The Wire: Complete HBO Season 4 | 
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| Actors: Dominic West, Michael K. Williams, Sonja Sohn
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £39.99
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Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 173
Format: Pal
Language: English (Unknown)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Number Of Discs: 5
Running Time: 749 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
EAN: 7321902173429
ASIN: B000XPC4ZG
Release Date: March 10, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Even if you missed the first three seasons (the character guides and thorough episode recaps on HBO's website are recommended), and with only one season left, it's not too late to get in under The Wire. In fact, season 4 is an accessible introduction for those who know The Wire only by its street cred as arguably the very best show on television. For them especially, this season will be, as befitting its theme, a real education. Without resorting to melodramatics that other ratings-challenged series employ to gain that frustratingly elusive audience, The Wire shakes things up this season in a way that is true to the series and its characters. A major character, Dominic West's McNulty, plays a minor role as a contented street cop and family man, while a former supporting player, Jim True-Frost's Roland Pryzbylewski, goes to the head of the class as a new eighth grade teacher at beleaguered Edward Tilghman Middle School. It may take a couple of episodes to orient yourself to the Baltimore backrooms, squad rooms, classrooms, and street corners where The Wire's intense dramas play out, and new viewers may miss something in character nuance, but they will easily grasp the big picture. A politically motivated shake-up sends Major Crimes detectives Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Greggs (Sonja Sohn) to Homicide. The gloves come off in the mayoral race between black incumbent Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman) and idealistic white challenger Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen). Gang leader Marlo (Jamie Hector) quietly and deliberately becomes the city's new drug kingpin, managing to subvert all surveillance efforts. Meanwhile, while "Prez" tries to reach his students, four highly at-risk kids will be drawn into the drug trade.
Mere synopsis does not do The Wire justice. The series deftly juggles its myriad storylines and characters, all of whom make an impression, from Marlo's cold-blooded enforcers, Snoop (Felicia Pearson) and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe), to boxing instructor "Cutty" (Chad L. Coleman), determined to keep his young charges off the corners. There is not a false note in the performances or the writing. Richard Price (Clockers) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) again contributed episodes. That this series has only been nominated for only one Emmy (for writing) is a travesty. As engrossing as the finest novels and in a class by itself, this isn't television; it's The Wire. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
Masterpiece, Vol. 4 February 8, 2008
Petrolhead (Hong Kong)
39 out of 41 found this review helpful
This season is another humdinger, no doubt. Far and away the most sophisticated thing on TV (not to mention film, radio and the print media), The Wire epitomises that journalistic adage: "Show me, don't tell me". We've all heard about inner city squalor, the ghettos, the drug lords. But can we actually picture what these words mean? The Wire unlocks that world, and may unlock your mind.
If season 4 starts rather slowly, it is no doubt because season 3 ended with such a bang that it tied up most of the loose ends and cauterised the rest. So we get some new characters, new plotlines and a new theme: education, or the lack of it. The political story rings louder as Councilman Tommy Carcetti fights for the party's mayoral nomination, a battle that is waged in an arena of corruption and where attacking the incumbent's record on crime is a potent weapon. So Carcetti (much more likeable here than in season 3) and his mayoral ambitions become a solid part of the story, cementing the political dimension of The Wire.
Interlaced with the politics and the drugs world, which remains centre stage in season 4, is the educational storyline. Hamsterdam veteran Bunny Colvin gets involved in a programme that aims to improve schooling by socialising the 13-year-old "corner kids" - the problem children who are likely to be dead or jailed by 20. Prez, Carver and Cutty also get involved. The school story is rich with junior acting talent. Needless to say, drugs and crime are never far away, and not everyone has a happy time in the classroom.
With so much else going on, the drugs war, which was everything to season 1, is now merely first among equals in a panoply of plotlines. It is still the backbone of The Wire because it is the central issue in the lives of most of the characters, but the writers have had fun breaking new ground and exploring fresh ideas. Since they assume you've already watched the first three seasons (and it would be quite perverse to watch them out of order), they have an increasingly rich and three dimensional Baltimore world to draw on. This saves a huge amount of scene-setting and characterisation and it adds to the realism, and there are in-jokes and references to events and people from back in the old days, the kind of thing you never see on a normal TV show. In fact, I'm getting so at home in Baltimore, I am almost getting to the stage where I can understand the gang talk without the subtitles on. But not quite.
