The Wire (Part 1)

So "The Wire" is back and I can't stop singing it's praises. This is absolutely the best TV on TV. The genius of this show isn't just it's story line, the passionate attention to details, or the meaningful violence....the absolute genius of The Wire is the Characters. The characters in this show do such an incredible job of paralleling their lives to the social tenor of Baltimore that I often find myself rewinding scenes and doing research on individual characters. The creators of this show have taken microcosmic portions of the Baltimore community and interwoven them so well that there isn't one aspect of the show (i.e. Newspapers vs. Corner Boys vs. Police vs. Politicians) that doesn't completely leave me engrossed.



First off, the single most important character in The Wire is Bubbles. His struggles mirror the general body politic struggles of the Baltimore community and he personifies perseverance. When Baltimore's biggest problem was drugs in Season 1, Bubbles was the biggest junky. When Baltimore's biggest problem was gaining intel on the drug problem through wire taps, Bubbles was the biggest informant. When Baltimore's biggest problem was violence (Chris and Snoop's adventures in the vacants) Bubbles was the consistent victim of a violent junky. When Baltimore's biggest problem was their failing education system, Bubble's had a problem keeping his nephew in school and out of the streets.

Now fast forward to season 5 and the problem with Baltimore is the media. Ironically, Bubbles is working for the local paper selling newspapers on the street. Bubbles character tells the Baltimore story from it's lowest vantage point. He represents the lowest class of Baltimore...the streets. It'll be interesting to see how corruption and bias affect Bubbles. Sales of hard paper copies of Newspapers are dwindling at a faster pace than music CD's but yet his job is to sell Newspapers on the street.

Bubbles' story is also compelling in that it shows the true nature of every man...his will to do right vs. his desire to do wrong. Last season we saw Bubbles try to keep his nephew in school but desire to kill his violent nemesis. In the end, his desire to kill his enemy backfired when his nephew died from the poison that Bubbles meant for his enemy. This malevolence versus benevolence leads Bubbles to the most dangerous state a man can be in...ambivalence. Will this ambivalence lead him anywhere or will it cause him to return to the doldrums of drug use?

Stay Tuned for Part two