THE WIRE

THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON

By MARTÍN CABALLERO

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HBO HOME VIDEO | 8.19.08

Never since I moved from Baltimore to Boston was it more difficult to say goodbye to a city of corrupt cops, methodical hitmen and gay extortionists with 12-gauge Mausberg fetishes. After the emotionally charged fourth season of The Wire, this fifth and final one leans on a weaker story line involving an increasingly unstable Det. McNulty (never far from a flask of Jameson's) manipulating his bosses and the media to nail drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield. Whereas last season's school setting and characters resonated on-screen, Simon's personal beef with his hometown paper overshadows every newsroom scene and begets the introduction of a few unremarkable new faces. But in the end, the pleasure of watching a brilliant cast (Dominic West in particular) ease back into their memorable characters one last time is something this season's thematic miscues can't impair. They'll stay with you long after Clay Davis has utters his final "Sheeeit."