The Wire: The Complete First SeasonAfter one episode ofThe Wireyou'll be hooked. After three, you'll be astonished by the precision of  its storytelling. After viewing all 13 episodes of the HBO series'  remarkable first season, you'll be cheering a bona-fide American  masterpiece. Series creator David Simon was a veteran crime reporter  fromThe Baltimore Sunwho cowrote thebookthat inspired TV'sHomicide,  and cowriter Ed Burns was a Baltimore cop, lending impeccable  street-cred to an inner-city Baltimore saga (and companion piece toThe Corner)  that Simon aptly describes as "a visual novel" and "a treatise on  institutions and individuals" as opposed to a conventional good-vs.-evil  police procedural. Owing a creative debt to the novels of Richard Price  (especiallyClockers), the series opens as maverick Detective  Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West, in a star-making role) is tapping into a  vast network of drugs and death around southwest Baltimore's  deteriorating housing projects. With a mandate to get results ASAP, a  haphazard team is assembled to join McNulty's increasingly complex  investigation, built upon countless hours of electronic surveillance.The show's split-perspective plotting is so richly layered, so  breathtakingly authentic and based on finely drawn characters brought to  life by a perfect ensemble cast, that it defies concise description.  Simon, Burns, and their cowriters control every intricate aspect of the  unfolding epic; directors are top-drawer (including Clark Johnson,  helmer ofThe Shield's finest episodes), but they are servants to  the story, resulting in a TV series like no other: unpredictable,  complicated, and demanding the viewer's rapt attention,The Wireis "an angry show" (in Simon's words) that refuses to comfort with easy  answers to deep-rooted societal problems. Moral gray zones proliferate  in a universe where ruthless killers have a logical code, and where the  cops are just as ambiguous as their targets. That ambiguity extends to  the ending as well; season 1 leaves several issues unresolved, leaving  you begging for the even more impressive developments that await in  season 2.--Jeff ShannonThe Wire: The Complete Second SeasonIt hardly seems possible, butThe Wire's second season is even better than thefirst.  The "visual novel" concept of this masterful HBO series is taken even  further in a rich, labyrinthine plot revolving around the longshoremen  of Baltimore's struggling cargo docks, where corruption, smuggling, and  murder draw the attention of detective McNulty (Dominic West). What  follows is a series of events which at first seem unrelated (including  13 bodies found in a cargo container), and then the ongoing effort to  topple the drug empire of "Stringer" Bell (Idris Elba) and the  imprisoned Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), whose business is suffering  from short supply, high demand, and disruption of distribution. The  dutiful diligence of a Marine Police Patrol Officer and the moral  outrage of the longshoremen's union leader are also factored into the  suspicious goings-on at the loading docks, and what unfolds in these 12  episodes is an American crime epic easily on par with theGodfathersaga. Yes, it'sthatgood.Detailed synopsis is pointless;The Wiremust be seen, heard, and absorbed to fully appreciate the way in which  over 40 characters are flawlessly incorporated into a sprawling but  tightly disciplined plot that deals, in the larger sense, with the  deindustrialization of America and the struggle of longshoremen in a  changing economical climate. Offering a privileged and occasionally  frightening glimpse of the inner workings of shipping ports and cargo  transports,The Wireis also a detailed exposé of organized crime  and blue-collar corruption, and an authentic, well-informed study of  political maneuvering among police and city officials. There's not a  single false note to be found in the cast, direction, or writing of this  phenomenal series, hailed by many critics as "the best show on  television." With all due respect to HBO's other excellent series,The Wiretops them all.--Jeff ShannonThe Wire: The Complete Third SeasonWith volatile issues of Baltimore city political reform as its narrative focus, the third season ofThe Wiresuperbly maintains the series' astonishingly consistent status as the  greatest "novel for television" ever created. While the Baltimore police  department's wire-tapping investigations continue to monitor the  intricate and now legitimately fronted drug ring of Russell "Stringer"  Bell (Idris Elba, smooth as ever), detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic  West) continues his loutish ways, navigating through a series of shallow  sexual conquests while doing some of the best cop-work of his career.  Stringer's ex-convict partner Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) is back in  the picture and bent on eliminating a drug-dealing competitor named  Marlo (Jamie Hector), and Baltimore P.D. Major Howard "Bunny" Colvin  (Robert Wisdom) tries his own defiantly independent brand of street  justice by essentially legalizing drugs in "Hamsterdam," where isolated  sections of the city are established as open drug-dealing zones, utterly  without the knowledge or approval of Colvin's superiors. As city  councilman Tommy Carcetti (Aiden Gillen) plots his own ruthlessly  ambitious strategy for the mayor's seat, Baltimore officials, McNulty's  wire unit, and the entire Baltimore P.D. stand poised for the inevitable  fallout from street-level and executive-level manipulations of power.Of course, this is just the tip of a very large iceberg, asThe Wirecontinues its labyrinthine yet tightly controlled chronicle of over 50  characters, major and minor, who are all flawlessly woven into the  fabric of these 12 remarkable episodes. For season 3, series creator  David Simon continued to recruit a top-drawer lineup of reputable  writers (including novelists Richard Price, Dennis Lehane, and George  Pelecanos) and directors (including Ernest Dickerson, Tim Van Patten,  and Agnieszka Holland), and by the time a major character is killed in  the season's penultimate episode (arguably the series' finest yet), it's  clear thatThe Wirehas earned its crown as the most ambitious  and intelligent crime drama in the history of American television. DVD  extras are excellent, as usual, including five illuminating episode  commentaries (an absolute must for devoted fans of the series), a  Q&A session with cast & crew moderated by renowned TV critic and  author Ken Tucker, and a classroom conversation with Simon that delves  deeper into the creative process of the series. Having deservedly earned  its renewal for a fourth season (out of a projected five, according to  Simon),The Wiredelivers surprises aplenty (keep a close watch  for startling revelations) while proving, yet again, that cable-TV is  the place to be for anyone seeking respite from the relative mediocrity  of mainstream network programming.