Was the HBO police drama 'The Wire' the greatest TV show of all time?

Earlier this year, a lawyer friend of mine, Michael Tonder of Mobile, recommended that I check out “The Wire,” a police TV series that aired on HBO from June 2002 through March 2008. I’d heard of the show before, but not being an HBO subscriber, I’d never watched a single episode of the show. He said he thought I’d like it.

In early April, thanks to NetFlix, I began watching the entire series, all 60 episodes, in order from start to finish, and I finished watching them all last week. Having seen them all, I’m now of the opinion that “The Wire” is arguably the greatest TV show ever. If it’s not the greatest, it’s certainly way up there.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, which ran for five seasons, it’s about the illicit drug trade in Baltimore, Maryland. Each season focused on a different aspect of the drug trade. For example, the second season dealt almost entirely with the local port’s effect on the drug trade, and the fourth season dealt with the local school system. The final season focused on the media’s impact on the drug trade and crime.

The show included a fascinating (and long) list of characters, but the main character was arguably Detective Jimmy McNulty, who was played by Dominic West. McNulty was a drunk and womanizer, but he was also a highly skilled investigator. He always seemed to be the smartest guy in the room, and didn’t mind bending the rules if he thought he had a good reason.

This show was also very gritty and realistic, and as you might have imagined about a show about the drug trade, major characters got killed off from time to time. One of the show’s more popular characters was Omar Little, a stick-up artist who made his living by robbing drug dealers. Feared on the streets by all who knew his reputation, he met his end in a surprising (and, for me, unsatisfying) manner late in the show’s run.

If you’ve never seen “The Wire,” I highly recommend that you check it out. And I’m not talking about an episode here and there, I’m talking about the whole run, from start to finish. It will take some time, but it’s worth it, and you will not be disappointed. (For those of you have NetFlix, the complete run of the series is available on DVD.)

Having seen the entire run of the series, I’m of the opinion that “The Wire” is arguably the greatest TV show ever. The characters were great. The shows were well-written, intriguing and addictive. The show also seemed highly realistic, and the more I watched, the more I felt like I was learning something about the way the real world works.

In the end, how many of you are fans of “The Wire”? What did you think of the show? Where would you rank it among the greatest TV shows ever? Which of the show’s characters was your personal favorite? Which episode was your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.