[Cali Panthers Fan]

I distinctly remember that I didn't think much of the wire until episode four or so. It's a slow burn, and it shows like a novel, meaning that they take a lot of time building the world and the characters so that you give a #### when the events happen.

It's a little hard because there are so many key characters to build that you almost need a flow chart to keep track of everyone and their relationships to one another and the plot. However, it's one of the few shows that has a really fully developed and immersive world. Not only that, it tackles matters that are important, and does so in an unflinchingly honest way. Nobody is that wonderful and everyone is sympathetic, even the thugs. That's hard to pull off, which is why nobody really tries to do it.

It's not everyone's cup of tea because it's not out to entertain you, but I still think it's worth going through in it's entirety at least once. In their exploration of the decay of a modern American city, each season has it's theme and sector that contributes to that decay, so you aren't rehashing the same stuff each season.

Anyway, I know that I'm either preaching to the choir or this is falling on deaf ears, but I just felt the need to write it anyway.