--Jeff ShannonThe Wire: The Complete Fourth SeasonEven if you missed the first three seasons (the character guides and  thorough episode recaps on HBO's website are recommended), and with only  one season left, it's not too late to get in underThe Wire. In fact, season 4 is an accessible introduction for those who knowThe Wireonly by its street cred as arguably the very best show on television.  For them especially, this season will be, as befitting its theme, a real  education. Without resorting to melodramatics that other  ratings-challenged series employ to gain that frustratingly elusive  audience,The Wireshakes things up this season in a way that is  true to the series and its characters. A major character, Dominic West's  McNulty, plays a minor role as a contented street cop and family man,  while a former supporting player, Jim True-Frost's Roland Pryzbylewski,  goes to the head of the class as a new eighth grade teacher at  beleaguered Edward Tilghman Middle School. It may take a couple of  episodes to orient yourself to the Baltimore backrooms, squad rooms,  classrooms, and street corners whereThe Wire's intense dramas  play out, and new viewers may miss something in character nuance, but  they will easily grasp the big picture. A politically motivated shake-up  sends Major Crimes detectives Freamon (Clarke Peters) and Greggs (Sonja  Sohn) to Homicide. The gloves come off in the mayoral race between  black incumbent Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman) and idealistic white  challenger Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen). Gang leader Marlo (Jamie  Hector) quietly and deliberately becomes the city's new drug kingpin,  managing to subvert all surveillance efforts. Meanwhile, while "Prez"  tries to reach his students, four highly at-risk kids will be drawn into  the drug trade.Mere synopsis does not doThe Wirejustice. The series deftly juggles its myriad storylines and characters,  all of whom make an impression, from Marlo's cold-blooded enforcers,  Snoop (Felicia Pearson) and Chris (Gbenga Akinnagbe), to boxing  instructor "Cutty" (Chad L. Coleman), determined to keep his young  charges off the corners. There is not a false note in the performances  or the writing. Richard Price (Clockers) and Dennis Lehane (Mystic River)  again contributed episodes. That this series has only been nominated  for only one Emmy (for writing) is a travesty. As engrossing as the  finest novels and in a class by itself, this isn't television; it'sThe Wire.--Donald LiebensonThe Wire: The Complete Fifth SeasonA barroom toast to Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), a one-man good cop/bad cop, offered inThe Wire's  final episode could very well serve as this series' epitaph: "When you  were good, you were the best we had." Season five bears witness to this.  The 10 riveting, wrenching episodes focus on yet another beleaguered  Baltimore institution,The Baltimore Sundaily newspaper, whose  staff, much like the police, is forced to do more with less. One editor  (Clark Johnson) struggles to maintain the paper's journalistic standards  in the face of declining ad revenues, employee buyouts and bureau  closures. An ambitious reporter (Tom McCarthy) undermines him by taking a  page out of the Stephen Glass/Jayson Blair playbook, manufacturing  sensational quotes, and eventually, whole stories, while bean-counter  management encourages its rising star and keeps its eye on the  (Pulitzer) prize. Meanwhile, on the streets, the year-long investigation  of rising drug lord Marlo Sansfield (Jamie Hector) and the 22 bodies  found in "the vacants" has been discontinued and police morale is at an  all-time low (the money promised to the department has been diverted to  the schools). McNulty manufactures a serial killer case that will have  far-reaching repercussions in the mayor's office, where Tommy Carcetti  (Aidan Gillen) is mounting a run for governor a mere two years into his  term. "I wonder what it would be like to work at a real police station,"  McNulty rages at one point.The Wire, as ever, is all about  real. It's a gritty and unflinching look at life in one of roughest  districts of a "broke-ass city." There is street justice for some  characters, and street injustice for others. Some meet sad, sudden, or  shocking ends that defy TV convention. Referring to Marlo, McNulty  declares early on, "He does not get to win; we get to win." The  hard-earned victories are mostly small, or come with a price. Not thatThe Wiredoes not offer glimmers of hope. Bubbles (Andre Royo) struggles to  maintain his sobriety (Steve Earle portrays the leader of his 12-step  program and also does the theme song honors this season), and the final  episode features a cameo by Jim True-Frost as the once overwhelmed  teacher, "Prez," who now seems to have the hang of the job. The  ratings-strapped and criminally Emmy-snubbedThe Wirehas always  been a critic's darling with a passionate fan base. To the show's  credit, it did not make itself more accessible in its final season  (consequently, its send-off did not receive near the fanfare ofThe SopranosorSex and the City). That should not dissuade newcomers to the show. It is heavy lifting, and if you're just joiningThe Wire,  a visit to the show's official website for orientation is recommended.  But buy it, watch it, and be patient. It's so worth it. From the  masterful storytelling to the peerless ensemble, it just doesn't get any  better thanThe Wire. But that's not exactly news.--Donald Liebenson