This is a post I wrote over the summer but somehow misfiled. Since then, Sujal and I saw David Simon, the creator of The Wire speak at The Connecticut Forum.
form 6/22/08
The past few weeks, Sujal has gotten me hooked on the HBO show The Wire. It’s a pretty gritty show set in Baltimore, and it follows several police and various police “targets.” It’s pretty addictive. One of the things that drives me a little nuts is that there is so much product placement. Being that the show focuses mainly on cops, you can imagine there is a lot of coffee drinking, and there are no shortage of front and center Dunkin’ Donuts coffee cups. Once they showed a junkie eating McDonald’s food, again, name prominently displayed. The cops are often drinking — the show must have contracts with Jameson and with Miller Lite.
I just started watching season four, and a kid buys a nail gun (for all the “wrong” reasons, I might add) in a large home improvement store. But Home Depot seemed unwilling to give the okay (or perhaps the cash), because the storefront had a very similar style sign — same colors — called Housewares Barn.
The show has some great character development as well as good storytelling.