The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season (2008)

Ending of a classic (spoilers in review)

Maybe it's only at the end of something that we begin to truly appreciate what we had all along. For five seasons, we lived and breathed with the citizens of Baltimore; the drug life that thrives on the streets, and the police that strive to stop it. The characters, written so complete and so believable, are alive to us, and dare I say, could be our friends and companions, albeit fictional? We've lived on the streets, and seen many crimes and killings, and experienced pain and sometimes joy. The Wire has been a total experience, one of the best television shows ever on the tube, and it's hard to say goodbye.

In ten episodes, the Wire wraps up. Much has been opined about the quality of the final shows, how some people felt let down, and incomplete. I found the final ten to be very complete, very true to the intent of the series, and very emotional. The series truly adjusts its focus back to McNulty, an excellent cop who will go to any length to solve his problems, ethics be damned. In order to fully fund the police department, he decides to rig a series of deaths to make it seem like a serial killer. Soon, the "spree" catches fire, and McNulty is in it up to his eyeballs. My contempt for McNulty overall grew with his character development this season; which is probably most true to his character, but it didn't make me like him. Additional storylines cover the endless chain of drug people that simply take up where others leave off, and Marlo's gang is no exception. In seemingly trying not to repeat the fall of Barksdale and Bell, Marlo's story wraps in an interesting way, with some just desserts being handed out.

One story that had me absolutely entranced was Bubble's journey. From addict to recovery poster boy, Bubs upswing from his season four heartbreaking suicide attempt was a true American hero story, and it becomes aptly covered in the Baltimore Sun, which provides the "focus" for the season, albeit a slightly unfocused one. However, as Bubs story progressed, it was his that compelled me the most, and I was drawn into it with a quet dignity. I guess you feel overtly protective of him through the series, and maybe waiting for him to fall off the wagon once again. Bubs finds his dignity this season, and it's beautiful.

However, in a sad note, two of the four boys who stole last season, return to heartbreaking results. Almost as if to replace Bubs as an addict, Duquan, or Dukie, finally eeks out of Michael's life to start living on the streets, and becomes the new addict. Plot wise I recognized why that happened, but it totally broke my heart. Who wasn't rooting for Dukie, a child who's life was being evicted from apartment after apartment, who excelled in school, and made a connection with Mr. Prez? And then it begs to wonder, how many Dukies are there on our city streets, and how many of them do we as a society step over and ignore?

The Wire was always a complicated show, and it never took it's assignment lightly, a slice of American life that has never been captured in such a complete and honest way. Will people look back fifty years from now, from an idyllic society, and wonder how anyone ever lived through such times and not tried to stop it? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we have five seasons of the finest show ever, and that's good enough for me. August 30, 2008

How to ruin a mini series in 10 episodes or less.....

What happend? For the life of me, I cannot believe that HBO concluded a great mini series like "The Wire" in such a way! If I could get my money back for the whole 5 seasons I would! I was so disappointed with season 5. It looked like behind the scenes the cast was negotiating for additional salary and the network was cancelling their contracts. 10 episodes and you fizzle-out a blockbuster mini series!!! Omar dies in a liquor store without a fight, considering that he was the toughest character of the bunch. In the same season, Proposition Joe dies, Cheese dies (The upcoming Avon Barksdale type)...and Snoop dies! Snoop! The rudest, crudest, female tough guy to walk the streets of Baltimore! And she gets wasted by the upcoming kid?

And what gives with the News Room cast? Filler? That plot was going absolutely nowhere!! The weak, computer literate kid becomes a junkie overnight?

Keeba didn't even have a date during the season.

And who decided that McNulty was the star?

Complete trash! I thought nothing could be as bad as the ending of OZ...but The Wire set a new mark....

"Season Five....was a dud!" August 28, 2008

Not a walk through simply my opinion.

i dont give run down on shows i will simply state that i loved season five as much as the other seasons. im just sorry it had to end. if your afan of other seasons you will not be disappointed. August 25, 2008

Top Shelf

Simply, with The Sopranos, the best TV has ever seen. I wish only that Season 5 could have been more than 10 episodes. August 24, 2008

The Wire, still the best

Felicia Pearson, aka 'Snoop' " ... was born a three-pound cross-eyed crack baby in East Baltimore. ..." and as an almost grown actor, she now plays a drug gang land assassin in what I consider to be the most real, most enlightening and the most entertaining of all shows on HBO, no make that all of television, cable or broadcast, period. Ms. Pearson is also an accomplished writer of " ... a quick, riveting and rewarding read that makes you almost hear her reading it to you and I HIGHLY recommend it. Kudos to the co-author's subtlety that makes this book a knockout!!! ..." - Amazon review of "Grace After Midnight: A Memoir" by Ms. Pearson and David Ritz.

Amazingly, Ms. Pearson is but a single representation of an excellent company of players in a most entertaining cable TV series, "The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season" produced by HBO. This link leads to a collection of the first four seasons of this remarkable "docu-drama", although I have yet to view an episode that would not stand alone as a prime time TV movie and some are more than worthy of theatrical release.

Those of you who have caught a few episodes already know that you can tune into these without attention to order in rotation as each segment is well written, well acted and well produced.

And now a word of caution for those of you who may have consider viewing these for the first time. The stories played in "The Wire" are based of actual events of the very recent past and are continuing to unfold in a town near you. These are very edgy, very raw, very vivid and violent stories, but they are very real. Tonight these stories will repeat in Oakland, in East Saint Louis, in Los Angeles, in Cleveland, in Philadelphia, in Newark, in Boston, in Houston, in New Orleans ... and in Baltimore, on a corner of those streets in the "bad part of town" where most of us seldom venture, even in daylight.

The origins of this "show" are based in "Homicide The Complete Series Seasons 1-7 DVD SET" an acclaimed series from the '90s, " ... not only the greatest cop drama of the 90's, it's one of the best ever. ..." (Amazon review). Interestingly or possible fore ordained, several of the players and company from "Homicide ..." show up in the writing and character acting in "The Wire".

When your kids approach the age of serious questions, you could do a whole lot worse than show them these. No amount of explanation on your part could ever show them this aspect of a very real world ... Sorry, but they will pickup some hopefully short term, but very bad roll models, unless you let them watch a complete series season and watch as that charismatic drug kingpin goes down in a very nasty way with a whimper, not a always a bang. Even the bad politicians get their comeuppance. August 21, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...