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Published on Saturday, June 1, 2002 - 9:52pm |
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HBO's THE WIRE!!
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I am – Hercules!!
HBO cablecasts the second-season finale of “Six Feet Under” Sunday night, and the fourth season of “The Sopranos” isn’t set to bow until autumn. What to do?
HBO premieres “The Wire” 10 p.m. Sunday (opposite Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” and ABC’s “The Hamptons”).
Debut: Emmy-winning producer David Simon (The Corner) returns to the streets of West Baltimore with this well-crafted crime drama, which follows a single investigation for its entire 13-episode run. The deliberately paced opener begins with a murder trial, in which a young drug dealer (Larry Gilliard Jr.) goes free after a witness changes her story. A frustrated Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) tells the judge that the police aren't investigating these cases thoroughly enough – a revelation that doesn't sit well with his bosses. McNulty is soon reassigned to narcotics, where the pressure is on to bring down a major drug dealer (Wood Harris). Greggs: Sonja Sohn.
HBO's "The Wire" might not be quite as startling as the cabler's other original series, but that's because this police show rather boldly seeks drama in dullness. That's not to suggest that the show is boring but this is a series that's all about the fine print, finding its most emotional moments not in violent confrontations between good guys and bad guys in the drug war, but in depicting the battles of bureaucrats.
Like "The Corner," this series paints a detailed and often depressing picture of life on the mean streets. But where "The Corner" searched the souls of its troubled characters to find an underlying humanity, "The Wire" presents characters largely devoid of conscience or compassion who are guided mainly by ambition or expedience. Despite solid acting and several interesting twists and turns, viewers may be understandably reluctant to return each week to the scenes of these ugly crimes.
David Simon insists on taking TV, and TV viewers, to places they've long been resistant to go … Never has the drug trade's human toll been more painfully captured. … While there are moments of overly arty chatter, the show's ability to create a believable sense of place is nothing short of astounding (as is its profanity).
HBO is an Energizer Bunny whose assembly line of first-rate series keeps going and going. Joining "Six Feet Under," "Sex and the City," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Sopranos" on this pedestal is "The Wire," a scorching look at the drug trade in a Baltimore housing project through the eyes of mid-level dealers and police. … "The Wire" is more evidence that TV's best crime shows are in their own golden age.
I am – Hercules!!
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