The Wire: The Complete Third Season [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

See Larger Image	Manufacturer: HBO Home Video Starring: Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, Frankie Faison, Aidan Gillen Directed By: Agnieszka Holland, Alex Zakrzewski, Christine Moore, Daniel Attias, Edward Bianchi Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Binding: DVD EAN: 0026359277627 Format: AC-3 Label: HBO Home Video Manufacturer: HBO Home Video Number Of Items: 5 Publisher: HBO Home Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: 2006-08-08 Running Time: 720 Studio: HBO Home Video Theatrical Release Date: 2004-06-02
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Editorial Reviews: With volatile issues of Baltimore city political reform as its narrative focus, the third season of The Wire superbly maintains the series' astonishingly consistent status as the greatest "novel for television" ever created. While the Baltimore police department's wire-tapping investigations continue to monitor the intricate and now legitimately fronted drug ring of Russell "Stringer" Bell (Idris Elba, smooth as ever), detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) continues his loutish ways, navigating through a series of shallow sexual conquests while doing some of the best cop-work of his career. Stringer's ex-convict partner Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) is back in the picture and bent on eliminating a drug-dealing competitor named Marlo (Jamie Hector), and Baltimore P.D. Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin (Robert Wisdom) tries his own defiantly independent brand of street justice by essentially legalizing drugs in "Hamsterdam," where isolated sections of the city are established as open drug-dealing zones, utterly without the knowledge or approval of Colvin's superiors. As city councilman Tommy Carcetti (Aiden Gillen) plots his own ruthlessly ambitious strategy for the mayor's seat, Baltimore officials, McNulty's wire unit, and the entire Baltimore P.D. stand poised for the inevitable fallout from street-level and executive-level manipulations of power. Of course, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg, as The Wire continues its labyrinthine yet tightly controlled chronicle of over 50 characters, major and minor, who are all flawlessly woven into the fabric of these 12 remarkable episodes. For season 3, series creator David Simon continued to recruit a top-drawer lineup of reputable writers (including novelists Richard Price, Dennis Lehane, and George Pelecanos) and directors (including Ernest Dickerson, Tim Van Patten, and Agnieszka Holland), and by the time a major character is killed in the season's penultimate episode (arguably the series' finest yet), it's clear that The Wire has earned its crown as the most ambitious and intelligent crime drama in the history of American television. DVD extras are excellent, as usual, including five illuminating episode commentaries (an absolute must for devoted fans of the series), a Q&A session with cast & crew moderated by renowned TV critic and author Ken Tucker, and a classroom conversation with Simon that delves deeper into the creative process of the series. Having deservedly earned its renewal for a fourth season (out of a projected five, according to Simon), The Wire delivers surprises aplenty (keep a close watch for startling revelations) while proving, yet again, that cable-TV is the place to be for anyone seeking respite from the relative mediocrity of mainstream network programming. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: the best tv in a long time Comment: The best tv for me used to belong to the West Wing but having watched all 3 series of the Wire, I have been blown away by the quality of this show. The acting and plot lines are first class. The fact that the story runs throughout a series allows the depth of these characters to develop. In amongst the gritty reality of "modern urban policing" there was plenty of comic humour. There were also plenty of cliff hangers making watching the next episode or series compulsory! Roll on series 4. Customer Rating: Summary: The best season of the best show ever on tv. Comment: The Wire is the great unknown of American tv for most viewers in the UK. While most people will know of The Sopranos, Deadwood and Six Feet Under, this HBO series (the best of the lot) is lost in the EPG somewhere on cable/Sky between World's Wildest Police Chases and Croc Attack! The third season kicks in with political corruption in the air as Stringer Bell continues his quest to legitimise the Barksdale crew, greasing the palms of politicians in order to get his condos built on the Baltimore waterfront. McNulty continues his quest to alienate everyone he can whilst trying to pull as many women as possible. The third series represents a moment of crux as it is apparent to the police that the Barksdale crew just might be about to reach the tipping point, moving from gangsters to legitimate businessmen where they will become unreachable. As ever there are dozens of interweaving plots, the writing is taut and authentic, the acting is great and there are a few jaw dropping scenes of breathtaking intensity. This series is better than most movies that will be released in this or any year and is well worth the money. Like Seinfeld before it, I fear that the quality of the series will only be apparent to most UK viewers after the series has gone from our screens forever. The one thing that I would say is that to fully appreciate the series then watch it in order. Things that get said in Season 1 only come to prominence in Season 3 and so forth. It also gives the best introduction to characters that you feel you know by Season 3. More Reviews