It's been more than a decade since The Wire has been off the air, but its influence continues to be felt even today. It wasn't the most popular show on HBO at the time, but it has gained plenty of notoriety in the years to come. Just last year, a new book named "All The Pieces Matter" about the lasting power of The Wire was released.
The first season had more than its work cut out for itself, but it stuck the landing. To narrow down the best quotes is no easy task, but we did our best. Here are some of our favorite quotes from the first season.
10 "This America, Man." - Snot Boogie's Friend
The first witness that Detective McNulty interviews wasn't officially credited with a name, but he says something that sets the tone for the series. McNulty is questioning this man about the events the led up to Snot Boogie's death. The man explains that whenever he and his friends played the card game craps, Snot Boogie would steal all the money on the table at the last minute and run away.
He did this multiple times before this particular night, it got him killed. McNulty asks the man why they let Snot Boogie get away with it every time before tonight. "Got to. This America, man," he responds. The Wire wasn't just a commentary on policing and drugs; it was a reflection of America and the so-called American dream. In 2019, The Wire feels just as fresh and insightful as it did in the 2000s.
9 "These Are For You, McNulty." - Chief Rawls
When we first meet one of the police chiefs in the Baltimore Police Department, he is noticeably angry with Detective McNulty, who has bypassed Rawls and spoken with a judge about a case Rawls would rather McNulty stay quiet about. This causes the judge to ask for a closer look into the case, enraging Rawls.
When McNulty arrives in Rawls' office, Rawls' gives McNulty the middle finger with both hands. This act establishes the power dynamic between McNulty and Rawls for the rest of the season, and arguably the series. Rawls is not interested in anyone but himself and he has no problem punishing those who stand in his way.
8 "That Will Teach You To Give A F*** When It Ain't You're Turn To Give A F***." - Bunk
Bunk is McNulty's best friend on the police force. He always has McNulty's back even when nobody else does. As such a friend, he's also willing to give McNulty some tough love and tell him how it is. When McNulty describes his encounter with Chief Rawls and the fire he finds himself in the midst of, Bunk tells him this.
In a world there is much more gray than black and white, McNulty may have the best intentions of anyone. But that intent doesn't always mean he'll be able to advance or even out of trouble. It remains a struggle for McNulty for the course of the season and the series as a whole.
7 "All the Pieces Matter." - Det. Freamon
Detective Freamon is one of the more seasoned detectives on the force and helps guide various less experienced detectives, Roland Pryzbylewski, or Prez. As Prez and Freamon are working through the Barksdale case, Prez is having a hard time seeing the big picture, at which point Freamon assures him, "All the pieces matter." This quote encapsulates the series.
Viewers are dropped into the deep end from minute one of The Wire and some viewers may wonder if all that they're seeing really fits together as a whole. But as each episode progresses, we see the bigger tapestry and how all the individual story threads come together. Indeed, all the pieces matter.
6 "F***." - Detectives Bunk and McNulty
The Wire is more than just peppered with F-bombs; they string the sentences together for several characters. But in one particular scene in season one, Bunk and McNulty are revisiting an apartment that was once a crime scene, trying to find anything that was missed the first time around.
They go back and forth simply saying the F-bomb about 50 times, variating mostly in tone, leaving the audience to depend on what they can see to figure out exactly what Bunk and McNulty are finding. It's a genius scene that shows how in sync Bunk and McNulty are and how they operate.
5 "Why You Playing Checkers On A Chess Set?" - D'angelo Barksdale
At the beginning of season one, D'Angelo Barksdale is a drug dealer who has just been released from jail and is trying to get back in the game. He is placed in one particular apartment complex known as "The Pit" where he is the most experienced of anyone there. One day during some downtime, he notices two of his fellow dealers playing checkers on a chess set and proceeds to teach them chess.
D'Angelo's question reflects the game that The Wire sets up for viewers. Police procedurals are a dime a dozen, but the vast majority are focused on the good guys vs. the bad guys, cops vs. robbers. The Wire didn't just want to raise the stakes; it wanted to elevate the conversation and look at the corruption not just in the streets, but in the criminal justice institutions as well.
4 "A Man Must Have A Code." - Bunk
When the boyfriend of a drug lord named Omar Little is killed by Stringer Barksdale's crew, Omar barely dodges getting killed himself. He decides to cooperate with the police to help them take down Barksdale's crew. During the course of their conversation, Bunk tells Omar, "A man must have a code."
The Wire is all about the codes that various characters live by. No character is perfect or without scruples, but each operates with a code, and though The Wire may not give answers as to which code is the best to live by, it certainly explores how those codes affect the professional and personal lives of cops and drug dealers alike.
3 "Omar Don't Scare." - Omar Little
In the same aforementioned conversation, Omar is warned by the police that by cooperating with them, he is in effect putting another target on his back. Speaking in the first person, he declares, "Omar don't scare." It's a bold, if not cocky, thing to say in a series where people get killed left and right.
But, to Omar's credit, not only does he "not scare"; he manages to be one of the few drug dealers that survives until the final season of The Wire. His schemes may not always go according to plan, but his survival alone proves that he's not just your average drug dealer.
2 "You Start To Follow The Money... You Don't Know Where It's Going To Take You." - Det. Freamon
For the first half of the first season of The Wire, it appears that the corruption of the drug dealing business is self-contained. But in the second half as McNulty and his team of fellow officers continue to investigate the Barksdale organization, they come to see just how murky things get.
The drugs may indeed be limited to Barksdale's crew, but McNulty's team starts to look at all the money, they discover it goes as high as a Maryland state senator. This sets off its own set of problems for Det. Freamon and Prez, eventually forcing them to stop looking at where all the money goes.
1 "You Come At The King, You Best Not Miss." - Omar Little
This quote remains one of the most iconic lines of the entire series. When Omar decides to take revenge for the death of his boyfriend on the Barksdale crew, he catches them completely off guard. As he is about to depart, he declares, "You come at the king, you best not miss."
You cannot take any half measures in the world of The Wire. You stick to a plan and execute it. If you don't, there's no telling what repercussions might result.
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