak about the show and his personae was every bit as dark, unapologetic, and confrontational as his charactors. He does not consider himself part of the Hollywood scene in fact he resents how out of touch much of entertainment is from the rest of the world. He told us "Nothing you do here is of any consequence to the rest of the country." The cinema kids at USC gasped.
And Simon can talk because his and Ed Burn's show, the Wire, has hardwired us (excuse the pun) into the current inner-city of Baltimore and exposed to the world the violence, the culture and the corruption there. It is not CSI or the Shield (which is like white and milk chocolate), the Wire is more like bitter dark chocolate, delicious and full of anti-oxidants. It's sexy, raw, patient, complicated and it devotes equal time to both Cops and Criminals - like New Jack City but with 100% more artistry and class. So if you have not and you are a fan of TV or HBO than you owe it to yourself to CHECK IT OUT!
THE FOURTH SEASON: All your favorite cast members make an appearance (except for the ones who did not survive the third season). However, don't expect the original Wire crew to be plugging away at Marlowe and his thugs. The band is broken up and the season's focus shifts to polotics and inner-city schools. The change of formula may seem discouraging at first but the outcome is arguably the most rewarding season yet! The last episode has maybe the most powerful scene between two people I have ever seen in TV (right up there with Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell's rooftop scene in Season 3) Marlowe and his people are incredible villians. They do not attempt the hip hop showman style of Avon Barksdale who came up in the 90's, Marlowe instead is part of the post-2000 generation. Marlowe and his lethal little assassin Snoop (a Baltimore native and previous non-actor) take their work to a whole new level of frightening efficiency. Marlowe and company are quieter, smarter, and far more dangerous - with them comes a new breed of gangster and a new terrible era for Baltimore. For those like me who love Omar. There's plenty of him in the fourth season as well!!! Thank God.
My friend said he saw them filming the 5th season in the streets of Baltimore. I am so excited!!! David Simon said that every season they think it is going to be their last and then they come up with a great idea and go back to HBO on their knees begging for one more. It's a shame that they have to beg HBO and that they have never gotten an Emmy. With the high level of quality from writing, acting to directing, this show truley offers integrity to television. Watch and Enjoy!
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