The Wire

The older three Heinisch children are always giving me televisions series or movies to watch that they have enjoyed.  I appreciate their tips as I've spent a lot of time lately cleaning out our home.  Brett had told me several years ago that having a series or movie to watch makes a mundane job a lot more fun.  I totally agree with him and have enjoyed watching their recommendations.  Cal has given me the most, by far, but Brett and Meg have also chimed in with their opinions as well.  Stranger Things, The Sopranos, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and even Glee have all made my watch list.  I've enjoyed each and everyone one of them with only the current Netflix series, "You", being on the "can't continue to watch list."  The main character was just too creepy for me.

In October, Cal suggested a series that he had watched recently, but was made in the early 2000.  He thought that I might like it if I could overlook the swearing and racial slurs.  I started it right away and was instantly hooked.  It was a drama based on a Baltimore police department that had a wire tap on a drug lord.  It was hard at first to keep all of the characters straight, but overall after a few episodes I had names with faces.  There were definitely some sad parts as the series also included teenagers who worked as soldiers on the drug crew.  Not all of them made it out of the series alive including a beloved character played by a very young Michael B. Jordan.  

The most challenging part for me to watch was when a police officer decided to quit the force and become a math teacher in an inner city middle school.  The defiance, the lies, the frustration with a broken system, the insane emphasis on testing, a box cutter fight and even a student coming to school after finding a parent dead were all too familiar situations from my teaching days.  Thankfully, after the first few episodes of season four, it became a little easier to watch as the police officer/teacher started to adjust to his new role.  

As I had taken a break from watching The Wire during the holidays, I just finished all five seasons last night.  It was well written and definitely worth watching.  I was sad with how some of the characters lives ended up, but grateful that my favorite character, Bubbs, made it through all five seasons starting as a drug addict and ending as a welcomed member of his sister's family.  Overall, I was glad that Cal suggested it and can't wait for the next recommendation from the Heinisch children.