The overall theme of ‘The Wire’ portrays the battle between the Baltimore Police and the overlords of the Projects, but this is not just a simple cops and robbers tale.

 After a murder trial is thrown out of court due to witness intimidation a detail is set up and assigned the case of investigating the man responsible. He happens to be one of the major players organising drug trafficking in the projects, Avon Barksdale. However, the Senior Police figures responsible for ordering the detail are only really concerned with covering their backs and the investigation is a façade that they fill with washed up, disgraced and loose end cops that nobody wants.

Throughout the series we see Lieutenant Daniels, the man in charge of the investigation, grow into his task as the squad gels into a tight knit and effective unit. On the other side of the coin you see the hand to mouth existence and daily threats to the lives of those that play ‘the game’ in the projects. As the Police investigation picks up pace the gang in the projects change things up in an attempt to stay one step ahead. Who will come out on top? Can any one come out on top?

The cast is predominantly made up of low key character actors, many of whom are either from the local area of Baltimore and/or have been involved in crime in some way. Be it on the side of the police or as mischievous felons. This combination of great character acting and local or theme specific knowledge combine to make The Wire entirely believable, gritty, and all consuming as you get sucked into the realism in front of you.

Another key factor in producing such a believable show is the combination of David Simon and Ed Burn at the helm of the writing duties. David Simon is the creator of The Wire and a former police reporter with the Baltimore Sun. He also augmented this experience by writing a book entitled Homicide: a year on the killing streets, based on a year that he spent with Baltimore homicide detectives. Ed burn is himself a former homicide detective and brought first hand knowledge of the surveillance technology used in tracking violent drug dealers. His time as a detective also brought him into close contact with the bureaucracy within the police department which is a major feature throughout The Wire.

Finally, along with the scarily believable characters and fascinating storylines, there are also a few lovable rogues thrown in, on both sides of the struggle, that you will find yourself rooting for. After a few episodes you will be almost as interested in what scrapes McNulty or Bubs are going to get into, and worrying about the overall plot second.

None.

Well, at a real push I guess there is one. It made me want to become either a Baltimore homicide detective or drug dealer.

This is definitely a bad thing for two reasons. Firstly, they are unobtainable dreams for a lowly lab tech from Woking, Surrey, UK. Secondly, whichever one I might opt for greatly increases the likelihood of being shot compared to being a lowly lab tech from Woking, Surrey, UK.