The Wire

5 stars out of 5

An Urban Education.

Ok, I loved The Wire. Yes, it is grisly. Violence, language, corruption, drugs, etc. But it is real. It doesn't glamorize violence or drugs - it just lays it out there like it is in Baltimore. Now I don't presume to know what living on the street in urban Baltimore is like, so I guess they could be pulling a fast one on me. But it felt real, and people that do live there report that it is real, and even some of the characters are plucked right out of the street to act on the show.
I felt like I learned more on this show than I did in 13 years of public school education.

Each season has a different focus and you see the story from several different points of view.

Season 1 focuses on drugs ang gangs. The drug economy is prevalent in Baltimore and gangs operate it fairly efficiently. A police unit is set up to do a thorough investigation on one particular organization and they set up a wire tap to find out the inner workings of the organization. Excellent season.

Season 2 focuses on unions, particularly the unions on the docks, which don't need nearly as many workers as they used to. Corruption in the unions lead them to deal with the Greek mafia, which import drugs, women and weapons. Police investigating a container full of dead women find that it is part of a much deeper plot. Pretty good season.

Season 3 is more on police work, particularly with respect to the drug trade. An inventive police major legalizes drug in certain sections of his area, hoping to contain the traffic and violence and make the streets more tolerable for other citizens. Another focus is on politics, particularly the mayoral race. Great season.

Season 4 looks at education and the challenges of teaching in inner city schools. Since most of the kids see their future on the streets, it is hard for them to be motivated by excellence in school. Politics, drugs and police all factor heavily into this season as well. Another excellent season.

Season 5 focuses on journalism and the role of the media in bringing attention to society's problems. A spree of "connected" killings get the media, politicians and police in a frenzy. This season it felt like it was spinning a little out of control. Seasons 1 throug 4 had very believable plots, but season 5 was a little wacky. It was still good, but not as good as other seasons.

Obviously, not recommended for everyone. But I feel like I have a better understanding of the challenges of the inner city after watching this series. Highly educational and very entertaining.