‘The Wire’: Links For Reviews To Every Episode

(Editor’s note: This post was originally published on December 26, 2014. ‘The Wire’ can now be streamed via Max.)

Earlier today, HBO Signature began a marathon of the remastered, high-definition version of “The Wire.” As previously discussed, this isn’t the optimal way to watch the show, which was filmed with a 4:3 aspect ratio image in mind throughout its run, but David Simon and company did what they could to not compromise the look too much (and, on occasion, found that certain scenes looked better in widescreen).

If you happen to have some time off at the moment – say, due to a ubiquitous holiday break – and are watching the marathon, you might want to keep my reviews of each episode handy, whether you’re a first-time viewer who’s been waiting all along to see the show in high-def, a former viewer curious to see how the new versions look, or simply a fan using this as an excuse to watch “The Wire” again for the umpteenth time.

Because I wrote these reviews across two sites, and out of order, I figured it would be useful to do a post with a master list to reviews of every single episode, in chronological order. I began reviewing the show episode-by-episode in season 4, so those last two seasons were covered the same way I would any other current show, in real time. After the series ended, I went back and revisited seasons 1 through 3, presenting two different versions of each review: one just for the newbies, and one for the veteran viewers who wouldn’t be spoiled by discussion of what came later.

So get back to marathoning, if you so desire, and keep these links handy if you want to immerse yourself even deeper into the experience as you watch. Also, I’m curious how people feel the remastered versions look. I’m hip-deep in screeners for upcoming 2015 shows, so I doubt I’ll get a chance to watch the new versions anytime soon.

SEASON 1

Episode 1: “The Target” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 2: “The Detail” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 3: “The Buys” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 4: “Old Cases” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 5: “The Pager” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 6: “The Wire” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 7: “One Arrest” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 8: “Lessons” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 9: “Game Day” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 10: “The Cost” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 11: “The Hunt” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 12: “Cleaning Up” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 13: “Sentencing” Veterans | Newbies

SEASON 2

Episode 1: “Middle Ground” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 2: “Collateral Damage” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 3: “Hot Shots” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 4: “Hard Cases” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 5: “Undertow” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 6: “All Prologue” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 7: “Backwash” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 8: “Duck and Cover” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 9: “Stray Rounds” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 10: “Storm Warnings” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 11: “Bad Dreams” Veterans | Newbies

Episode 12: “Port in a Storm” Veterans | Newbies

SEASON 3

Episode 1, “Time After Time”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 2, “All Due Respect”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 3, “Dead Soldiers”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 4, “Hamsterdam”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 5, “Straight and True”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 6, “Homecoming”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 7, “Back Burners”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 8, “Moral Midgetry”:Veterans | Newbies

Episode 9, “Slapstick”:Veterans | Newbies

Episode 10, “Reformation”: Veterans | Newbies

Episode 11, “Middle Ground”: Veterans | Newbies & George Pelecanos interview

Episode 12, “Mission Accomplished”: Veterans | Newbies

SEASON 4

Episode 1, “Boys of Summer”

Episode 2, “Soft Eyes”

Episode 3, “Home Rooms”

Episode 4, “Refugees”

Episode 5, “Alliances”

Episode 6, “Margin of Error”

Episode 7, “Unto Others”

Episode 8, “Corner Boys”

Episode 9, “Know Your Place”

Episode 10, “Misgivings”

Episode 11, “A New Day”

Episode 12, “That’s Got His Own”

Episode 13, “Final Grades”

SEASON 5

Episode 1, “More with Less”

Episode 2, “Unconfirmed Reports”

Episode 3, “Not For Attribution”

Episode 4, “Transitions”

Episode 5, “React Quotes”

Episode 6, “The Dickensian Aspect”

Episode 7, “Took”

Episode 8, “Clarifications”

Episode 9, “Late Editions”

Episode 10, “-30-“ | David Simon post-finale interview