The Wire: Complete HBO Season 4 [DVD]

This season is another humdinger, no doubt. Far and away the most sophisticated thing on TV (not to mention film, radio and the print media), The Wire epitomises that journalistic adage: "Show me, don't tell me". We've all heard about inner city squalor, the ghettos, the drug lords. But can we actually picture what these words mean? The Wire unlocks that world, and may unlock your mind.

If season 4 starts rather slowly, it is no doubt because season 3 ended with such a bang that it tied up most of the loose ends and cauterised the rest. So we get some new characters, new plotlines and a new theme: education, or the lack of it. The political story rings louder as Councilman Tommy Carcetti fights for the party's mayoral nomination, a battle that is waged in an arena of corruption and where attacking the incumbent's record on crime is a potent weapon. So Carcetti (much more likeable here than in season 3) and his mayoral ambitions become a solid part of the story, cementing the political dimension of The Wire.

Interlaced with the politics and the drugs world, which remains centre stage in season 4, is the educational storyline. Hamsterdam veteran Bunny Colvin gets involved in a programme that aims to improve schooling by socialising the 13-year-old "corner kids" - the problem children who are likely to be dead or jailed by 20. Prez, Carver and Cutty also get involved. The school story is rich with junior acting talent. Needless to say, drugs and crime are never far away, and not everyone has a happy time in the classroom.

With so much else going on, the drugs war, which was everything to season 1, is now merely first among equals in a panoply of plotlines. It is still the backbone of The Wire because it is the central issue in the lives of most of the characters, but the writers have had fun breaking new ground and exploring fresh ideas. Since they assume you've already watched the first three seasons (and it would be quite perverse to watch them out of order), they have an increasingly rich and three dimensional Baltimore world to draw on. This saves a huge amount of scene-setting and characterisation and it adds to the realism, and there are in-jokes and references to events and people from back in the old days, the kind of thing you never see on a normal TV show. In fact, I'm getting so at home in Baltimore, I am almost getting to the stage where I can understand the gang talk without the subtitles on. But not quite.

The downside of broadening the canvas, depending on your own personal taste, may be the fact that some characters we know and love are now rarely in the picture. McNulty and, ahem, Stringer, for example, were mainstays of earlier seasons. In this one, McNulty gets a few walk-ons but is essentially a minor character. On the other hand, Bunk, Bunny and Bubbles (why do these guys all have the same kind of name?) are all to the fore. Omar, Lester, Keema, Landsman, Herc and Carver all loom large too.

The complex characters are one of the many strengths of the Wire and the writers have kept up the standard in this season. The killers aren't softies, but even they can tell a joke or show a little heart. Just when you thought you had someone pegged as a loser, they grow balls. That corrupt politician is suddenly likeable. Your favourite character looks a little smug all of a sudden, as if he is his own favourite too.

This richness of roles is key to another of its great virtues: the Wire has dozens of well-rounded characters, and most of them are black. It has set a standard for racial realism which Hollywood will never match if it cannot offer more black roles than "second mugger", "mouthy comedian" and "shouty black police captain".

In fact one of the lesser new characters in this season is a shouty white police captain, Lt. Marimow, a wonderful addition, an officious and headstrong martinet who has been inexplicably promoted and who reminded me strongly of a loathed former boss. It's a testament to the writers that a supposed "goodie" can cause such revulsion while one definite "baddie" who did not make it past the end of season 3 is much missed. The series' writer David Simon explains in the bonus material why he had to kill him off - it is just not realistic for drug dealers to go on living forever.

One small quibble with this season is that it does not end with the same kind of satisfying plot wrap-up as the first three did. But that complaint fizzles out when I start thinking about season 5 - the last. Yes, there are still loose ends to be tied up at the end of 4, but I would rather the writers take the whole of season 5 to keep those plots boiling away than try to squeeze all the various storylines into one great reckoning at the end of this fourth 13-episode season.

The bonus material includes an hour-long two-part documentary about the series and the season's education theme. For my money, it is not as enjoyable as the cast's candid Q&A on the season 3 DVD, but still well worth watching. In one insight, Simon sums up the ethos of the series: "The Wire is not about good and evil. The Wire is about economics, it's about sociology." There's also some good input from former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke (who caused a furore by pushing for liberalisation of drug laws) and education experts who laud the season's take on the subject.

The bonus material also gives us a glimpse of the actors out of character - see Bubbles looking clean and chic!! Hear McNulty's English accent! It's quite a fright to realise that it's just a show.

The Guardian called The Wire the best TV show since the invention of radio and the Financial Times said it is such a radical programme that it threatens to disrupt entirely the way we watch TV. As ever, The Wire is not for those who are faint of heart or feeble of mind. For the rest, don't miss it.

