TV critic and former president Barack Obama cites Omar Little as his favorite character from The Wire, calling him “fascinating,” and remarking on his combination of unusual qualities.
He’s violent but moral, smart but trollish, openly gay, refers to himself in the third person, and carries a shotgun.
A composite of multiple real-life figures, Omar makes a living by raiding the corners and stash houses controlled by criminal organizations like the Barksdales and later the Stanfields.
His arrival in the first season of The Wire is a disruption of the already non-traditional battle between police and drug dealers.
Created by David Simon and Ed Burns, The Wire was consciously written as HBO’s police procedural: no weekly cases and reliable convictions, no black-and-white morality.
The titular wire, a phone tap, is only achieved by mountains of paperwork and backroom dealing, and it comes with a time limit.
“Catching the…
Read full article