Goodbye: The Wire

The Wire Finale

Last night, the HBO original series The Wire drew to a conclusion. It was a sad farewell for me as I had been a fan of the show on and off for the past 5 years. I've been catching up on what I missed in the original airing on DVD, a much better way to watch a series I must admit (I watched the entire first season of Dexter in a weekend).

I originally began watching the show because it was set in Baltimore and I lived there for 4 years. I was familiar with Ed Burns and David Simon, the creators of the show, from their work on The Corner and Homicide: Life on the Street. The Wire was by far, the best thing on television in my lifetime. Saying goodbye last night was sad in that the characters created in this show were real and had depth. That's something that's not common on TV. There was a literary feel to this show. David spent 7 years teaching in the Baltimore public schools and I imagine that his background is in literature.

The final scenes in the bar with a faux wake for McNulty brought a smile to my face, as there was a real sincerity in the farewells being given. Somehow, they created a real feel here without being overly sentimental. It was like saying goodbye to some good friends. Even more, the last shots of Baltimore with McNulty standing on the bridge was astounding. The city itself was a character and they did a great job in saying farewell.

This season wasn't as strong as seasons 2 or 4 but it was decent. It brought a lot of the open storylines to an end. And the theme of this show is something I've come to learn as being ultimately true about all hierarchies, in order to get something done you've got to grease the wheels. I've been teaching for 10 years and active in my teacher's union for 3 or 4. No matter who I am dealing with, be it administration, the county bureaucracy, or the union chain of command, I 've realized (much like McNulty) shit floats. People don't make it to the top by being good people. There's a ton of ass kissing and even more dirt slinging. I started working on my Master's Degree in school administration while living in Baltimore. Once I got involved on a more personal level, I realized that I don't play the game very well. The same goes for the work within my union. Too much bullshit. Too much dirt. Too many ne'er'-do- wells.

I guess that's why I identified with McNulty as much as I did. A flawed character who had a sense of right and wrong and a disdain for authority. I saw a lot of myself in McNulty. I really admired his "fuck them all, I'll do it my way" attitude.
As the show wrapped up and bid farewell, I was amazed at the accuracy of two things. The first being the workings of the public school system. They had it right on the money...I taught for 3 years in Baltimore. They were dead on in season 4 of The Wire. The second being the way bureaucracy works. In order to get anything done, from the lowest to the highest level of an organization, the rules must be circumvented or you must kiss ass, do favors, cover up, play the game. It was amazing how the show covered that all the way from that bottom rungs of society all the way up to the mayor and the governor.

While I am going to miss tuning on Sunday nights, I still have to finish rewatching season 2 on DVD and then all of season 3. But, ultimately, the show had run its course and there really was no where left to go.