Breaking down The Wire. - By Steve James, and Alex Kotlowitz - Slate Magazine

I (heart) The Wire. I'm hoping that the final episode is available on HBO on Demand tonight. But I don't want to watch the final episode, because a) I don't want this year to be over and b) something really bad is going to happen to the kids on the show.

Breaking down The Wire. - By Steve James, and Alex Kotlowitz - Slate Magazine: "With one episode to go, we worry about the fate of Dukie, Randy, Namond, and Michael. How many of them will even make it to 15, much less adulthood? To make it out requires an ability to step outside oneself, says Burns. In his former career as a cop and a teacher, Burns says he met only three or four people from the streets of Baltimore who had managed to do that. Interestingly enough, one of them is Felicia Pearson, who plays Snoop. They found Snoop—or rather Snoop found them—when she boldly approached Michael K. Williams (Omar) in a Baltimore club and delivered some of her raps. She'd lived the hard life portrayed in The Wire, yet she possessed the ability to look at herself and her life from a distance, even with humor. Simon and his team wrote her into the series as Chris' murderous sidekick. She missed the first shoot because she got stuck in Philly in a stolen-car arrest. Wrong place, wrong time. She begged for a second chance and has been a total professional, not to mention a mesmerizing screen presence. The Wire gave Felicia a chance. Or as Lester says in another context in this episode: 'Sometimes life just gives you a moment.' Think how many other Felicias are out there, still waiting for theirs.
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