The Wire (season 1)

infobox tvseason
season_name = The Wire Season 1


caption = DVD cover
dvd_release_date = October 12, 2004
dvd_format = Widescreen, Boxset
country = USA
network = HBO
first_aired = June 2, 2002
last_aired =
September 8, 2002
num_episodes = 13
prev_season =
next_season = 2|

The first season of the television series "The Wire" commenced airing in the United States on June 2, 2002, concluded on September 8, 2002, and contained 13 episodes. It introduces the drug dealing Barksdale Organization and the police detail who are investigating them.

The first season aired Sundays at 9:00 PM in the United States. The season was released on DVD as a five disc boxed set under the title of "The Wire: The Complete First Season" on October 12, 2004 by HBO video.

Production

Crew

David Simon is the series' creator and head writer, show runner and executive producer. Alongside Simon, many of the creative team behind "The Wire" are alumni of "" and Emmy-winning miniseries "The Corner". "The Corner" veteran, Robert F. Colesberry, was also executive producer. Colesberry is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role for a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel.cite video
people = David Simon
year = 2005
title = "The Target" commentary track
medium = DVD
publisher = HBO] He also had a small recurring role as Detective Ray Cole.cite web
year = 2004
title = Org Chart - The Law
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-10-16
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/orgchart/law.shtml] Colesberry's wife Karen L. Thorson joined him on the production staff.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/crew/season_1.shtml|title="The Wire" season 1 crew|accessdate=2007-10-14|publisher=HBO|year=2007] A third producer on "The Corner", Nina Kostroff Noble, also stayed with the production staff for "The Wire" rounding out the initial four-person team.

Stories for the show are often co-written by Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective and public school teacher who has worked with Simon on other projects including "The Corner". The writing staff includes acclaimed crime fiction novelist George P. Pelecanos from Washington.cite web
author = Dan Kois
year = 2004
title = Everything you were afraid to ask about "The Wire"
publisher = Salon.com
accessdate =
url = http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/10/01/the_wire/index.html?pn=4] Pelecanos has commented that he was attracted to the project because of the opportunity to work with Simon.cite web
last = Birnbaum
first = Robert
title = Interview: George Pelecanos
publisher = Identity Theory
accessdate = 2007-09-17
url = http://www.identitytheory.com/interviews/birnbaum100.html] Staff writer Rafael Alvarez was a colleague of Simon's from "The Sun" and a Baltimore native with working experience in the port area.cite web
last = Goldman
first = Eric
title = IGN Exclusive Interview: "The Wire"'s David Simon
publisher = IGN
accessdate = 2007-09-27
url = http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/742/742350p1.html] Another city native and independent filmmaker, Joy Lusco Kecken, joined the writing staff and served as the script coordinator. [cite book
last = Alvarez
first = Rafael
year = 2004
title = The Wire: Truth Be Told
publisher = Pocket Books
location = New York
pages = 10] David H. Melnick and Shamit Choksey complete the writing staff.

"Homicide" alumnus Clark Johnson,cite web
author = Todd Weiser
year = 2002
title = New HBO series "The Wire" taps into summer programming
publisher = The Michigan Daily
accessdate =
url = http://www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2002/06/17/Arts/New-Hbo.Series.the.Wire.Taps.Into.Summer.Programming-1411494.shtml] who directed several acclaimed episodes of "The Shield",cite web
author = Jim Shelley
year = 2005
title = Call The Cops
publisher = The Guardian Unlimited
accessdate =
url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/tvradio/story/0,14676,1542359,00.html] directed the pilot, the second episode, and the fifth episode. Another repeat director is Clement Virgo, who directed two episodes. Single episode directors include Ed Bianchi, Joe Chappelle, Gloria Muzio, Milčo Mančevski, Brad Anderson and Steve Shill. The season finale was directed by Tim Van Patten, an Emmy winner who has worked on every season of "The Sopranos". The directing has been praised for its uncomplicated and subtle style.cite web
author = Chris Barsanti
year = 2004
title = Totally Wired
publisher = Slant Magazine
accessdate =
url = http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=481]

Cast

The major characters of the first season were divided between those on the side of the law and those involved in drug-related crime. The starring cast comprised characters from both groups. The investigating detail was launched by the actions of Detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), whose insubordinate tendencies and personal problems overshadowed his ability.cite web
author = Dan Kois
year = 2004
title = Everything you were afraid to ask about "The Wire"
publisher = Salon.com
accessdate = 2006-07-12
url = http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2004/10/01/the_wire/index.html?pn=4] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Jimmy McNulty
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/jimmy_mcnulty.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/dominic_west.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] The detail was led by Lieutenant Cedric Daniels (Lance Reddick) who faced challenges balancing his career aspirations with his desire to produce a good case.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Lieutenant Cedric Daniels
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/cedric_daniels.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/lance_reddick.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Lance Reddick as Cedric Daniels|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Kima Greggs (Sonja Sohn) was a capable lead detective who faced jealousy from colleagues and worry about the dangers of her job from her domestic partner.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/kima_greggs.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/sonja_sohn.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Sonja Sohn as Shakima "Kima" Greggs|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Her investigative work was greatly helped by her confidential informant, a drug addict known as Bubbles (Andre Royo).cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Bubbles
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/bubbles.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/andre_royo.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Andre Royo as Bubbles|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008]

