Saturday 9 November 2013

TV: The Wire (S3) (9/10)

Why did I watch it?
Season three of David Simon's Baltimore epic The Wire is the first season I haven't seen yet and I just completed re-watching the first two seasons to get back into the swing of things.

What's it all about?
Season three's central theme focuses on Baltimore's political machine, as the season's narrative follows the street level consequences of the incumbent Mayor's decision to increase the pressure on acting Police Commissioner Burrell to reduce crime statistics, all in the name of re-election  Meanwhile Lieutenant Daniels' Major Crime Unit continues to investigate the Barksdale organisation as Avon wages war against new dealer Marlo and Stringer struggles to legitimise the organisation through property development.





The Good:
  • The usual high quality, thoughtful, uber realistic writing
  • The penultimate episode Middle Ground
  • Rawls and Burrells' reaction at the ComStat meeting when Major Colvin's reveals his Hamsterdam tactics
  • Some big revelations and one of my most loved characters gets bumped off
  • Avon's thug mentality versus Stringer's 'bodies are bad for business' policy
The Bad:
  • Slower than usual this time around - the least enjoyable season so far for me but hey it's still The Wire.
  • The political flavour of the season, with time dedicated to Councilman Carcetti, Mayor Royce etc. is less savoury than the homicide, street crime and drug trafficking angles of previous seasons.
Who gets got?
Favourite line:
'I had him and he doesn't even know it' - Jimmy McNulty

Stand-out moment:
Stringer revealing all to Avon and the fisticuffs that followed

What my wife would say: #When you walk through the garden.....#

What the world thinks:
Metacritic - 98/100
Twitter -

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