The Wire: 10 years gone, the lessons still fit

HBO

It has been ten years since the final episode of The Wire on HBO.

David Simon and Ed Burns created a masterpiece that is still relevant in how it addresses societal ills. Anyone who has ever watched all five seasons has told someone else about the show. Quite frankly, this is the greatest television show of all time.

The Wire is better than anything that can be copped on a Baltimore corner. The Wire is more gripping and raw than a Prop Joe package. Unlike other drugs, every time The Wire gets fired up, it is just as good as the first fix, and sometimes even better as some subtle nuances are noticed.

The Wire has gone relatively un-watched by the masses. David Simon and Ed Burns, these two guys who lived and breathed the ways of Baltimore and seen the systemic bureaucracy at large for what it was, legal and otherwise, got tired of the rot and made a show. The show they made was damn near perfect.

The dedication of serious fans has endured. If two people in a debate have both seen The Wire, it seems to go a lot smoother, guaranteed.

Why has The Wire remained under the radar for a decade? It aired before the so-called “Golden Age of TV” was fully realized. It is a slow burn that requires attention and some intuition. The first box release wasn’t on Blu-ray, it’s that old, so lots of people don’t even know about it. Timing is everything.

In a quick ranking of characters and seasons, I would die on that corner for Bodie to this day.

1>4>2>3>5 ….. If one disagrees, there is a comments section below. But remember, “…Come at the King…”