The Wire is an American television drama set and produced in Baltimore, Maryland. Created, produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series is broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002, with 50 episodes airing over the course of its first four seasons. The fifth and final season, which encompasses 10 episodes, premiered on January 6, 2008.
The plot of the first season centers on the ongoing struggles between police units and drug-dealing gangs on the west side of the city, and is told from both points of view. Subsequent seasons have focused on other facets of the city. The large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is “really about the American city, and about how we live together. It’s about how institutions have an effect on individuals, and how…whether you’re a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge [or] lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you’ve committed to.
From the Wikipedia entry on The Wire.
The Wire is a show that is strangely addictive. I really enjoyed how the Barksdale investigation encompassed the first few seasons. This is something that never really happens in TV. The same investigation spanning three seasons? Anyway, the fifth season still uses elements from the first season. I think it’s a great show. I also enjoy how in the fifth season, Simon plans on featuring the media and how it impacts the city.
Marlo is about to get a drug shipment. Lester knows that it’s time to move on them. They spy on the gangsters proceeding to their exchange point and nab them all. It’s the beginning of the end. Marlo thinks that there is a rat in his organization. He thinks that Michael Lee is responsible. Snoop is ordered to kill him. Kima goes to see Daniels about what McNulty has been up to. They are all scrambling in order to cover their asses because of the bullshit that McNulty pulled.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
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Lester gets a new time and sends his teams out to the other side of the city. Marlo sends the same message with the same time out to his crew. He calls McNulty to tell him that it’s on.
Lester briefs his team. They are on them. Lester says that it’s time to fess up.
Snoop has O-Dog be aa fall guy for her gun charges. He’ll do 2 or 3 years and will be well compensated.
Chris shows up with some soldiers to inspect the location. He’s met with the Greeks and the dope. Everything looks kosher. The cops are scoping them out.
Gus is talking with an old pal from the London desk. The Sun closed its London desk. He puts Ruby on Scott to check up on him.
Dukie is still working with the arabber. They are stealing junk metal to sell by the pound.
Cheese and a truck arrive. One of the cops was caught in rag weed.
Steintorf, the mayor’s advisor, briefs Rawls and Daniels on the crime situation. They need to work fast so that the mayor can make his bid for the governorship. He needs a 10 percent drop in the next quarter. He tells them to be creative.
Lester arrives to brief Daniels. Leander phones in and says that he’s nabbed 8K. Daniels looks happy. Daniels calls Rhonda. The cops storm the warehouse. They get all of the dope. They nab the whole Marlo crew, including Marlo himself. Lester lets Marlo know without saying a word that the shit is up.
The mayor needed a bust and he got it. The police nabbed 16 million in dope. Alma tries to get a quote from Daniels, but he won’t give her anything. The last time he was in the Sun, it wasn’t in a favourable light. He tells her to look it up.
Marlo is talking with his lieutenants in the holding cell. It comes out that Omar called him out. Marlo is pissed that this didn’t get back to him. Chris kept it from him. Marlo and Chris don’t think that Michael was snitching on him. However they can’t bet their futures on this. He’ll have to be taken care of.
Landsman calls out McNulty for his lack of progress on his serial killer case. McNulty hopes that the case will wind down.
Scott is being groomed for the Pulitzer. They set him up for his fake homeless coverage.
Lester and McNulty are out at the tracks. Lester is drinking.
Later Landsman tells McNulty that another homeless murder has been caught. He gets sent out on it.
Snoop sets up Michael for the fall. She tells him she needs him on a case. She says to leave his gun behind, she’s got some fresh ones ready for the kill.
Bunny Colvin and his wife proudly watch Namond deliver an informative speech about AIDS at an Urban Debate function. Carcetti walks in and Colvin shakes his head in disgust.
Levy tells Marlo that there is no bail set for him or Chris. The situation is dire. Marlo can’t figure out who rolled on him. All of the players are in jail, except Snoop and he knows that she didn’t roll on him.
Carcetti is giving a press conference after the debate. Colvin walks by. Carcetti tries to apologize for the Hamsterdam experiment. Colvin almost loses his temper, his wife is there. Colvin leaves after saying that there was nothing to be done after the debacle.
Gus is talking with Naresse. He asks about the Burrell debacle. It turns out that Daniels didn’t stab Burrell in the back, as it was reported by the Sun. After Burrell was fired, Daniels was walking around saying that he didn’t want the job.
McNulty arrives at the scene of the murder. He dismisses the murder since there were no ties to his fake case.
Gus asks Steven help to get into the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He wants to interview the guy who was with Hanning at the firefight.
Herc and Carver have drinks.
Mike Fletcher is still talking with Bubbles. He asks his sister to come celebrate his cleanliness. She doesn’t confirm anything. She’s been through hell.
Lester is talking with Clay Davis. Davis says that the lawyers are schooling the street thugs on what to do with their money. Levy is the one with the most juice. Lester says that he’s got someone at the courthouse. He’s selling papers to whoever needs them. If Lester starts to look around the people hanging around grand juries, he’ll find those who report to Levy.
Gus arrives at the Walter Reed. The vet is getting fitted for state-of-the-art prosthetic hands. He says that a few things that were reported were right. It wasn’t a Black Hawk Down situation. He says that Terry did two tours. You lie about combat when you weren’t there. Terry has a story, maybe not that day.
Kima talks with Carver about the McNulty situation. She says that his guys need to say that they didn’t know anything about what was happening. She asks him about when Carver rolled on Calliccio. Did he feel right about it? Carver says he feels fine. Calliccio went off the deep end. Kima is about to roll on McNulty.
Michael is watching Snoop. He’s in a cab. He sees Marlo’s people getting into an abandoned building.
Fletcher goes with Reggie to his NA meeting. He’s celebrating his anniversary of being clean. Reggie makes a great speech. He lets go of his grief of losing the kid that he lost a while ago.
Snoop picks up Michael. Michael is very worried about this. He has Snoop pull over when he needs to piss. He pulls a gun on her. She tells him that he was always a smart one. She tells him that he was never one of them. He shoots her. She gets Dukie and his brother and they leave. He brings them to his aunt’s place. She is expecting Bug. Michael brings a box filled with money. He gives it to Bug. Bug goes in. Dukie and Michael are about to part ways. Mike is too hot for now. Dukie leaves. Mike dropped him off at the arabber’s. Before leaving, Dukie tries to reminisce about the fun times last year. Mike can’t remember them, his heart has grown cold.
Kima comes to see Daniels. She tells him about McNulty. Daniels briefs Rhonda about what McNulty has done. They go after the phone that the wiretap is on. It’s the one in evidence. Things aren’t looking good for McNulty.
Herc briefs Levy on what is going on with the cops. Herc thinks that there is a wiretap, but the cops aren’t saying that there is one.
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