The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)

All great things must come to an end, but so must rubbish things. Everything has its time and, unless you are Bruce Forsythe, must allow something new to come along. TV shows in particular have a habit of hanging around for longer than they should, losing lead character and chief writers. By the time the final episode is aired all of the magic that made season 1 so great has been long gone and people's memories of the show are stained forever. Therefore, is it not better to go out on a high whilst you are at your most successful? I think that it is, but make sure that you leave the viewers with enough answers to satisfy them - did the final season of 'The Wire' do ...  Read the complete review

A recent police report revealed that up to 20% of convicted murderers IN THE u.k are foreign nationals, a further 15% having their parents born abroad. Its drugs, of course, that drives that high homicide rate, the new Europe opening up the UK to all manner of dealers and gangs - and it's no different in America. The Wire, on that subject, is the first TV drama show to really nail who does what in America as far as crime and punishment goes and how the rich of all social and ethnic classes profit from that criminal class, right up to the very top. Sadly series five is the last one made and I doubt whether we will see the like again. Series fives is ...  Read the complete review

*** Open Spoilers *** It has long been fashionable to lavish praise on The Wire, to call it the greatest program in the history of television, to compare it to classic works of literature. The encomiums are deserved. Although season four may well endure as the show's dramatic zenith, season five does not disappoint, and the huge ensemble cast is as excellent as ever. Head writers David Simon and Ed Burns peel back another layer of the onion to examine how the media reports on the issues they have so far documented - and what that means for the modern city and any chance it has to reconstitute itself. Even though the grammar of the show, not only in the ...  Read the complete review

Just finished the complete 5 seasons of The Wire on DVD and cannot, really cannot recommend this too highly. I watched the first five episodes of series 1 when BBC2 aired them late at night recently and was immediately hooked. I'd heard good things about The Wire for years, but not having satellite or cable was unable to see it for myself. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the best way to view the series is undoubtedly via several binge size viewings on DVD, thus dispensing with the inconvenience of having to wait a whole week for your next hit. And believe me, 3 or 4 episodes in you'll be twitching like a hopeless junkie desperate for ...  Read the complete review

Note: please readmy reviews for previous seasons and do not read this review unless you have seen the previous episodes or aren't that bothered about spoilers. So after four seasons, this epic TV show has not faulted in anyway. Even with the untimely killing of many of the characters which made it what it was, the show continues to delve into new unchartered TV territory. New characters which have appeared have now, by the beginning of the fifth series, blossomed into their own part of the baltimore scenery, thus Michael is now part of the intimidating crew comprising of Marlo, Snoop and Chris Partlow and Clay Davis is shaking it up in court. Still the ...  Read the complete review