The Wire - Season One

I'm a big fan of The Wire and I was engrossed by this Season One - episode by episode - review by Alan Sepinwall. The episode reviews are geared towards "veteran" viewers of The Wire - people who have seen the entire series and who won't bothered by spoilers. Sepinwall also wrote non-spoiler versions for newbie watchers of the series. I know that these were written almost a year ago but I just ran across them via the magic of the Internet.

There were many insights gleaned from the review of the first season but one that really struck me was:

One of the series' key themes is the folly of placing your faith in institutions, because they're designed to protect themselves and not you the individual. D'Angelo placed his faith in both The Game and his family, and they combined to drag him down and send his ass to prison for 20 years. McNulty put his faith in law-enforcement and found out that no one on either the local or federal level really cares about stopping the likes of Avon and Stringer. D goes to prison, Jimmy to the boat, and their institutions grind on with them on the margins.

This insight seems especially relevant today when the government seems to be strengthening the role of institutions in our lives and creating new institutions where none existed in the past. Are we trying to turn America into the Baltimore of The Wire? That's my fear.

Sepinwall also reviewed other seasons of The Wire. I can't wait to read his review of season two. If you read the reviews - make sure to take time to read the comments. Some of the best insights are found there and the show's creator, David Simon, even makes a guest appearance or two.