The downside of broadening the canvas, depending on your own personal taste, may be the fact that some characters we know and love are now rarely in the picture. McNulty and, ahem, Stringer, for example, were mainstays of earlier seasons. In this one, McNulty gets a few walk-ons but is essentially a minor character. On the other hand, Bunk, Bunny and Bubbles (why do these guys all have the same kind of name?) are all to the fore. Omar, Lester, Keema, Landsman, Herc and Carver all loom large too.
The complex characters are one of the many strengths of the Wire and the writers have kept up the standard in this season. The killers aren't softies, but even they can tell a joke or show a little heart. Just when you thought you had someone pegged as a loser, they grow balls. That corrupt politician is suddenly likeable. Your favourite character looks a little smug all of a sudden, as if he is his own favourite too.
This richness of roles is key to another of its great virtues: the Wire has dozens of well-rounded characters, and most of them are black. It has set a standard for racial realism which Hollywood will never match if it cannot offer more black roles than "second mugger", "mouthy comedian" and "shouty black police captain".
In fact one of the lesser new characters in this season is a shouty white police captain, Lt. Marimow, a wonderful addition, an officious and headstrong martinet who has been inexplicably promoted and who reminded me strongly of a loathed former boss. It's a testament to the writers that a supposed "goodie" can cause such revulsion while one definite "baddie" who did not make it past the end of season 3 is much missed. The series' writer David Simon explains in the bonus material why he had to kill him off - it is just not realistic for drug dealers to go on living forever.
One small quibble with this season is that it does not end with the same kind of satisfying plot wrap-up as the first three did. But that complaint fizzles out when I start thinking about season 5 - the last. Yes, there are still loose ends to be tied up at the end of 4, but I would rather the writers take the whole of season 5 to keep those plots boiling away than try to squeeze all the various storylines into one great reckoning at the end of this fourth 13-episode season.
The bonus material includes an hour-long two-part documentary about the series and the season's education theme. For my money, it is not as enjoyable as the cast's candid Q&A on the season 3 DVD, but still well worth watching. In one insight, Simon sums up the ethos of the series: "The Wire is not about good and evil. The Wire is about economics, it's about sociology." There's also some good input from former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke (who caused a furore by pushing for liberalisation of drug laws) and education experts who laud the season's take on the subject.
The bonus material also gives us a glimpse of the actors out of character - see Bubbles looking clean and chic!! Hear McNulty's English accent! It's quite a fright to realise that it's just a show.
The Guardian called The Wire the best TV show since the invention of radio and the Financial Times said it is such a radical programme that it threatens to disrupt entirely the way we watch TV. As ever, The Wire is not for those who are faint of heart or feeble of mind. For the rest, don't miss it.
Best show on TV keeps getting better November 20, 2007
O. Parker (Bristol, UK)
70 out of 76 found this review helpful
The penultimate season of The Wire once more expands the show's focus - this time to include education primarily through the faltering Baltimore public school system. This series again has a fantastic opening with a thickly accented young soldier in the drug war named "Snoop" buying a nail gun from a hardware store and receiving thorough tutoring in its usage from the salesman - the first of many unlikely sources of education we will see in the series.
The change of focus is not entirely unexpected - the series changes up with each new season - but it is masterfully handled. After the third season there is an apparent gap in the shows cast; long-time stars Idris Elba and Wood Harris have left the show and the Barksdale drug-dealing organization is in tatters. Compounding the vacuum left by two of the shows longest serving and most fascinating character's Dominic West's Jimmy McNulty is also sidelined and does not appear in several episodes this season. It is a mark of the series' ambition that the nominal main character of the show is allowed to fade into a supporting role to accommodate new story-lines.