The penultimate season of The Wire once more expands the show's focus - this time to include education primarily through the faltering Baltimore public school system. This series again has a fantastic opening with a thickly accented young soldier in the drug war named "Snoop" buying a nail gun from a hardware store and receiving thorough tutoring in its usage from the salesman - the first of many unlikely sources of education we will see in the series.

The change of focus is not entirely unexpected - the series changes up with each new season - but it is masterfully handled. After the third season there is an apparent gap in the shows cast; long-time stars Idris Elba and Wood Harris have left the show and the Barksdale drug-dealing organization is in tatters. Compounding the vacuum left by two of the shows longest serving and most fascinating character's Dominic West's Jimmy McNulty is also sidelined and does not appear in several episodes this season. It is a mark of the series' ambition that the nominal main character of the show is allowed to fade into a supporting role to accommodate new story-lines.

Stepping in to fill these gaps are four young actors each of whom creates a stunning and affecting performance. Many other shows would have layered sentiment and condescension on these middle school aged characters but The Wire grants them the same humanising approach as it does any of its characters. Tristan Wilds plays Michael Lee a quiet leader amongst his peers and strangely withdrawn with adults. Michael's journey this season was not unexpected but remains heart wrenching and the reasons for his actions are subtly revealed and upsetting. Julito McCullum plays Namond Brice, a brash and comparatively rich kid and the son of incarcerated Barksdale enforcer Wee-Bey. Namond's path was entirely unexpected for me and provides one of the series brightest moments which shine stronger for their rarity. Maestro Harrell plays Randy Wagstaff a bright and business minded foster child who counts himself lucky to have found a supportive home. Jermaine Crawford plays Duquan Weems; the most unfortunate of the four his parents are drug addicts and he is neglected. Both Randy and Dukie have difficult stories to follow. Its another ambitious step to put so much of the dramatic weight of the series in such young and unproven actors but it pays off - all four deliver textured performances that blend with the world of The Wire seamlessly.

The Stanfield Organization also have an expanded role and Jamie Hector turns in a chilling performance as ruthless and malicious drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield. Snoop, and her mentor Chris Partlow, share more screen time in this season and are both chilling and provide some of the series funnier moments. The characters of Ellis Carver, Bunny Colvin and Prez all see unexpected developments and its a joy to see actors Jim True-Frost (Prez) and Seth Gilliam (Carver) shine in their larger roles. JD Williams also shines this year as newly independent drug dealer Bodie Broadus he has some fantastic scenes with McNulty and Tray Chaney's Poot that recall the series earlier moments.

The writing continues to be top notch. David Simon gives a greater share of the responsibility to his colleague Ed Burns this time. Burns was a detective but left the department and taught in public schools for several years and his experience illuminates the series main theme. Along with Burns 'earlier career Simon's own experience as a crime reporter informs the series longest running focus - the institutional struggles and similarities of the police department and the city drug dealers. William F. Zorzi worked with Simon as a reporter but covered politics and oversees the ongoing examination of Baltimore's lawmakers. Acclaimed crime novelists George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane and Richard Price continue to contribute episodes. It is the writers wealth of experience that brings continuing verisimilitude and depth of realism to the depiction of the city.

This is the least case driven series of the show and the scaled back investigation gives more room to accomodate the increasing scope. Its the best example of the show being an examination of the city rather than a crime/cop drama. The series makes a convincing argument about the bankruptcy of an education system that claims that no child is left behind but encourages policies such as working solely towards test scores and social promotion; as always its socially relevant and compelling stuff. This series stands well on its own because of the wealth of new characters but I'd urge anyone to start at the beginning and let the show build as intended. Its challenging viewing and rewards viewer commitment with subtleties of storytelling and rapidly increasing intensity towards the end of the series. These kids all get an education, none of the lessons are easy and few of them come from the school system.

Having just finished watching series 4, I have come to Amazon to see if Series 5 is yet available... unfortunately it isn't, and so I will continue to check regularly until it is.

Some of the above reviews are extremely descriptive and very well written, so I will be brief.

I will put it this way, I watch very little tv but since receiving Series 1 as a birthday present less than four weeks ago I have just finished watching the 52nd episode!

I have never watched two films in a row, but had absolutely no problem watching 11 hours of The Wire without a break!! It really is the best tv show ever made and for anyone that listens to hip hop music, or likes 'hood' movies etc, you simply cannot miss this. If you're too broke to buy it now, just hire it asap - but you will end up buying it one day!

Treat yourself and get all 4 series and start from the beginning. While you could happily start from Series 3, I absolutely guarantee you would end up purchasing Series 1 and 2 at a later date, so you may as well start from the beginning!

I've never written a review on Amazon before, but this show is so good I am almost obliged to pro-actively encourage you people to buy it. Buy it today, make no plans for the next weekend and enjoy!!