The Wire (2002-8)

David Simon landmark series holds up in the waning years of the Golden era of television. The technology may be outdated by now, but the drama is timeless. Simon pioneered bingeable television (along with the Sopranos, I suppose), plotting a mystery to unfold over the course of a whole season. And today in the streaming era, every TV show worth its salt has an overarching plot. Some may criticize him for being slow, but it's a methodical slow burn that allows for deep characterization of even secondary characters. We come to know not just the cops, not just the head honcho drug dealers but even the street level kids (a very young Michael B Jordan). His sense of realism comes through in his unknown actors, character actors, non-actors, and many real Baltimoreans. The show is about characters who are trapped by the institutions (a set of rules) that plague the city.

The Wire is Simon's love letter to Baltimore. It may not always seem that way given all the crime and corruption he highlights but indeed it is. No city has ever gotten such a thorough treatment on TV, exposing its underbelly. He doesn't do it out of malice or hatred but he genuinely believes that it can do better. Despite the specificity, it could have been about any city because in general terms it is about the decline of the American city. Other cities also have drug problems, docks, corrupt city government, schools, and print media. He would give post-Katrina New Orleans a similar treatment in Treme, but Simon has a personal connection to Baltimore. He (and writer Ed Burns) have first hand experience about the things they write (the Baltimore Police and the Baltimore Sun).

Seasons 3 and 4 are the strongest. Simon's analysis on the flaws in our education system is brilliant. I thought season 2 at the docks was kind of weak while watching it but in retrospect it was also very good. There are so many characters and by the end I felt like we got satisfactory closure on each one. It was kind of weird that McNulty doesn't feature much in season 4, but honestly, it's all the better without him. His twisted story line in season 5 is probably the weakest, most cynical (most ironic).

Treme (2010-3)

David Simon paints an exquisite portrait of New Orleans post-Katrina, showcasing New Orleans culture of music, food, corruption and of course Mardi Gras.  I admit that I now have a much better appreciation for jazz, both traditional and modern. The show and city are filled with music; my favorite scenes featured Delmond's modern jazz trumpet.  My least favorite music came in Davis's strange punk-jazz-folk-opera concoctions; he also does not have a very pleasing singing voice.  I also was not a big fan of Annie's French-folk fiddle.  Really, I did not enjoy the non-Jazz genres.

The show tackles lots of prevalent issues that arose in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane.  A recurring theme was police corruption and the frustration of civil rights lawyer Toni Bernette and clean cop Terry Colson over the lack of accountability.  Our character of interest was Nelson Hidalgo, a well-connected, money-hungry, neoliberal, professional schmoozer "carpetbagger venture capitalist" from Texas.  He makes a ton of money (from the government) in the demolition and rebuilding efforts of the city, but nothing ever actually gets done.  The Jazz Center that was his focus for much of the final two seasons never gets off the ground.  And by the series end, he packs up and leaves New Orlenas for good, moving on to Galveston devastated by Ike to run a similar scheme and make a second fortune.

Simon has a very interesting manner of narrative storytelling.  There is arguably no main character in the series (New Orleans itself is the protagonist, so to speak, omnipresent and never changing).  There are several characters with independent, sometimes intersecting story lines.  The scenes alternate between characters, such that we never get a full story till the end of the season.  Of course, some characters have more interesting plot lines than others and some you just dread seeing on screen.  Because of the slow pace, you really have to be committed to watching the whole season lest the story just unravel too slowly.  It picks up a little in season two, but the third season was a bit of a lull.  The final season gives a fitting farewell to everyone.  The final season was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Miniseries after the Miniseries/TV Movie split.