The Wire (season 5)

infobox tvseason
season_name = The Wire Season 5


caption =
dvd_release_date =
dvd_format =
country = USA
network = HBO
first_aired = January 6, 2008
last_aired =
March 9, 2008
num_episodes = 10
prev_season = 4|The fifth season of the television series "The Wire" commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes. It continued to examine the Baltimore police department, the Stanfield organization and city hall while introducing a fictionalized version of the "Baltimore Sun" newsroom.

Production

HBO announced on September 12 2006 that it commissioned a fifth and final season consisting of 13 episodes,cite web
author = John M. Higgins
year = 2006
title = HBO Renews "The Wire"
publisher = Broadcasting & Cable
accessdate =
url = http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6371196.html] cite web
author = Meghan O'Rourke
year = 2006
title = Behind "The Wire"
publisher = Slate.com
accessdate =
url = http://www.slate.com/id/2154694/] but which was later reduced to ten. [cite web
url=http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2007/02/just-to-tease-you-fans-of-wire.html
accessdate=2007-03-14
author = David Mills
title = Just to tease you fans of "The Wire"…
date =] On April 30, 2007, production for Season 5 officially began. Filming wrapped early in the morning of September 1, 2007 and the first episode aired on January 6, 2008. cite web
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/02/AR2007090201454.html
title=Down to "The Wire": It's a Wrap for Gritty TV Series
last=Wiltz
first=Teresa
publisher=Washington Post
date=2007-09-03
accessdate=2007-09-03]

Themes

In an interview with "Slate" on December 1, 2006, David Simon said that Season 5 would be about the media and media consumption. A major focus would be journalism, which would be dramatized through a newspaper modeled after "The Baltimore Sun". The theme, according to Simon, would deal with "what stories get told and what don't and why it is that things stay the same." Issues such as the quest for profit, the decrease in the number of reporters, and the end of aspiration for news quality would all be addressed, alongside the theme of homelessness. In the same interview, Simon indicated that no other theme seemed substantial enough to warrant a sixth season, except possibly the large influx of Latinos into Baltimore. He noted, however, that since no writer on the show spoke Spanish or had any intimate knowledge of the city's Latino population, the field work would be too cumbersome.

At the "Night at the Wire" event on June 9, 2007, Simon stated that Detective Sydnor is the only character who remains morally clean by the end of the show, but not perfectly since "after all, this is "The Wire"." He also hinted that Mayor Carcetti might make a run for governor, continuing to mirror the current Maryland governor and former Baltimore mayor, Martin O'Malley.

The series will continue the show's examination of the devaluing of human life and institutional dysfunction. The increased scope of the season to include the media will allow this theme to be explored through an examination of "the people who are supposed to be monitoring all this and sounding the alarm — the journalists." In particular Simon has spoken about the devaluing of the reporter in terms of downsizing a newspaper staff and the management expecting to do "more with less" when he asserts that in reality, you can only do "less with less".

The series realism has been reported as being maintained particularly through the accurate dialogue and use of contemporary slang. Series creator David Simon further expanded on the thematic content of season five in an interview with Fancast/Inside TV. [cite web|url=http://thebiz.fancast.com/2007/11/exclusive_interview_with_the_w.html|title=One on One with David Simon|accessdate=2007-11-02] Critic David Zurawik saw the unifying theme of the season as "public and private lies", particularly those perpetuated by the media and told by Jimmy McNulty in protest for cutbacks in the police department.Cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-to.wire06dec06,0,3266640.story#TheWireHBO|title=Fact and fiction, down to "The Wire"|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=The Baltimore Sun|year=2007|author=David Zurawik] TV Guide writer Matt Roush also saw the central theme as lies and characterised it as "deeply and darkly ironic."

Promotion

A preview for Season 5 of The Wire aired on HBO on October 28, 2007 and was later made available on YouTube. [cite web|url=http://thebiz.fancast.com/2007/11/preview_of_the_wire_season_5.html|title=Preview of The Wire Season 5|accessdate=2007-11-02] HBO sent critics the first seven episodes on DVD in December 2007.Cite web|url=http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2007/12/the_wire_returns.html#TheWireHBO|title="The Wire" returns|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=San Jose Mercury News|year=2007|author=Charlie McCollom] Cite web|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/thompson/entries/2007/12/merry_christmas.html#TheWireHBO|title=Merry Christmas to me! "The Wire" comes early!|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=Palm Beach Post|year=2007|author=Kevin Thompson]

