The Wire: The Complete Fifth Season

Not that I wish to overstate the significance of The Wire, but future editions of theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will have an exception built in for diagnoses of depression, similar to the one they currently have for bereavement, for those who complete the fifth series and find themselves cast adrift into an uncaring world without the support that only fictionalised Baltimore police and criminals can provide.

This is despite the fifth series being, in some ways, a little bit silly. After the gritty verisimilitude of the first four seasons the central character, homicide detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), switches from complicated and flawed to something more akin to the standard cop-drama Loose Cannon that Plays By His Own Rules but Dammit, He Gets Results. Fortunately the other storylines make up for it. We follow the fortunes of new mayor Tommy Carcetti (Aiden Gillen) as he drinks deep from the poisoned chalice that is political power, and enter the newsroom of the Baltimore Sun to meet its collection of beautifully realised characters (including former Wire director Clark Johnson as City Desk Editor August Haynes) – plot strands that make the police storyline more plausible.

It helps that the performances are all top-notch, of course. West makes McNulty one of the most fascinatingly self-destructive characters on television, and his colleagues and series regulars Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters), Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) and Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) are all in top form – as is Michael K Williams as the larger-than-life stick-up dude Omar Little. Singling out highlights is impossible without giving storylines away, but series five wraps up the story beautifully, if not necessarily happily – although you really should watch the previous four seasons first in order to appreciate the subtleties. Then you too can enjoy the hollow, empty feeling in your soul as those closing credits scroll by for the final time.

Extras Commentary on selected episodes, featurette

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