Anyone wHO thinks�The Sopranos is the greatest show on television system will be forced to reassess their opinion afterwards watching superior crime dramatic event The Wire.�
Addictive, realistic and utterly compelling, The Wire�- a thick police show set in the drug-addled city of Baltimore - is grittier than a bowl of gravel for breakfast.
While The Sopranos focuses on just one family, The Wire packs in everything. The show is wound so tightly with multiple plot strands, observance it is like recitation a novel on TV.
That's because all sides of Baltimore's drug war�are told, from low-level street dealers to high level bosses,�from buy government officials to incompetent police chiefs.
Even dopey drug addicts get their moment in the sun.
It's all created with stunning writing, razor sharp dialogue, plot twists that inevitably wind together and characters that you'll light in love with.
There, slap bang in the middle, is Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) - a ham-handed detective�with a heart of gold, and�surely the sterling portrayal of a copper color ever seen on TV.
It may take slipped under the radar here,�with TVNZ cachexia it in early morning time slots, but thanks to the release of seasons 3 and 4 on DVD,�it's never as well late to fall under the addictive spell of The Wire.
Let's just hope the penultimate season 5 is just around the corner. When a show is this addictive, wHO knows what fans will do to get their fix.
Extras: A splendid option of commentaries, interviews and features that help fill in the blanks. Even if you were taking notes patch watching the show, you'll probably silent find something here to enlighten you.�
* Seasons 3 & 4 of The Wire are out now through Warner Bros.
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