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This Sunday, January 6th is the premier of the fifth and final season of HBO's drama The Wire. For those of you who have not watched the show before, the four previous seasons have been absolutely phenomenal! One better then the next. Set in Baltimore, it is the continuing story about the drug crime in the inner city. Filmed on location in the real ghettos of seedy Baltimore.
I have never seen a drama with this much ambition. There are so many characters. So many story lines.
The cops and drug dealers play cat and mouse with the increasingly advancing technology of wire tapping and cell phones. Meanwhile, the cops can't properly get their jobs done because of all the red tape that goes on with the city politicians. And the drug dealers are in a constant battle with rivals who want to steal their 'package' or their 'corners'.

But the show is so much more. The shows title, The Wire is a metaphor for walking the thin line between Good vs. Bad. Success vs. Death. Reform vs. Relapse. Destiny vs. Change. Their are also side characters. One who struggle with drugs and fall deeper into a hole of addiction and poverty. Another is a former convict who is now clean but fights to keep the young kids off the streets and do something positive for the community. Their is a teacher who struggles to keep his pre-teen children from getting involved with drugs or ending up dead. They all add to the authenticity of real life as well as the gritty dialogue and real street lingo and 'Ebonics'. It is a constant struggle for every character to walk on that wire from day to day.

Season five will add even more characters. It will focus on Baltimore's media. How they influence and spin how the citizens, the politicians and the cops view what needs to be done to battle this increasing problem.

The Wire is created by former homicide detective and Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon. The Wire is based off his 1988 book 'Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets'. This book also spun the former TV series 'Homicide: Life on the Streets'. Another brilliant show set in Baltimore.

This show had not been as popular as other HBO shows The Sopranos or Six Feet Under. Probably because it is far from glitzy. And also there is no real star of the show, just a very large ensemble cast. (They even killed off their most popular character for a brilliant story line!). But the Wire still has gotten critical acclaim across the board. This shows appeal is its humanity and grit. And The Wire never take sides.

After this seasons 13 episodes, it will be missed. But will hopefully live on as a mirror to real life.
For more about The Wire, please check out HBO's web page: http://www.hbo.com/thewire/?ntrack_para1=feat_main_image
- The Mountain Cat