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Here's my rating with some little review for every season:

Season 1: 8.5/10 (Impressive start, although the plot feels so slow)

Season 2: 9/10 (Masterpiece of storytelling)

Season 3: 10/10 (Omar Little the champions of people)

Season 4: 11/10 (is this a real life? Is this just fantasy?)

Season 5: 9.5/10 (such a perfect conclusion)

I don't subscribe to HBO. A couple of weeks ago I heard an interview with a young actor from this series on NPR. It was described as a "gritty crime drama" with many Baltimore locals portraying variations on themselves. The interview made it sound interesting enough that I decided to check out the first season on DVD.

After the first few episodes I became seriously hooked and devoted 36 hours of the next ten days to the show.

Having now watched the first 3 seasons, I believe it to be the best television series I have seen.

I do not understand why this show hasn't generated the buzz or the awards of HBO's other series, such as the Sopranos or Deadwood. It is more gripping, faster paced, and more intelligent. The other shows can be a bit plodding, with plot lines that go nowhere, and a few characters I don't much care about. That wasn't the case here.

The show is a cross between the Sopranos and the old NBC show Homicide: Life on the Street. The crime/sopranos side and the law/Homicide side run in parallel. Individually, the parallel plot lines are compelling. In tandem, they are complimentary and brilliant.

There is no way to avoid having "the best show ever" tag sound like anything but silly hype--regardless, what makes this show substantially better than any other realistic and compelling crime or police drama is the fact it is... searching. It doesn't just delve into the individual psychologies motivating these people (ala the Sopranos) or the complex interactions amongst the members of a community (ala Deadwood) it asks "what the hell can be done for all of these people" and points out the problems with any and all of the answers.

It's truly brilliant. If you like intelligent television, I envy the enjoyment you will have watching this for the first time.

I first attempted to watch this series over a decade ago when I started getting interested in films and tv shows in a major way, but I was still not mature enough to enjoy the more complex kind of TV I see that now. I used to think the show was boring, did not understand half of it, to be fair I am not from USA and some of the language in this show is a little too high level for a non native to understand from both the cops and drug dealers, even now I still don't get a few expressions they do or police terms. I guess I even hated it I only watched the first season and save a few scenes I was mostly bored

Now I feel like my taste has matured a lot since I last saw it, decided to give it another chance, and now I see every scene, every dialogue, every line between the lines and I haven't even finished the first season again and I am loving it, maybe not yet as much as I love Sopranos or Breaking bad which are arguably simpler but very smart, real and entertaining. The Wire does feel more complex on its themes I guess it's too real in a way which is why I thought it was boring the first time, they bother with details normally other TV shows would skip or overlook.

I still think Sopranos is better, it is easier to digest, but without losing that feeling of realism and being relatable on every level, but it doesn't make the wire any less important.

I look forward to finishing it this time and maybe even update my review once I am all done.

I have seen many brilliant shows, and The Wire is one of them. Even the word brilliant isn't enough to put into words how good this series is. The Wire is incredibly well made, with moody lighting, striking location work that also brings atmosphere and great photography, while the music is very haunting. The Wire with its thoughtful and tense dialogue also has some of the best writing of any show I've seen, the stories are ceaselessly compelling and the characters are rich and unforgettable. All the episodes are superbly directed, and very rarely do you feel cheated at the end of episodes. The acting is superb, Dominic West and Idris Elba are especially brilliant. In conclusion, phenomenal. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The Wire absolutely, without a doubt, lives up to all the hype and love it gets. The storytelling is so ridiculously good and that's because that this is one of the best written shows in television history. It's one of those rare shows where every season is just as good as the others. It's ranked #6 All-Time with a 9.3 rating for a reason... because it's absolutely amazing! If you google any "best show ever" list you will find The Wire near the top of every single one. If you've never seen this incredible show then do yourself a favor and go watch it immediately and if you have seen it then go watch it again because it's just that good!