Stepping in to fill these gaps are four young actors each of whom creates a stunning and affecting performance. Many other shows would have layered sentiment and condescension on these middle school aged characters but The Wire grants them the same humanising approach as it does any of its characters. Tristan Wilds plays Michael Lee a quiet leader amongst his peers and strangely withdrawn with adults. Michael's journey this season was not unexpected but remains heart wrenching and the reasons for his actions are subtly revealed and upsetting. Julito McCullum plays Namond Brice, a brash and comparatively rich kid and the son of incarcerated Barksdale enforcer Wee-Bey. Namond's path was entirely unexpected for me and provides one of the series brightest moments which shine stronger for their rarity. Maestro Harrell plays Randy Wagstaff a bright and business minded foster child who counts himself lucky to have found a supportive home. Jermaine Crawford plays Duquan Weems; the most unfortunate of the four his parents are drug addicts and he is neglected. Both Randy and Dukie have difficult stories to follow. Its another ambitious step to put so much of the dramatic weight of the series in such young and unproven actors but it pays off - all four deliver textured performances that blend with the world of The Wire seamlessly.
The Stanfield Organization also have an expanded role and Jamie Hector turns in a chilling performance as ruthless and malicious drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield. Snoop, and her mentor Chris Partlow, share more screen time in this season and are both chilling and provide some of the series funnier moments. The characters of Ellis Carver, Bunny Colvin and Prez all see unexpected developments and its a joy to see actors Jim True-Frost (Prez) and Seth Gilliam (Carver) shine in their larger roles. JD Williams also shines this year as newly independent drug dealer Bodie Broadus he has some fantastic scenes with McNulty and Tray Chaney's Poot that recall the series earlier moments.
The writing continues to be top notch. David Simon gives a greater share of the responsibility to his colleague Ed Burns this time. Burns was a detective but left the department and taught in public schools for several years and his experience illuminates the series main theme. Along with Burns 'earlier career Simon's own experience as a crime reporter informs the series longest running focus - the institutional struggles and similarities of the police department and the city drug dealers. William F. Zorzi worked with Simon as a reporter but covered politics and oversees the ongoing examination of Baltimore's lawmakers. Acclaimed crime novelists George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane and Richard Price continue to contribute episodes. It is the writers wealth of experience that brings continuing verisimilitude and depth of realism to the depiction of the city.
This is the least case driven series of the show and the scaled back investigation gives more room to accomodate the increasing scope. Its the best example of the show being an examination of the city rather than a crime/cop drama. The series makes a convincing argument about the bankruptcy of an education system that claims that no child is left behind but encourages policies such as working solely towards test scores and social promotion; as always its socially relevant and compelling stuff. This series stands well on its own because of the wealth of new characters but I'd urge anyone to start at the beginning and let the show build as intended. Its challenging viewing and rewards viewer commitment with subtleties of storytelling and rapidly increasing intensity towards the end of the series. These kids all get an education, none of the lessons are easy and few of them come from the school system.
Eclipses everything else on TV February 3, 2008
D. Booth (UK)
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
For once, the hyperbole is justified. Watching 'The Wire' makes you
angry - not because of the injustice, poverty or corruption it so
unerringly portrays. No, what makes you really angry is the dawning
realisation that every other TV series you have ever watched has short
changed you. Watching 'The Wire' is like picking up a meaty novel when
all you've ever read before are flimsy short stories. It has taken
nearly 50 years, but finally a show has come along that has realised
the full potential of the medium of television.
Here's what the FT had to say April 14, 2008
Dorje Mundle (Copenhagen)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Here's the Financial Times article on Series Four that initially alerted me to The Wire's existence. Since reading this article, I've bought - and been bowled over by - the first three series, and am about to get going on the fourth. I've never watched anything that has given such an in-depth, nuanced, balanced and entertaining insight into so many important issues of the day. It stays with you and makes you think about its message long after you stop watching it. There just isn't a better series than The Wire - it's unquestionably sui generis.
