It's June 16, 2024, 05:14:51 AM
"The Wire" is going back in time to promote its future.The critically acclaimed HBO series has given a multiplatform launch to three filmed shorts produced by "Wire" creator David Simon that explore the backstories of some its characters.The three "prequels" already have launched on Amazon.com -- not on its Unbox service but as a free stream available on the page for the DVD set "The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season."The prequels also are being used to whet the appetite of "Wire" fans in advance of its fifth-season launch Jan. 6 on HBO. Beginning Dec. 15, the shorts will be available on HBO On Demand, HBO.com, podcasts and affiliate portals.The shorts will air on HBO at the close of each fifth-season episode, beginning with the third installment.In addition, HBO will make all episodes of "Wire" available on VOD one week before their linear premiere (with the exception of the finale). "Wire" is known to be a big draw on VOD, second only to "The Sopranos" among HBO series.Two of the shorts are devoted to the characters Prop Joe and Omar, depicting them as children who show flashes of their adult personality traits. A third short features William "Bunk" Moreland (Wendell Pierce) and Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) in McNulty's first day on the job.Simon produced the shorts at the same time he worked on the series finale, though they don't have any specific relevance to this season's story lines.
Quote"The Wire" is going back in time to promote its future.The critically acclaimed HBO series has given a multiplatform launch to three filmed shorts produced by "Wire" creator David Simon that explore the backstories of some its characters.The three "prequels" already have launched on Amazon.com -- not on its Unbox service but as a free stream available on the page for the DVD set "The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season."The prequels also are being used to whet the appetite of "Wire" fans in advance of its fifth-season launch Jan. 6 on HBO. Beginning Dec. 15, the shorts will be available on HBO On Demand, HBO.com, podcasts and affiliate portals.The shorts will air on HBO at the close of each fifth-season episode, beginning with the third installment.In addition, HBO will make all episodes of "Wire" available on VOD one week before their linear premiere (with the exception of the finale). "Wire" is known to be a big draw on VOD, second only to "The Sopranos" among HBO series.Two of the shorts are devoted to the characters Prop Joe and Omar, depicting them as children who show flashes of their adult personality traits. A third short features William "Bunk" Moreland (Wendell Pierce) and Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) in McNulty's first day on the job.Simon produced the shorts at the same time he worked on the series finale, though they don't have any specific relevance to this season's story lines.Young Prop Joe (1962, Baltimore, Maryland)1962, Baltimore, Maryland.Crossed by a classmate, a young student shows off the brazen business acumen that will soon earn him the moniker "Proposition Joe" on the Baltimore streets. (1m.40s.)http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m2UG070Q60466HYoung Omar (1985, Baltimore, Maryland)An adolescent Omar upstages two older boys, and exhibits a sense of priority beyond his years, during the robbery of a working man waiting for a bus ride home.(1m.43s)http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mL6KQXV30XNIFBunk and McNulty (2000, Baltimore, Maryland)Bunk's initial coolness towards his new partner, a "six-year wonder" named Jimmy McNulty, is thawed after the two find common ground during the midnight shift.(2m.53s)http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/mN71VEUB9QMD1