S5, Episode 4

OK so I've only had my blog for less than a month and I'm already falling behind on my Wire commentary. Things certainly are heating up. To backtrack abit to the previous two episodes, it was great to see Avon back in the game. After a full season with no mention of Avon, I assumed he would not be back but it only seems fitting that he make his presence felt as a "what you call ... an authority figure" in the final season. I'm not exactly sure why Marlo called Sergei Boris but it was a nice little inside joke ("Why is it always Boris?").

Episode 4 also contained a great scene between Beadie and McNulty. It's been obvious the relationship between Beadie and McNulty is deteriorating but we finally get to see where it currently stands and it elaborated on further in episode 5. Props to Amy Ryan (Beadie Russell) for her Oscar nomination for her role as Helene McCready in "Gone Baby Gone". She does an excellent job in the part and it's a fine film. Probably not co-incidentally, "Gone Baby Gone" was based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), who has been working as a writer on the Wire since season 2.

One of the things I read prior to this season starting was David Simon saying the only character who escapes without being drawn into corruption or scandal is Sidner. Of course that probably doesn't include Bubbles or my man Omar. I find it hard to believe Omar is going to go down. I loved Prop Joe's line about Omar coming back - "Out of respect for the man’s skill set, I’m gonna take myself out of the line-up tomorrow after the meeting." . This week's episode shook my confidence a bit and while Omar may not have met his match in Chris and Snoop, he's definitely found worthy opponents.

Mostly I've been thinking about Marlo - about that blank expression on his face as Prop Joe gets one in the back of the head. He doesn't look like it pains him to kill Joe, a man who has gone out of his way to help Marlo, but he also doesn't look like he enjoys it either. It just needs to be done. There's a lot of emphasis in previous seasons on the streets not being like they used to be, how there's no code, no rules, everyone is ruthless and without remorse. "These corner kids today ..." Marlo seems to be the epitome of that ethic - hard just for the sake of hard and totally, completely without emotion. However Marlo and others have made a few references to the crown and the burdens which come with it and it makes me wonder if that will be Marlo's downfall. I don't think Marlo even does it for the money. I think Marlo wants the crown and he wants the power. The money is a means to that end but I don't think its an end in itself for Marlo. And I keep wondering how long the other members of the co-op are just going to take this shit from Marlo.

Right now Omar has been manipulated by Marlo to come out of retirement by Butchie's murder but Omar knows he's being setup now, or atleast he should. I expect tonight to see Omar's game plan change and like most Wire plots, we probably won't know exactly what's going down until its almost upon us.

S5, Episode Two

"This ain't Aruba, Bitch" -The Bunk

When exactly did Bunk become The Bunk? He's moving up in the world.

It's good to see that this season is going to be taking a more indepth look into Bubbles' struggle with recovery and his relationship with his sponsor, Waylon, played by Steve Earle. Waylon was first introduced in season one when Bubbles hears him speak at an NA meeting he is forced to attend as a condition of his parole. They talk in a couple episodes and it is clear they have a mutual understanding even though Waylon is clean and Bubbles is not. Then he reappears in the season finale of season four, setting up the dynamic to come in this season. David Simons mini-series "The Corner", like The Wire, dealt with the Baltimore drug trade but it revolved more around the users and hoppers, with police and major traffickers barely registering as minor characters. It is also based on a real-life Baltimore family (whom director Charles S. Dutton interviews at the end of the final episode) and their struggles with drug addiction. Fran's brother Scoogie has been clean for some time and Blue and Fran makes attempts to get clean throughout the course of the series but there's very little information about the process of seeking to recover from drug addiction. I am interested to see how Bubbles recovery is portrayed during the rest of this season.

And ofcourse the other side of Bubbles' recovery from heroin addiction is Jimmie McNulty's descent back into alcoholism and the disastrous effects it threatens to have on everyone around him. The one positive thing you could say about a low-bottom dope friend like Bubbles is he is so withdrawn from and marginalized by society that his addiction has minimal effects on anyone but himself. The same is not true of McNulty and I suspect it will become more evident as the season goes on that high-functioning addicts/alcoholics manage to bring more people down with them because they are still an active member of their community. I found it very realistic that while McNulty was sober, Bunk and others seemed to resent his abstinence and now that he is drinking again they have quickly realized that they were better off when he was sober.

