Showrunner: David Simon
The Great American Tragedy. That is what The Wire is about. The seasons of the show I have seen so far have all expanded the scope of the show and evolved it into not just a show about cops and crooks, but a show about all the reasons urban America, and by extension America and maybe even Western civilization in general, are in decline. The third season the scope expands up into the political world and into the dealings of the most high up in Batlimore. It is used to comment on the tragic fact that how the higher up you go in the system, the more difficult it is to reform the system. The main theme of the season happens to be reform, and how difficult it is. The first two seasons laid out the problem very well, and then this season shows the potential solutions to those problems but how implementing those solutions are not so simple.
We see attempted reforms on both the police side and on the drug side, and how in both systems the traditionalists and a variety of external societal factors inhibit the reformers from successfully implementing those reforms. The "hamsterdam" plot, in which a lieutenant creates an area of the city in which there will be no drug enforcement is a brilliant story-line. That whole plot is policy analysis at its finest, examining the factors and repercussions of realistically implementing such a policy, and what needs to be done in order to actually have it succeed. Ultimately it's a tragic story-line because it's a great idea, but the climate of modern society doesn't allow it. But the true brilliance of The Wire lies in the fact that everyone is in a gray area, even those who are trying to do right in the world. Even those who genuinely want to right the wrongs of the world are shown the negative consequences on their colleagues and their boss' when they go against authority trying to do the right thing. Once again, just like all prior seasons, we see the complex nature of the world in all is ugly glory.
Grade: A
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