The End

It had to happen sometime. As much as I wished it could go on forever I knew that eventually it would end. I have finished watching The Wire.

After giving in and watching series 5 online I quickly rediscovered the rush and sheer addictiveness of what is now confirmed in my mind as the greatest TV show ever made by a long way. The last series is self indulgent to some extent and more fantastical than it's predecessors but even then it is leagues ahead of any competitors for the crown of King. Thematically as challenging as it's before Season 5 continues it's trend of bitterness and cynicism as mayoral administrations become to busy running for govorner to deliver their promises and the same faceless career 'police' get promoted and the real investigators get shafted for funds and support. Despite being an ensemble piece Mcnulty comes to the fore in the last season ensuring he will be remembered as the focal point of the Wire, the embodiment of it's over riding thesis. He goes to increasingly desperate measures to secure the funds to take down Kingpin Marlo Stanfield and moral dilemmas abound; Mcnulty's scheme isn't legitimate but is it moral? Everyone in "the game" knows Marlo is a vicious sociopath responsible for at least 30 murders; should he still go to jail even though the investigation is flawed? Corruption and vice are at the very heart of The Wire permeating every character and making Mcnulty such a loveable anti-hero.

As expected no conclusions are proposed or implemented. Mcnulty's deeds cause cover ups at city hall and reignations in the force. People leave old jobs and start new ones but inevitably The Wire ends quietly with the images of real Baltimore citizens going about the daily lives as they always do. The drug economy carries on, the people that rob the drugs from the dealers die and are replaced with the new generation, new legions of heroin addicts are created as we see Bubble's (perhaps the shows most loveable and only truly good character; a junkie) finally gain accpetance from a family that despised him by staying clean; a melancholy concotion that beautifully displays the inevitable perpetuation of a broken system. The last episode also contains a police "funeral" scene with the body laid out on the pool table in traditional fashion, American Body by the Pogues blaring in the background.

It's beautiful, serious, terrifying, hilarious, consuming ,heartbreaking and brilliantly clever. The bar has been set. Any show that wants to better the Wire will have to combine astute social commentary with ingenious story telling, well drawn characters and script thats entertaining beyond measure. Im not sure TV will ever be done as well again.