I'm glad to see Marlo and Omar will be getting back in the mix soon. Omar is one of the few characters on the show who almost always comes out on top so I'm not too concerned for his safety, even with Chris and Snoop gunning for him.

Season 5, Episode One

"the bigger the lie, the more they believe" - Bunk

I recently re-watched season 3, including some of the DVD extras. One of the comments David Simon made during a panel discussion was people complained "nothing happened" in the season three premiere. The audience had just finished watching the premiere prior to the panel discussion so he reviewed the new characters and themes being introduced. Knowing how the story unfolds and looking back on the premiere, I could clearly see how the groundwork was being laid for the next twelve episodes. They mentioned two other interesting facts - the actors receive scripts one episode at a time and they are never sure if the series will be picked up for another season. Season four in particular seemed as though it was moving toward a series finale until the final two episodes when it became clear they were going to get the old gang back together again for one more go. I often wonder about the process of developing a story arch over a season of episodes (particularly on shows like Lost). How much is determine by the time the premiere is completed and how much is developed from episode to episode?

So I went into this season's premiere assuming it would setup up the characters and themes which will play out over the next twelve episodes. I also assumed, since it has been acknowledged season five is the final season, the story line over this season is probably more fully developed from the beginning, so the premiere would be expected to have even more foreshadowing of the events to follow.

The Wire, in general terms, deals with the heroin trade in Baltimore, Maryland but each season has additional themes specific to the season. For more details on the themes explored in each season see the Wikipedia entry. Season five will presumably continue to look at wiretap technology, the drug trade, political corruption, police bureaucracy and the corner kids from season 4 while introducing the new theme of the media. Since Dave Simon worked for the Baltimore Sun for twelve years it should prove to be an interesting look at the MSM (as the bloggers say) or main stream media. It was good to see Clark Johnson has joined the cast as a veteran journalist. Johnson is probably best know for playing Detective Meldrick Lewis in all seven seasons of David Simon's other police drama Homicide: Life on the Street. He has also directed episodes of The Wire in season one.

Beyond the introduction of the media as a theme we know the "new day" promised at the end of season four has not materialized, McNulty is back to his old ways in more ways than one, Carver has been promoted to SIC, Herc has been busted out of the force and is doing PI work for Levi (former house counsel for the Barksdale crew) and Bubbles is staying clean. Marlo is stirring up trouble in the co-op and scoping out Prop Joe's connect in an attempt to get that good package all to himself. And, sadly, no Omar. Oh yeah, the photocopier/lie-detector bit was priceless.

I can't say I cared much for Steve Earle's version of the theme song but its better than the version by DoMaJe. Steve Earle's version will probably grow on me over time.

Some Wire related stories

Just a few stories related to The Wire I found over the past couple of months.

First the real life Fran Boyd, whose life and struggle with addiction is chronicled in the book and HBO mini-series The Corner (also co-written by The Wire creators David Simon and Ed Burns), married Donnie Andrews this past summer. Andrews is one of the real life characters on which Omar Little is based. Their story was featured in this NY Times article.

Also in the "real life basis for the character" category is "Little Melvin" Williams. Williams is the primary model for the character Avon Barksdale. He has an IQ around 160 and is often credited as the man who brought heroin to Baltimore. He was brought down in a wiretap case by The Wire co-creator Ed Burns and server 26.5 years in prison. He currently plays the role of the Deacon on the Wire.

And finally Felicia "Snoop" Pearson who plays Felicia "Snoop" Pearson in seasons 3 & 4 of The Wire has released an autobiography detailing her life. She was a three pound crack baby at birth and was sentenced to 8 years for second degree murder when she was 14 years old. In season 4, Snoop and her partner (in crime) Chris were murdering their competition, dumping the bodies in vacant homes and nailing them shut again to hide the evidence. Here's Snoop in the first scene of the season 4 premiere -



If women come any harder than Snoop, I don't want to know about it.

The Wire: The Chronicles on HBO's website

There are few good The Wire "historical" vignettes on the HBO website. Of course I particularly like the episode with Omar. Does anyone remember who Anthony (part of the stickup crew) is? He is mentioned at least three times in season one.

Youtube also has the following teaser for season 5 (The music sounds like The Roots to me) -



As well as this behind the scenes look at season 5 -



McNulty is drinking again ... I heard this was going to be a bleak season.