HBO's On Demand and multiplatform marketing division approached creator David Simon about producing exclusive on demand content and three short prequel clips were produced that take place prior to the linear storyline of the show.Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i35ab2fc2fb51e6e2eff4f5d6d94e9bb1#TheWireHBO|title=HBO's "Wire" plugs in VOD vignettes|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|year=2007|author=Andrew Wallenstein] Cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/content/newswire/hbo_offers_free_wire_prequels#TheWireHBO|title=HBO offers free "Wire" prequels|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=A.V. Club|year=2007|author=Sean O'Neal] The clips were made available via Amazon.com from December 5 and through HBO's on demand service from December 15. The first video takes place in 1962 and focuses on the school days of drug kingpin Proposition Joe; the second is set in 1985 and focuses on Omar Little making an early robbery; the third video is set in 2000 and shows the first meeting of Jimmy McNulty (played by Dominic West) and Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce).Cite web|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-wire/hbo-releases-three-prequel-vid-14452.aspx#TheWireHBO|title=HBO releases three prequel videos for "The Wire"|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=Buddy TV|year=2007|author=Oscar Dahl] The clips will air after season 5 episodes as they premiere starting January 6, 2008.Cite web|url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-wire/hbo-releases-three-prequel-vid-14452.aspx#TheWireHBO|title=HBO'S 'The Wire' Preps Back Stories: Three short films will precede launch of fifth season in January.|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=EUR Web|year=2007]

Locations

At that "Night at the Wire" event, fans were allowed to tour the "Baltimore Sun" newsroom constructed for the show. The real newspaper allowed the show to use their name but stipulated that no current employees could appear in the series. The newsroom was an entirely built set constructed at the show's out-of-town soundstage.

The actual Washington Post newsroom will also feature as one reporter visits for an interview.Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060402111.html|title=The CIA Has A New Man On a Special Mission -- to Hollywood|accessdate=2007-10-20|publisher=The Washington Post|year=2007|author=Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts] "The Wire" is the first production to be allowed to film at the location, even the film "All the President's Men" about the paper's role in breaking the Watergate scandal had to build a set to represent the paper.

Cast

It was rumored in August 2007 that stars Richard Belzer [cite web
url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/entertainment/2007/08/belzer-characte.html
title=Belzer character Munches more scenery
last=Oldenburg
first=Ann
publisher=USA Today
date=August 5, 2007
accessdate=2007-08-08] and Clark Johnson [cite web
url=http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2007/02/just-to-tease-you-fans-of-wire.html
title=Just to tease you fans of "The Wire"...
publisher=Undercover Black Man
date=February 28, 2007
accessdate=2007-02-28] would guest star in the fifth season. Johnson was later confirmed as joining the starring cast to play Gus Haynes,Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/about/|title=About the Show|accessdate=2007-12-12|publisher=HBO|year=2007] "a city editor who tries to hold the line against dwindling coverage, buyouts, and pseudo-news."Cite web|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/22/071022fa_fact_talbot?currentPage=1|title=Stealing Life|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=The New Yorker|year=2007|author=Margaret Talbot] "The New Yorker" described an early scene from the season where Haynes rants about a reporter inserting a charred doll into scenes of fires to eke more sympathy from his readers. Johnson also directed the final episode of the show. Belzer had a cameo role in the episode "Took." Thomas McCarthy will join the starring cast as morally challenged reporter Scott Templeton. Michelle Paress will also join the starring cast as reporter Alma Gutierrez. Previously recurring actors Michael Kostroff and Neal Huff will reprise their roles as defense attorney Maurice Levy and Mayoral chief of staff Michael Steintorf respectively, now as part of the starring cast.Cite web|url=http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-thewirepremieredate,0,7068981.story#TheWireHBO|title=HBO Re-Hangs 'Wire' in January|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=Zap 2 It|year=2007] Cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/ENTERTAINMENT/112060018/%3C%25collapse%25%3E&template=nextpage|title=Tuning In|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=The Washington Times|year=2007|author=Kelly Jane Torrance]

The majority of the starring cast from the fourth season will return including: Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty with a larger storyline than the fourth season;; John Doman as Deputy Commissioner William Rawls;Cite web|url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2007/04/c7391.html#TheWireHBO|title=HBO's Award-Winning Drama The Wire Returns to Movie Central and The Movie Network For a Fifth and Final Season|accessdate=2007-12-07|publisher=Movie Central|year=2007] Aidan Gillen as ambitious Mayor Tommy Carcetti; Seth Gilliam as Western district Sergeant Ellis Carver; Jamie Hector as West-side drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield; Domenick Lombardozzi as troubled investigator Thomas "Herc" Hauk; Deirdre Lovejoy as prosecutor Rhonda Pearlman; Clarke Peters as veteran Detective Lester Freamon; Wendell Pierce as veteran homicide Detective Bunk Moreland; Lance Reddick as Colonel Cedric Daniels; Andre Royo as heroin addict Bubbles; Sonja Sohn as Detective Kima Greggs; Reg E. Cathey as political aide Norman Wilson; Corey Parker Robinson as Major Case Unit detective Leander Sydnor;, and Michael K. Williams as underworld legend Omar Little. Also joining the starring cast are Isiah Whitlock, Jr. as corrupt State Senator Clay Davis, Tristan Wilds as Michael Lee, Gbenga Akinnagbe as Chris Partlow, and Jermaine Crawford as Duquan "Dukie" Weems.

