Theres one in like every episode.

I've wondered that while watching this series - if they had actually tamed a lot of it down. There is obviously some dramatic flare thrown in... Omar is almost the equivalent of a ghetto Batman.

Except in Season 4 when Jimmy stopped drinking. He was almost non-existent that year, and it really pissed me off, as I think he's an epic character.

That's a superb observation. You're right on the money, imo. Omar is, by far, the most unrealistic aspect of The Wire. He's also the most popular. He's a superhero. The audience loves his antics and can breath a sigh of relief when he's on the screen. I think Omar exists primarily for emotional release; a small but necessary respite from the crushing bleakness of the rest of the show.

I felt like I got punched in the gut when they took him out. He is in my top 5 characters of all time.

"Packa Newpowt"

Soft Pack

Foul-mouthed lil hopper and shit.

Who dat think he Omar?


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Huh...I never realized that was Kenard.

Just finished the entire series. Epic is one word that comes to mind.

I'm not sure how to rank them just yet because I'm having a hard time with season 5. It just doesn't seem to fit the rest. The rest were realistic while 5 felt over the top. Yet, many of the ideas behind 5 are powerful. I'm gonna have to think about it.

My gut says: 4 & 1 (tie), 3 & 5 (tie), 2. But let's not pretend that says much. There's almost no distance between any of them, really.


Also, UP, you are correct when describing 10-12 hour days of The Wire. It is heaven.

Awesome. Did you like season 2? I noticed its last on your list.

Rewatch and see if you like it better, thats the case with most people. I loved it the first time through.

I need to re-watch this show.

It is still literary fiction (in TV form), so Season 5's plot was working fine on an artistic level. I wouldn't say that the serial killer plot was any more unrealistic than the Hamsterdam plot or the entire Omar story arc.

I'm on disc 3 of season 4. Amazed how they're able to come up with fresh storylines without abandoning what made the show great in the first place. I'd like to see more McNulty, though.

It ain't about what you like, holmes. Its about what serves the story.

I thought season 2 was friggin' great despite being way different than the other seasons. Focusing on Sobotka rather than Barksdale was risky but paid off. The season was essentially filler to lend some realism to the Barksdale timeline (they couldn't just turn around and get Avon out of prison the next season), I think, but it was amazing, well-crafted, meaningful filler.