The Wire, seasons 4 and 5
Friday, 16. May 2008, 21:14:57
As I wrote in my review of the first three seasons of HBO's The Wire, this is some damned good television. And that did not change with the last two seasons.
Something did change, though. The fourth season is a much lighter story than the three seasons coming before it, but it's also less of a self-contained-story, being the one season of the show where the number of loose ends at the season finale almost rivaled the number of plots neatly finished up. By all means, The Wire always have plenty of loose ends on which to build the upcoming season, but in season 4, they were more plentiful than before. I don't think this made it weaker, though.
While I sorely missed a few of my favourite characters from earlier seasons, the show keeps introducing new ones as well as bringing out old minor characters into the light, and they are quite frequently an interesting bunch. Because The Wire is first and foremost - the way I've experienced it - a show about the people trapped in the system, and to make that story work, the characters must be as interesting as the system is screwed up. And believe you me - on this show, the system is not only screwed up, but nailed, glued and hammered up, and it is only sticking together due to the self-sustaining shit it creates. Luckily, the show has the characters to match.
Season 5 was, of course, a trip straight downhill after the relatie respite of the fourth one. Everything goes to heck, and somehow, for everyone. Needless to say, I loved to hate every minute of it.
Easily one of the best shows I've ever seen, and considering it's basically a cop-show - a genre I'm so sick of I could puke - set in present day, without any dragons, wizards, droids or lightsabers, that's one huge accomplishment. It's no coincidence that if I were to list my favourite shows, I don't think anything that's both got a contemporary setting and is devoid of supernatural or sci-fi-elements would match it. Veronica Mars before the less-than-ideal third season, maybe. That's it. The Wire is a show that's frequently funny, often tragic, sometimes exciting, and always, always captivating. If I were to compare it to something, I'd say it lands somewhere between Deadwood and The Sopranos, but it really is its own thing, and it's highly recommended.
Something did change, though. The fourth season is a much lighter story than the three seasons coming before it, but it's also less of a self-contained-story, being the one season of the show where the number of loose ends at the season finale almost rivaled the number of plots neatly finished up. By all means, The Wire always have plenty of loose ends on which to build the upcoming season, but in season 4, they were more plentiful than before. I don't think this made it weaker, though.
While I sorely missed a few of my favourite characters from earlier seasons, the show keeps introducing new ones as well as bringing out old minor characters into the light, and they are quite frequently an interesting bunch. Because The Wire is first and foremost - the way I've experienced it - a show about the people trapped in the system, and to make that story work, the characters must be as interesting as the system is screwed up. And believe you me - on this show, the system is not only screwed up, but nailed, glued and hammered up, and it is only sticking together due to the self-sustaining shit it creates. Luckily, the show has the characters to match.
Season 5 was, of course, a trip straight downhill after the relatie respite of the fourth one. Everything goes to heck, and somehow, for everyone. Needless to say, I loved to hate every minute of it.
Easily one of the best shows I've ever seen, and considering it's basically a cop-show - a genre I'm so sick of I could puke - set in present day, without any dragons, wizards, droids or lightsabers, that's one huge accomplishment. It's no coincidence that if I were to list my favourite shows, I don't think anything that's both got a contemporary setting and is devoid of supernatural or sci-fi-elements would match it. Veronica Mars before the less-than-ideal third season, maybe. That's it. The Wire is a show that's frequently funny, often tragic, sometimes exciting, and always, always captivating. If I were to compare it to something, I'd say it lands somewhere between Deadwood and The Sopranos, but it really is its own thing, and it's highly recommended.
