The Wire - Zica - crime series

Wire is a series that did not achieve the great popularity it certainly deserves, has no commercial success behind it and has not won important television awards, but it is considered by many viewers and most critics to be the best series of all time.

The ideological creator of this series is David Simon. According to him, The Wire is shaped as a crime drama, but it is essentially a series about life in the city community, where every institution has an impact on every individual, regardless of who he is. His idea was realized by HBO as a pilot episode, and the television premiere of the series was on June 2, 2002

The series lasted five seasons and had a total of sixty one-hour episodes. The action takes place in Baltimore, with each season it moves more and more from the street towards city and state institutions, and throughout its duration it follows various social circles. The first season deals exclusively with drugs, the second settles on the shipyard and follows the union of port workers, while from the third season the story emphasizes bureaucracy, city government and education, concluding with journalism in the fifth season. We follow a large number of characters throughout all seasons, and Simon gives us a very realistic view of all spheres of city life, while indirectly we follow a deep exploration of social topics and numerous human destinies.

The series lasted five seasons and had a total of sixty one-hour episodes. The action takes place in Baltimore, with each season it moves more and more from the street towards city and state institutions, and throughout its duration it follows various social circles. The first season deals exclusively with drugs, the second settles on the shipyard and follows the union of port workers, while from the third season the story emphasizes bureaucracy, city government and education, concluding with journalism in the fifth season. We follow a large number of characters throughout all seasons, and Simon gives us a very realistic view of all spheres of city life, while indirectly we follow a deep exploration of social topics and numerous human destinies.

At the very beginning, The Wire is not too different from the typical police drama that follows the events between the police and criminals on the violent streets of dark Baltimore. However, we soon realize that storytelling and character elaboration unravel much more than a few ordinary police trials. The line between good and bad guys is increasingly blurred or intertwined with each other, so that soon everyone becomes gray. In an environment like Baltimore, there is a lot of dirty money, and the screenwriter treats every job, be it legal or illegal, as a complex puzzle full of rules and protocols, the success of which depends on numerous factors.

The Wire has a number of interconnected stories, but what gives the script its soul are elaborate characters from all walks of life. First of all, we follow police officers who are capable, but tired of bureaucracy, which finally affects their commitment, while on the streets we observe a wide range of different characters - from bosses, through small dealers, all the way to people who spend a day collecting money for a fix. Both are in a game where the stakes are high, which is why no character seems fairer or better than anyone else. The environment of the series is quite dark, but honest and very convincing characters reward our patience

The Wire has set the standards for modern television and is a kind of archive of turbulent American society. It has very realistic portraits of human destinies and interactions and a detailed evaluation of each segment of society and bureaucracy. It emphasizes people, institutions and the constant tension and problems that arise between them. This series is very different from what most people watch on television, and it is quite understandable that it is slow or confusing for individuals - it takes time, attention, persistence and patience, and it will pay off many times over. To finalize my impression - The Wire is not a television series, but a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

 Zica je serija koja nije postigla veliku popularnost koju svakako zaslužuje, iza sebe nema komercijalni uspeh i nije se nadobijala važnih televizijskih nagrada, ali je brojni gledaoci i većina kritičara smatraju najboljom serijom svih vremena.

Idejni tvorac ove serije je Dejvid Sajmon Po njegovim rečima, Zica jeste oblikovana kao kriminalistička drama, ali je u suštini serija o životu u gradskoj zajednici, gde svaka inistitucija ima uticaj na svakog pojedinca, bez obzira ko je on. Njegovu ideju je HBO realizovao kao pilot epizodu, a televizijska premijera serije je bila drugog juna 2002. godine.

Serija je trajala pet sezona i ukupno je imala šezdeset jednočasovnih epizoda. Radnja se odvija u Baltimoru, sa svakom sezonom se sa ulice sve više pomera ka gradskim i državnim institucijama, a celim svojim trajanjem prati različite društvene i socijalne krugove. Prva sezona se bavi isključivo drogom, druga se smešta na brodogradilište i prati sindikat lučkih radnika, dok od treće sezone priča akcentuje birokratiju, gradsku vlast i obrazovanje, zaključno sa novinarstvom u petoj sezoni. Veći broj likova pratimo kroz sve sezone, a Sajmon nam pruža veoma realan prikaz svih sfera gradskog života, dok posredno pratimo duboko istraživanje društvenih tema i brojne ljudske sudbine.

Na samom početku Zica se ne razlikuje previše od tipične policijske drame koja prati dešavanja između policije i kriminalaca na nasilnim ulicama mračnog Baltimora. Međutim, uskoro shvatamo da priča i razrada likova odmotavaju klupko mnogo više od nekoliko običnih policijskih procesa. Linija između dobrih i loših momaka se sve više briše ili se međusobno prepliće, tako da ubrzo svi postanu sivi. U sredini kao što je Baltimor ima puno prljavog novca, a scenarista svaki posao, bio on legalan ili ilegalan, tretira kao složenu slagalicu punu pravila i protokola, od čijeg uspeha zavise brojni faktori

Zica poseduje veći broj međusobno povezanih priča, ali ono što scenariju daje dušu su razrađeni likovi iz svih sfera društva. Pre svega pratimo policajce koji su sposobni, ali umorni od birokratije, što konačno utiče na njihovu posvećenost, dok na ulicama posmatramo široku lepezu različitih karaktera – od bosova, preko sitnih dilera, pa sve do ljudi kojima se dan svodi da sakupe novac za fiks. I jedni i drugi se nalaze u igri gde su visoki ulozi, a zbog toga se nijedan lik ne čini pravednijim ili boljim od bilo koga drugog. Okruženje serije jeste prilično mračno, ali iskreni i vrlo ubedljivi likovi nagrađuju našu strpljivost

Zica je postavila standarde za modernu televiziju i predstavlja svojevrsni arhiv turbulentnog američkog društva. Poseduje veoma realistične portrete ljudskih sudbina i interakcija i detaljnu evaluaciju svakog segmenta društva i birokratije. Akcentuje ljude, institucije i konstantnu napetost i probleme koji nastaju između njih. Ova serija je veoma različita od onoga što većina ljudi gleda na televiziji i sasvim je razumljivo što je pojedincima spora ili zbunjuća – potrebno je uložiti vreme, pažnju, upornost i strpljenje, a to će vam se mnogostruko vratiti.

Da finaliziram svoj utisak – Zica nije televizijska serija, nego je remek-delo u svakom smislu te reči.