Customer Reviews
Listen Carefully - This is Outstanding! - By: Jr Lorrimer, 13 Nov 2008 
The only problem I have with The Wire is having to get to the end. This, the penultimate series, is by far the greatest drama to have EVER been televised & having just watched the final episode I feel almost empty knowing I have only one more series left to enjoy.
However, I am also looking forward to watching the entire box set all over again. There's always so much happeningin The Wire I'm sure there'll be plenty I've missed!
This series concentrated mostly on Baltimore's educational system & provided a platform for some of the finest young actors I've ever seen.
As always, the writing is outstanding & you're left with a feeling that nothing else on television even comes close to the high standards set by David Simon, but despite having the Presidential Seal of Approval (it's Barack's fave tv show) it's viewing figures & award nominations are criminally lacking.
Hopefully the rest of the world will catch up with this amazing series & it will eventually recieve the accolades it undoubtably deserves.
series 4.... i dont know if i'd recommend it... - By: Stephen Reid, 01 Nov 2008 
Like most of the other reviewers i am highly impressed by the wire overall. If you have already watched the other three series then you will watch this regardless, but here is the problem. Series 4 is 12-13 hours of character development. Yes, what they generally managein 2-3 episodes they allocate all 13 episodes to. There is not even much need nor mention of a wire tapin series 4 for goodness sake, which says it all.
So if you are expecting something close to what you lovedin series 1-3 then forget it. Of course there is the usual continuity with past characters but the story doesn't offer closurein any area really. The substantive storyline must comein series 5 i guess... which is why i'd only rate series four 6/10.
"Omar comin'!" - By: R. Mullaney, 08 Oct 2008 In the opening scene of the first episode, the most terrifying female villain on TV, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson is listening to a hardware store clerk explaining the advantages of buying a high calibre nail gun. The Wire being The Wire, you just know she won't be using it for any home improvement. And so begins another audacious season of the finest drama on the box, this time with the emphasis on Baltimore's failing educational system.
Disgraced ex-cop "Prez" features highlyin his new role as a high school maths teacher trying his best to reach students who have no interestin anything outside corner life & earning a quick dollar slingin'. McNulty is back on the beat & off the drink whilst Kima, Bunk & Freamon work homicides when the major crimes unit wire taps are no longer renewed. Thomas Carcetti learns some harsh lessonsin Baltimore politics & Daniels continues to move up the ladder. On the street, youngster Marlo Stanfield has taken over the drug corners of West Baltimore after the collapse of the Barksdale organization. Lots of rival dealers are missing but the police have no bodies on their hands. On the East side, Proposition Joe, new right hand man "Slim" Charles & the co-op are eager to get Marlo onside to take advantage of his real estate. Doing his own thing as usual, Omar & new protege Reynaldo tire of robbing small time dealers & decide to go after some of the big boys.
It's a testament to David Simon's skills as a writer that each highly complex series of the wire has continued to be so brilliant. The emphasis shifts to a different aspect of Baltimore's troubled criminal justice system each time &in season 4 we see the familiar themes of political one-upmanship, back stabbing & frustration within the same high school that educates the new generation of gangsters & slingers. As a teacher myself, I was very pleased to see the amount of research that had obviously gone into making Prez's experiences realistic. A lot of the problems he faces with his disaffected students are right on the money & the shows authenticity is what makes it so great. That as well as the writing & acting. I once read a review of The Wirein which it was described as "the greatest novel never written" which is a good way of looking at it. You can't just tunein & watch the odd episode, it's all or nothing. The story is so ambitious from season 1 to the end of season 5 that it's probably best to buy the whole lot on DVD & take a week off work. The sheer number of well written characters is phenomenal & the quality never dipsin season 4. It is pretty heavy going at times & several characters meet their end but the final episode sets up nicely for the fifth & final season.
Like this? Try: The Wire: Seasons 1-3
miss it and miss out - By: Alexis Alleyne, 25 Sep 2008 I never thought a series about drug dealers could have me hooked, but laced with politics, the police system & characters like Freeman, Bunk, Marlo, damn every character is addictive. I satin a cinema watching Batman but longed to get home to watch The Wire. In fact, The Wire is the only filmatic experience worthy of a new six-star rating. I won't spoil it for others but there are characters I came to lovein series 1-3, but the beauty of The Wire is that any character can take the limelight. Having invested over 40 hours to the series, thein jokes were appreciated, every Omar scene is a classic & there is one involving a satin dressing gown which was a satifying fix. But the four young actors who are introducedin series four were strong, sensitive, & believable. The Wire will have you debating with the screen, blowing out friends, laughing, damn I nearly called up my old secondary school to get this on the curriculum. Get it, your life will improve.
The Bar is raised even higher - Magnificent TV Drama - By: Mr. Laurence Williams, 23 Sep 2008 Anyone who has seen previous Seasons may not have thought it possible, but Season 4 of 'The Wire' has raised the bar even higherin terms of quality viewing. I have avidly watched 'The Wire' from the beginning &in sequential order ! For me, this season & Season 1 impressed me most & I have written reviews for all the Seasons on Amazon.
It continues to be an excellent drama which is gritty, involving & believable - but this time the storyline is expanded to areas rarely coveredin ANY TV series before....
*** My review of this programme is again intentionally vague about the story as I don't want to spoil things for first-time viewers !
As is the norm, the story follows-on from the previous seasons (and also runs into the final season) returning to the original multi-layered plot to cover a multi-layered plot surrounding a specific group of drug-dealing criminals, & the detectives within the Baltimore Police Department who are trying to catch themin the act & bring down their operation. Therefore, to fully understand developments you have to be familiar with the main characters & (more importantly) the internal politics & general plot played-out earlier.
A new branch of the drug-dealing empire takes centre stage & includes several significant characters, some of whom are surprisingly ruthless & extremely unpleasant; the body count reaches new heightsin this season & some of the murders are really quite gruesome. Police operations continue, but are less concentrated, with the lead-character (McNulty) from earlier seasons barely getting a lookin this time. They are really playing catch-up against a typically 'professional' crime organisation.
However, things really focus on school life & the city mayoral election fight. These 'new' areas of coverage not only open fresh storylines (including corruption, scandal & difficult working practices) but also allow the lives & influences of new & existing characters to be depictedin a more varied way. Internal feuding & politics appearin ALL areas & are the real driving force behind plot developments. This season is very 'dark' & frustrations within the educational system, police force & political world come to the fore. The mayoral race gets dirty, revealing the worst side of all those involved....
The familiar coverage of individual strife (featuring many familiar characters) continues to present an overall picture of despair & there are few moments of encouragement for those hoping that Baltimore is getting 'cleaned-up'; nevertheless, it remains compulsive viewing.
The series trademarks of an excellent screenplay & an (EVEN better than before !) stock of actors, many of whom are juveniles, strengthens the desire to watch the next Season (which I have already seen) further still. The Season continues to be filmed on location (even including those scenes which are indoors). The lack of an accompanying music soundtrack also remains a theme of the production (which contributes to the feeling of reality).
If you've already seen Seasons 1-3 (and you should have really) you might, like me, not have found the need for subtitles this time - but I must say that understanding everything that characters such as the chilling 'Snoop' (who I didn't immediately realise was a girl !) was quite a challenge....
