Stars: Dominic West, Wendell Pierce, Lance Reddick, Idris Elba, Amy Ryder, Chris Bauder, Bill Raymond

Summary: Unlike most television crime dramas, which neatly introduce and then solve a case all in the space of one hour, HBO's THE WIRE follows one single drug and homicide investigation throughout the length of an entire season. Centred around the drug culture of inner-city Baltimore, the series' storyline unfolds from the points of view of both the criminals lording the streets and the police officers determined to bring them down. Created by writer David Simon (THE CORNER, HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET), THE WIRE's multifaceted approach offers a nuanced overview of every aspect of the drug trade and the complex morality of its participants. The second season is included here in its entirety.

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Picking up after the dramatic events of its maiden season, the second series of The Wireachieves something really rather special: it even manages to outclass the first.

For those fresh to the show, surely the best, most intelligent piece of scripted drama to emerge from America in the last decade, the actual premise is fairly simple. Across the thirteen episodes of its season, it charts one case, and the numerous influences upon it. So it devotes roughly equal time to those committing the crimes as it does to those chasing them.

This time, the Baltimore Police Department have twin worries. There's the continuing, festering narrative of events from the season before, along with a new problem when a container of dead bodies turns up at the nearby docks. After initial battles over whose statistics the bodies will be attributed to, a fresh case begins for the embattled officers of the Major Crimes Unit.

Yet season two is about much more than the case itself. Bubbling under the surface are characters with real problems, that take their toll on the day-to-day, while at the docks themselves there are union struggles underway, which also have a part to play. Thanks to, frankly, superb scripting, these various narrative threads are woven together quite brilliantly, and the result is perhaps the finest series of The Wireto date. And that's no small feat.

If you're one of the many who have let The Wirefly under their radar thus far, then you're urged to rectify that. Clearly season one is the logical starting point, but begin your adventure in the knowledge that this second series is simple exceptional. For the rest of the US television industry, this is the standard to aim for. --Simon Brew

Main Language:	English, French
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Two Audio Commentaries
Subtitles:	Arabic, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish
Release Date:	October 10, 2005
Runtime:	780 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 072559
Keywords:	Five, Box, General, Series, Set, Wire, Tv, Drama, Discs
Genre:	Drama