Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You gotta keep the devil down in the hole, 18 Dec 2008
Essential viewing. Clever yet uncompromising. And unlike most TV shows, actually gets stronger with each episode. Season 3 sees McNulty resume his vendetta against the Barksdale crew. The Major Crimes Unit is now fully established after their work on the docks, their initial role is to help minimise the muder rate in Baltimore.
Previous seasons told the story from the perspectives of both the criminals and the cops. City Hall is now introduced to the mix, and as a result this season is very much about the politics on both sides.
The Barksdales are concerned with the power shift and conflict of interests prompted by Avons release. In addition to their handling of Marlow Stansfield, a ruthless gang member threatening the truce. Stringer wants to focus on property development and 'legitimate' business, whereas Avon wants a war with Marlow. Add D'Angello's unresolved 'suicide', and the fuse is lit.
On the law enforcement side, Mayor Royce's pressure on Commissioner Burrell results in a zero tolerance approach to crime, putting jobs at risk. He forces Major Colvin to adopt a radical new approach to the drug problem, and the consequences are far and wide.
The Wire is famed for its gritty, unvarnished depiction of Baltimore, but 'Hamsterdam' takes this to an entirely new level. These sequences are frighteningly realistic, whilst intelligently exploring the social and political outcomes of this initiative.
Omar: the drug dealer robbing, homosexual gangster makes a triumphant return; his involvement this season making him the stuff of legends. After Stringers attempts to set him up last season, Omar is gunning for the Barksdale crew, especially after a botched robbery early on, leading to deaths on both sides. 'Bowtie' also returns to resolve unfinished business. Bubbs, the likeable addict/informer makes an attempt to go straight, selling white t-shirts from a shopping trolley. And after pistol-whipping a teenager and assaulting Major Valcheck, Prez outdoes himself once again, but there is no coming back this time.
In fact, after Season 3, things will never be the same again. The towers may be demolished, but if you walk through this garden, you still need to watch your back.
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71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three out of three, AGAIN the most sophisticated thing on TV!, 18 Mar 2007
Stunningly good, again. Who'd have thought that a TV show about cops and gangs would be so subtle, 3-dimensional, funny, moving and intelligent? Everybody who wants to understand drugs, crime or America should watch it!
In this season, the makers of The Wire have expanded the universe of the show by adding a new political dimension while bringing the focus back to the drug-littered west Baltimore streets of the first season, where names like Barksdale, Omar and Prop Joe still "ring out". It's the same old "game": gangs fighting for street corners, sergeants demanding arrests and Jimmy McNulty going behind his boss's back to pull strings for a short-cut solution to his big case...
I have no wish to give away the plot, which is a humdinger, but suffice to say it the story is jolted by realism and twists just like in the first two seasons. New people join the game, others leave it, and one man thinks he may have struck on an answer to clean up the whole scene...
And the characters are so well drawn, it is hard to believe these are actors. I mean, surely the guy who plays Omar really is chillingly ruthless and charmingly eloquent? And surely the guy who plays Jay must really enjoy needling his subordinates in a gross and funny way? But actually the men behind McNulty and Stringer are both British, which shows how convincing the whole dramatic illusion is, even though it often feels like a documentary.
Please note, you must watch the first two seasons before this one (or at least you REALLY should because they are excellent and you will spoil the fun if you discover the plot backwards) and, yes, the DVDs of all three seasons have subtitles, and you will probably need them, unless you are a Baltimore drug dealer.
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50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
if there were a sixth star..., 14 May 2007
I concur with many of the opinions below, the choice to focus on one main story line from several angles makes Season Three far superior to Season Two. I just wanted to add that this is very rewarding as we now have the back stories on all the main characters. The confrontations between some of the main characters lead to both acting and cimematograpgy of epic proportions. The showdown between Bouzone and Omar is like a modern day Spaghetti Western, although in this case the lack of music enhances the tension. Probably the greatest triumph in this show, and dare I say it... in any TV show ever made, is the subtle cat and mouse games between the main protagonists on either side of the law. The relationship between McNulty and Stringer could have been taken from a Royal Shakespeare performance, albeit on the streets of west Baltimore. Added to all this are the new layers of politics from the Mayor's office, the Media and the men with the stripes at Police HQ.
It remains for me to say that it is criminal that shows like this are not broadcast on terrestrial TV in the UK, instead we have to suffer shows with faded celebs dancing until their ultimate phone-vote related downfall. Good job I have a dvd player!
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