"Just watched an HBO Doc that felt like all 5 seasons of The Wire" Thu Jun-11-15 05:35 PM by sersey
The doc doesn't deal directly with all the same subject matter but it really evokes the same kind of feeling after viewing.
Its called "Tales of the Grim Sleeper". It basically chronicles the story of a black serial killer in South Central LA that killed undetected and uncharged from the mid 80s all the way through 2010 when he was caught.
The dude's life alone is just as fascinating as the murders themselves. Poor middle aged black man with a wife and kids, that everybody in the hood loves. He makes his money with different neighborhood hustles and as a garbage man. But he's a sexual deviant that prowls for crackheads and hookers at night.
This doc's got everything The Wire has:
-A female version of Bubbles. A former crackhead and prostitute that rides around with the documentarians giving them access to every grimy mofo in the community that can give them leads about their subject.
-A corrupt justice system that underserves the black community and ignores the crime and murders that plague the non-tax payers (drug dealers, drug abusers, and prostitutes).
-The proverbial "drugs on the table". A big ass press conference with the mayor/cops patting themselves on the back when they finally find the dude after 25 years. When in fact the case was fumbled umpteen times leading up to the arrest simply because it was NEVER a priority when over 100 destitute black women went missing with most killed by the same weapon of the same man.
-The son of the murderer.. Who, like Pookie or Naymond would have stood a chance to be something great. But he witnessed too much disturbing shit that he grew up mischaracterizing as "normal". He saw too much under his Dad's supervision and the hood that raised him..
-And ofcourse a slew of colorful supporting characters that only the hood can spawn. The killer's neighborhood buddies, his former hookers, his running crew he'd hustle with, and his family members. All this shit makes for an awe-inducing 1:45 mins of WTF TV gold.