This time out, the rule on the street is the law of unintended consequences, in all its painful manifestations. Although the first half-dozen episodes or so play as equivalent to those from earlier seasons (only without the Major Crimes Unit there to push the cops-and-robbers aspect as much as it had previously), after that The Wire enters some fairly unknown territory as character after character is faced with the eye-opening realization that an action of theirs has boomeranged around in an entirely unexpected fashion, and tragedy (a fire-bombing, a street-corner assassination, a fatal overdose, and a suicide attempt all come in rapid succession) is the result. Even as the crack staff of writers keeps riffing on the gloriously jazzy human relationships that are at the series' core -- this remains one of the most profanely funny shows on the air, despite its unfair reputation for dourness -- they have to return to the deadly reality of the Baltimore streets time and again, building to a final pair of episodes that are nothing short of emotionally devastating.
The Wire is a show that builds up your heart, even as it's breaking it.
HBO's DVD set of the show is much the same as previous seasons, with a couple of making-of documentaries and audio commentaries from either the creators or scattered cast members on every third episode or so. Although the packaging is less elaborate than before (it's now done as a slipcase with four thin cases each holding one disc, as opposed to one case th