These investigators were overseen by two commanding officers more concerned with politics and their own careers than the case, Major William Rawls (John Doman) and Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell (Frankie Faison).cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Ervin Burrell
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/ervin_burrell.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/frankie_r_faison.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Frankie R. Faison as Ervin Burrell|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - William Rawls
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/william_rawls.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/john_doman.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - John Doman as William Rawls|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Assistant state's attorney Rhonda Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) acted as the legal liaison between the detail and the courthouse and also had a casual relationship with one of the officers.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Rhonda Pearlman
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/rhonda_pearlman.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/deirdre_lovejoy.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Deirdre Lovejoy as Rhonda Pearlman|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] In the homicide division, Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce) was a gifted, dry-witted detective partnered with McNulty.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Bunk Moreland
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/bunk_moreland.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/wendell_pierce.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Wendell Pierce as William "Bunk" Moreland|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008]

On the other side of the investigation was Avon Barksdale's drug empire. The driven, ruthless Barksdale (Wood Harris) was aided by business-minded Stringer Bell (Idris Elba).cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Avon Barksdale
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/avon_barksdale.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/avon_barksdale.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Wood Harris as Avon Barksdale|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Stringer Bell
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/stringer_bell.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/idris_elba.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Idris Elba as Stringer Bell|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Avon's nephew D'Angelo Barksdale (Larry Gilliard Jr.) ran some of his uncle's territory, but also possessed a guilty conscience.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - D'Angelo Barksdale
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/dangelo_barksdale.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/larry_gilliard.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Larry Gilliard, Jr. as D'Angelo Barksdale|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008]

The first season featured several significant characters in recurring roles. Like Detective Greggs, partners Thomas "Herc" Hauk (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) were reassigned to the detail from the narcotics unit.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/seth_gilliam.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Seth Gilliam as Ellis Carver|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/domenick_lombardozzi.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Domenick Lombardozzi as Thomas "Herc" Hauk|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] The duo's initially violent nature was eventually subdued as they proved useful in grunt work, and sometimes served as comic relief for the audience.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Thomas "Herc" Hauk
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/herc_hauk.shtml] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Ellis Carver
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/ellis_carver.shtml] Rounding out the temporary unit were detectives Leander Sydnor (Corey Parker Robinson), Lester Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski (Jim True-Frost).Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/corey_parker_robinson.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Corey Parker Robinson as Leander Sydnor|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/clarke_peters.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Clarke Peters as Lester Freamon|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/jim_truefrost.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Jim True-Frost as Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Sydnor was a rookie detective with a reputation for solid undercover work.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/leander_sydnor.shtml|title=Character profile - Leander Sydnor|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Though not initially important players in the operation, Freamon proved a quietly capable investigator with a knack for noticing tiny but important details, and Prez, while a liability on the street, turned out to be a natural at his desk job.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Lester Freamon
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/lester_freamon.shtml] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/prez.shtml] McNulty and Bunk served in a homicide unit squad led Sergeant Jay Landsman (Delaney Williams), the jovial squad commander.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Jay Landsman
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/jay_landsman.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/delaney_williams.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Delaney Williams as Jay Landsman|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Peter Gerety had a recurring role as Judge Phelan, the official who started the case moving.

There were also several recurring characters in the Barksdale Organization. Loyal Wee-Bey Brice (Hassan Johnson) was responsible for multiple homicides carried out on Avon's orders.Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/weebey.shtml|title=Character profile - Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/hassan_johnson.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Hassan Johnson as Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Working under D'Angelo were Poot Carr (Tray Chaney),Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/tray_chaney.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Tray Chaney as Malik "Poot" Carr|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] Bodie Broadus (J.D. Williams),Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/jd_williams.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - JD Williams as Preston "Bodie" Broadus|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008] and Wallace (Michael B. Jordan), all street-level drug dealers. Wallace was an intelligent but naïve youth trapped in the drug trade, Bodie a violent and determined young dealer, and Poot a lascivious young man happy to follow rather than lead.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Preston "Bodie" Broadus
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/bodie.shtml] cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Malik "Poot" Carr
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/poot.shtml] Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), a renowned Baltimore stick-up man robbing drug dealers for a living, was a frequent thorn in the side of the Barksdale clan.cite web
year = 2006
title = Character profile - Omar Little
publisher = HBO
accessdate = 2007-12-19
url = http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/characters/omar.shtml] Cite web|url=http://www.hbo.com/thewire/cast/actors/michael_k_williams.shtml|title=Cast & Crew - Michael Kenneth Williams as Omar Little|accessdate=2008-01-15|publisher=HBO|year=2008]

Reception

Episodes

"Series #" refers to the episode's number in the overall series, whereas "Season #" refers to the episode's number in this particular season.

References