Wire Tapped Out (The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD))

Member Name: samueltyler

Product:	The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season (DVD)
Date:	03/11/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great script, acting, story

Disadvantages: McNulty loses it, concludes too much

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 this?

Season 5 begins with Baltimore not looking too dissimilar to what it did 4 years ago. New Mayor Caretti has reverted back to the old regimes tactics of massaging the crime statistics and this has left the police force at a low ebb. McNulty has had enough of low resources and comes up with a plan to raise funds by creating a series of false crimes. With this money he aims to help his old team to wire tap new crime lord Marlo and get him off the streets. For his plan to succeed McNulty needs the aid of the local press and one reporter is willing to believe his farfetched story as long as he can use it to improve his own career. Can McNulty keep ahead of his own lies or will they bring down not only himself, but the entire police department and mayoral office?

Each season of 'The Wire' has had a theme that has reused the same ensemble cast, but also added new members. Season 5 is no different as the theme of the decline of modern print journalism introduces a wave of reporters from the Baltimore Sun. The plot that interweaves between a reporter faking sources and McNulty exploiting this is a strong one and helps the show to have a core. However, for me it was the tale of Marlo and the drug cartels that was the strongest element as the new kid on the block begins to take power through ruthless efficiency. Can the police possible bring him down before it is too late?

As always the huge cast is, to a person, excellent. The list of top performances is endless; it is a shame that with such a number of people to watch that shining lights of earlier seasons are forced into the background here. David Simon, the creator and one of the writers, knew this was going to be the final season when he started so events are geared towards the end. The concept of a cyclical story comes in as we return to McNulty after he has been used less in Seasons 3 and 4. It is with McNulty that one of the issues of this season occurs - he is not a nice man. In previous seasons McNulty has cheated on woman and been corrupt, but we could forgive him as he is charismatic. In season 5 I felt that Simon pushed him beyond the realms of respectability and I started to dislike the character. This does not break the season as there are plenty of other fantastic storylines that make up for it.

There is another issue with the final season that comes about because of the very nature of being a last season. Previously, the show was left open ended as another season would come about. However, especially towards the last episode, the show attempts to wrap up storylines and everything suddenly becomes rushed. Characters drop like flies and revelations occur on a minute by minute basis. The relaxed, intelligent and steady pace of over 50 episodes is suddenly changed. The entire purpose of 'The Wire' is to show a gritty reality of the drug trade and the eternal struggle that cannot be won in the current climate. Simon should have left the show completely open ended to suggest that the entire 5 year work of the police was essentially futile. Although, this does come through a little, I was disappointed to see that the final moments were left as a series of vignettes that looked at each characters future - too cheesy when compared to the feel that the show has created.


Wrapping up a show is always awkward especially when you try to be true to life. Life does not end even when you die as the story is continued with other people. Therefore, by creating conclusions 'The Wire' season 5 is doing something that season 1-4 refused to do. Despite the final season feeling a little weaker in places it still has a fantastic script that explores the demise of the papers and the futility of the poor in inner city America. As a set of 5 seasons 'The Wire' is going to go down as an absolute classic and deserves it.


Year: 2008
Cert: 15
Starring: Dominic West et al.
Price: Amazon uk £14.98
Play.com £16.99


Extras

There is a documentary on the last disc about the making of the final season - its themes and the show as a whole.

Summary: A slightly limp end the best show of the 00s, but still great.