Frankie Faison has reportedly left the starring cast but will reprise his role as police commissioner Ervin Burrell as a recurring guest star. Other returning guest stars include Steve Earle as drug counsellor Walon; Anwan Glover as Slim Charles; Robert F. Chew as drug kingpin Proposition Joe; Method Man as drug lieutenant Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff; Felicia Pearson as the eponymous criminal enforcer Felicia "Snoop" Pearson; Chris Ashworth as former enforcer for the Greeks Sergei "Serge" Malatov; Wood Harris as fallen kingpin Avon Barksdale; Marlyne Afflack as city council president Naresse Campbell; Robert Wisdom as Howard "Bunny" Colvin; and Amy Ryan as McNulty's domestic partner Beadie Russell. The return of guest stars from past seasons has been described as a reward to loyal viewers in reviews. New recurring guest stars include David Costabile, Sam Freed, Bruce Kirkpatrick, Todd Scofield, Kara Quick and Donald Neal.

Continuing the shows trend of using non-professional actors and real life Baltimore figures several ex-Baltimore Sun reporters will appear in recurring roles. Rebecca Corbett who was Simon's former editor at the Baltimore Sun and now works at the New York Times will have a recurring role. Writer and former political reporter William F. Zorzi will have further screen time after his season 1 cameo. Steve Luxenberg, the editor responsible for hiring Simon at The Sun will have a role. Simon's wife Laura Lippman will also appear as a reporter in an early scene alongside Michael Olesker, another former Sun reporter. Baltimore attorney Billy Murphy will appear as a lawyer for the character of corrupt Senator Clay Davis and former senator and current radio host Larry Young will conduct a fictional interview with the character. Also former police commissioner Ed Norris will return in his recurring role as a homicide detective with the same name.

Crew

Creator David Simon will continue to act as the show's executive producer and show runner. Nina Kostroff Noble will once again serve as the show's other executive producer. Joe Chappelle will reprise his co-executive producer role and continue to direct episodes. Ed Burns will once again serve as a writer and will join Chappelle as a co-executive producer.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_5.shtml|title=Season 5 crew|accessdate=2007-12-12|publisher=HBO|year=2007] Karen L. Thorson will return as a producer. George Pelecanos will produce the sixth episode of the series only - his first production work since the third season.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_3.shtml|title="The Wire" season 3 crew|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=HBO|year=2007]

Political journalist William F. Zorzi will continue to write for the show and guide the political storylines. Acclaimed crime fiction novellist Pelecanos will return as a writer and contribute his seventh episode to the series. Pelecanos' fellow crime novellists Richard Price and Dennis Lehane will also return as writers. Chris Collins will return as a staff writer and will contribute his first script. David Mills will contribute an episode, completing the writing team.

New star Clark Johnson will also helm the final episode after previously directing the pilot. Other returning directors for the fifth season will include Ernest Dickerson, Anthony Hemingway, Agnieszka Holland, Dan Attias and Seith Mann. Series star Dominic West will make his directorial debut. Husband and wife directing team Scott and Joy Kecken are also first time directors on the fifth season.

Reception

Critical response

In reviewing the first seven episodes of the fifth season David Zurawik of the "Baltimore Sun" said that while "there is greatness in the seven episodes," the major newspaper storyline "contain [s] nothing that matches the emotional power and sociological insight of the show at its best."Cite web|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/altoday/bal-al.wire30dec30,0,3409351.story|title='The Wire' loses spark in newsroom storyline|accessdate=2007-12-30|publisher=Baltimore Sun|year=2007] Matt Roush of "TV Guide" favourably reviewed the series calling it "brilliantly bleak" and a "landmark series."Cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/Roush-Review|title=Urban Renewal for L&O and The Wire|accessdate=2007-12-19|publisher=TV Guide|year=2007] Brian Lowry of "Variety" characterised the series' look at the media as the most realistic portrayal of a newsroom in film and television history.Cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978111.html?categoryid=1682&cs=1#TheWireHBO|title='The Wire' gets the newsroom right|accessdate=2007-12-22|publisher=Variety|year=2007|author=Brian Lowry]

Episodes

"Series #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Season #" refers to the episode's number in this particular season. All episodes except "–30–" were made available by HBO six days earlier than their broadcast date, via On Demand.

External links

*imdb title|0306414|The Wire

References