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A black underclass gets its own Dickens
Published: September 14 2006
The Wire, a US police drama that has just begun its fourth season on HBO, is the best television show ever broadcast in America. No other programme has ever come close to doing what it does, namely portraying the social, political and economic life of an American city with the scope, precision and moral vision of great literature.
During its first year, it was possible to mistake The Wire for merely an unusually shrewd crime saga. But the programme has become richer and more ambitious with each season and now fits only into a category it defines by itself: the urban procedural. Its protagonist is the broken metropolis of Baltimore, depicted with obsessive verisimilitude and affectionate rage.
Its fundamental concern is the isolation and degradation of the black underclass, a subject that has, with the exception of a brief blip after Hurricane Katrina, disappeared from the American political radar screen.
If the national conscience is ready for another sleepless night overlives wasted in the ghetto, I expect that The Wire will be what keeps us awake.
It is a mark of this programme's artistic courage that while homicide and detective work remain its bread and butter, it dares to focus this year on an urban environment not ordinarily associated with commercial television: an all-black middle school in West Baltimore. The show's creator, David Simon, has had the self-assuredness to drop the Hollywood convention of the white cop as hero.
At the centre of this season's drama are the compelling characters of four adolescent African-American boys, played by unknown actors so preternaturally talented they do not seem to be acting at all. Watching The Wire this season feels less like watching these four children navigate their cruel world than like adopting them. At 12 and 13, they can still go either way. The central drama is whether "the game" of drug dealing will exert its gravitational pull on them, or whether they will somehow beat the odds pointing them towards jail and violent death. The programme reverses your expectations while breaking your heart.
Several critics have commented on The Wire's "literary" quality. In particular, the programme echoesthe Victorian social panorama of Charles Dickens (who gets a mention this season as an obscene anatomical reference). The story cuts from the top of the city's social structure toits bottom.
As with Dickens, the excitement builds as the intricate plot unfolds in addicting instalments. But the deeper connection to Dickens is the programme's animating fury at the way a society robs children oftheir childhood. In our civilised age, we do not send 12-year-olds towork in blacking factories. Today's David Copperfield is instead dragooned into slinging drugs onthe corner, where his prospects are even bleaker.
The other main theme this seasonis urban politics. A white candidate tries to win election as mayor by cynically splitting the vote of the city's black majority. Yet this ambitious white politician is also an idealist frustrated by the waste of lives all around him.
The election plot line, along with another about the venal police brass trying to manipulate crime statistics, captures the realities of American government and the compound motives of politicians in a way that leaves West Wing in the dust. The programme's political science is as brilliant as its sociology.
In past seasons, The Wire has won praise from critics but suffered from weak ratings. That may be less because it leaves you drained and disturbed at the end of an episode than because of the challenge of keeping track of its many characters and narrative threads. There is also the difficulty of absorbing the black dialect it represents as faithfully as it does all its other carefully studied details.
While The Wire feels startlingly lifelike, it is not a naturalistic depiction. That style of realism better describes an earlier series of Mr Simon's, The Corner, which was based on a work of journalism of the same name that he co-wrote, also set in the same Baltimore ghetto. The HBO version of The Corner, whichis almost unbearable to watch,seems to have been a crucial life study for The Wire, a programme that attains the dimensions of tragedy without being depressing.
How this manages to be the case is the most interesting aspect of the programme's artistry. The sparkling writing and bravura cast make viewers root for dozens of rich characters, including several despicable ones. Everyone's favourite survivors from earlier seasons are back this year, including two truly Shakespearean figures: the vagabond snitch "Bubbles" and Omar, a gay stick-up artist whose personal code involves never serving any other masters and not cursing.
What ultimately makes The Wire uplifting for all the heartbreak is its embodiment of what America's leading black politician, the senator Barack Obama, calls "the audacityof hope".
It is filled with characters who should give up but do not do so, not only the boys themselves, but teachers, cops, ex-cops and ex-convicts who lose their hearts to them. Thisrefusal to surrender in the face of defeat is a reality of ghetto lifeas well.
The writer is editor of Slate.com
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