A Saturday with "The Wire."

So, It's Saturday afternoon, around 2:30pm.  This day wasn't what I thought it was gonna be, so I rewatched some episodes of "The Wire", the hbo series.  I have every season on DVD, even tho when I rewatch it, seasons 1 and 3 are the ones I ususally throw on.  In my opinion they were the best.   It had 5 seasons & 4 and 5 were weaker, I feel.  Maybe b/c it's a show like The Sopranos.  You can't get attached to a character or characters that much, cuz the fact is...he might not be around that long due to the plot of these kinda shows.  The shows where characters you like get killed off.  It does happen!. 
The Wire started with drugs and murder investigations in Baltimore.  But one drug murder investigation turned into a complex series of dangerous wire taps and surveillance.  It's awesome because it captures the two points of both police and their target.   So it's not just the police that make the show great, it's their targets and the streets of Baltimore that make it great as well.  They are both challenged by every turn, and it's unpredictable.  The targets always seem to be one step ahead of the law...but don't get me wrong there are good police, good characters, on both sides. 

So the first season I watched within a weeked, probably! I was hooked. The characters are amazing.  I actually like all of them.  I LOVE some of them, (mostly the gangsta targets for some reason), but yeah I like every character.   Above are the police unit Dectectives, Pryz, Freeman, McNulty (Dominic West), & Kima.  Also Leutiantent Daniels & ASA Pearlman.  In that particular frame their checking the wire taps for the Barksdale case, which becomes the whole season's focus. 

Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), and his towers.  They ran Baltimore for 3 seasons.  In the 2nd, Avon was behind bars and they still continued to focus on him which held the story for the 3rd season, Barksdales last one.  Avon had a partner tho, partner in crime, Stringer Bell, (Idris Elba).  Stringer was cool as well, but to me no one compared to Avon.  He was on top, he was the man.  That made him very attractive.  He had a reputation, not to be messed with.  He was/is a true gangsta.  Stringer was, but then sorta lost it when Avon went to jail.  In the 2nd season when Avon was behind bars, he became a businessman, trying to be all swift and calling "gangsta" meetings & what not.  Even the crew, except for Prop Joe, thought that the so called gangsta council was bullshit.  The streets are the streets and the games the game.  That's what they say.  The game don't change, you can try and change it, but their will be consequences.  Especially when you're in the drug game.  Stringer wanted to become legit even though his actions were illegal b/c the supposed legit money was going to come from laundered cash anyways.  Let's just say, when Avon came out, he wasn't feeling it. 

See? String is wearing a suit! Ha! Avon thought he lost his damn mind.   He wanted to take his corners back after the towers went down, not make deals with the competition or "pay" for his corners.  Since when does someone like him pay for corners?  He takes corners.
In the first season, we lost some characters we might have gotten attached to, like D'angelo Barksdale, Avon's nephew.  A good guy connected to his brother working the pit with some kids.  He used to work the tower, but he was put on probation by Avon b/c of a charge he caught with McNulty.   He got off because all these gangstas have the same lawyer, always.  Levy usually handles the situation pretty well for them and he's a perfect lawyer for these guys.  Plus, he gets his cut. 
So D'angelo takes the fall in the first season for everything at the end. 

Pictured above, D'angelo and the pit boys, Poot, Bodie and Wallace.  Wallace don't make it out of the first season either.  But you can catch Poot and Bodie in the upcoming seasons.  Bodie is acutally a really great character.  He just rises higer and higher with the Barksdale crew.  It's dealing with the competition and the wire taps that develops the show and it's plot. 
Anyway I'm not gonna talk about the whole series, obviously.  I want you people to watch for yourselves.  When I talk about The Tudors, that's when you guys should get nervous.  That will be a neverending stream, but this series, I'm talking about certain things.  The things that I like.  And Avon Barksdale along with the streets of Baltimore have become real for me. 
Now we can't talk The Wire without mentioning Omar! That's right.  The toughest homosexual gangsta you'll ever see.  Everyone knows who he is and if he's coming, they're running.  And giving him what he wants at the same time, which is their stash.  He is a feared freelance, "I carry a huge shotgun", guy and ususally gets what he wants very easily.  You know he's coming when you hear the streets yell, "Omar coming", or his famous whistleling that's an obvious warning that he's about to throw down. 

See, he don't give a fuck.  He's always got the bulletproof vest on too.  Great character and based on someone true, in fact.  But as always for these characters in shows, it gets personal between him the Barksale crew.  They both try to END each other.  A pure hatred.  It's not only till the 3rd season when Stringer shows his real colors and winds up hooking up Omar with an unlikely "friend", Brother Mouzone.  This "friendship" ironically leads to his death.   Phew...I know I'm rambling. 

                                                                   "Omar listening..."

Although these two characters met when the Brother tried to take out Omar under Avon Barksdales orders, when in fact Stringer made that call without consulting Avon.  He ultimately dug his own grave. 
I remember when Avon & Stringer had their last season and scene together.  Avon acted like his friend, like all was good.  Stringer knew he was on thin ice, but how he got killed was a shock to all. 

See the faces? He knew that was the end. String is obviously scared.

Anyway, there is so much more to the show, season two is when they focus mainly on the port murder/drug investigations that deal with union workers and a man called The Greek.  We meet new characters, we're hanging on to old ones, just sitting at the edge of our seats waiting to see what the fuck are they gonna do next? It's a heartbeater all right and they always left you off wanting more.  I'm gonna just put up some pics as an homege to The Wire.  Watch it people.  I won't be surprised if it comes up again!

Marlo

Bodie

Bunk & McNulty

Frank Sobatka

Bubs & Kima

Way more characters too, but that's it for now and back to watching.  I'm so into it, even tho I've seen these like 20 times!!!
And watch full episodes of The Wire on http://www.hbo.com/, a link I have listed on this blog already.