Synopsis:

The Wire is a HBO TV series which started in 2002. It is based in Baltimore and focuses on the drug dealings around the city, showing the drug scene from both perspectives - the dealers and the cops. In series one, following a murder trial, detective Jimmy McNulty is given a division to investigate a suspected drug dealer - Avon Barksdale. The series follows his journey with the team to investigate the goings ons, mainly through the use of "the wire". You also follow Avon and his team as they try and keep their operations quiet and hide all evidence from the police.


My Opinion:

My fiancé and I are big fans of American boxsets and after thoroughly enjoying The Shield and The Sopranos, The Wire seemed like the next series to get our teeth into.

A lot of my friends have watched The Wire and raved about it so we were actually really excited about it. Even better, my dad has every series on DVD so we could move through them all without having to wait. (Whilst watching The Shield we had a 9.55pm dash to Blockbuster as we knew we only had one episode before the next series - I think the woman behind the counter thought we were crazy). So, one cold evening we decided to take the plunge and get seated comfortably, ready to be absorbed by The Wire. Unfortunately...that didn't quite happen.

We watched the first episode with baited breath but were left rather disappointed. After an hour, I felt confused and rather deflated...not what I want from a top TV show. However, I know that sometimes it takes a few episodes to get the story going and so we persevered. We actually persevered 3 times...each time we watched a couple of episodes, got pretty bored then forgot about it for a couple of months. When winter set in last year though, we knew we needed to get some decent TV on the go and so we went back to The Wire. We started from episode 1 and watched it right through. By the end, I was thoroughly enjoying it...it just took a lot of effort in the first place.

I think part of the reason I struggled was due to the slang and nick names used by the drug dealers being investigated. I sometimes felt I couldn't really understand what was going on and found myself confused between all the characters. I also think that there isn't much real action in this series...it's more of a slow burner to introduce you to all the characters. However, by the last two episodes, both of us were glued to the TV and felt that The Wire had come into it's own. I will definitely be watching the next series over the coming weeks and hopefully will then move onto series' 3-5. I would definitely recommend The Wire but would warn that it is a slow burner and you do need to give it a chance.