The Best TV Show You've Never Seen

Through the wonder of the World Wide Web I have just finished watching season 4 of The Wire. I think Fraser did a post a while ago about how good the season was, but I’m going to add my tuppence worth.

I think the fact that I watched this season in 3 and 4 hour blocks tells you everything you need to know about how addictive it is. I’ve said it before, but here it comes again, this is easily one of the best shows ever to have been on television. I’ve even went for a hyperbolic NME style headline to convey my opinion.

This has more character development in one episode than a full series of any British drama you could care to mention. Characters have grown over the course of the 4 seasons like none I have ever seen in any other drama, and I include my other favourites shows The Sopranos, The Shield and The West Wing in that.

For example the fuck-up of series one is a total star in season 4, having found his niche and worked his heart out for it.

The show’s subtle and clever, having many important scenes play out without dialogue or having one line sum up what other shows would have taken a scene to do.

It’s also not afraid to be hard hitting, having shocking endings for some of the characters we’ve ridden along with for so long.

In the first season it was about the cops and the gangsters on the street. By season 4 the net has widened to include politicians and local government, the police hierarchy, the schools, social services, drug suppliers, dealers and users as well as parents and reformed gangsters and retired cops.

You wouldn’t think that they could do justice to so many characters, so many different plotlines, so many different personalities, but they so can.

If you haven’t before now get started on watching The Wire.