The Corner is a 2000 HBO miniseries created by David Simon and David Mills, directed by Charles S. Dutton. It is an adaptation of the 1997 nonfiction book, The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood written by Simon and Ed Burns. It is notable for its unapologetically bleak depiction of West Baltimore and being considered the blueprint to Simon's next major drama series, The Wire. In fact, many actors who starred in The Corner went on to join the cast of The Wire, often in roles polar opposite to the ones they played here.
It's the early '90s in West Baltimore. Gary McCullough is a 34-year old drug addict who fell from grace after dropping out of college to support his wife Francine and son DeAndre. After Fran starts descending into drug addiction and divorces Gary, he falls into temptation too, and loses everything. Now 15, going on 16 years old, DeAndre is dealing the same poison that ruined his parents. The series chronicles the family's collective struggle with drug addiction and trying to clean up their acts for the sake of their futures.
This series provides examples of:
- The '60s: Gary's childhood.
- The '70s: Gary and Fran's teenage years. DeAndre was born in 1977.
- The '80s: DeAndre's childhood, and when Gary buys the family their first house. Things start to go downhill from here.
- The '90s: Present day, circa 1993.
- Crapsack World: Baltimore is not pretty. This show takes place in the worst ghettos of West Baltimore.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Scoogie recites some slam poetry for a party, Fran acknowledges the message behind it when he looks into her eyes and delivers this line."You better get your ass in that water, and swim like me."
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Gary was an honest, hardworking man who came from a good family and managed to buy his own beautiful house for his wife and son. However, once Fran starts flirting with drugs, neglecting her responsibilities, and eventually leaves him, he falls into the same habits. The beautiful Victorian home is now a dusty borderline vacant.
- Important Haircut: In the final episode, DeAndre finally cuts his braids down to a clean shave.
- "Mister Sandman" Sequence: The flashbacks tend to employ this, with vibrant colors, smiling faces, and some music of their respective eras occasionally playing in the background. This is moreso used to show how badly the neighborhood and its residents fell from grace.
- Running Gag: Everyone either has no cigarettes, or just one. The one time Fran gets a whole box, everyone swarms her asking to bum one.
- Tall Poppy Syndrome: Fran harbors some resentment towards her brother Scoogie for getting clean and going legit, doing much better for himself. Bunchie similarly looks annoyed when Fran starts attending rehab and comes back home with better opportunities lined up.
