As for critizism of The Wire, it often falls below quite a lot of other high quality shows when it comes to both acting and exploration of individual characters' development. e.g. Sopranos is a far better character study, but The Wire had an immense depth to the city it portrayed, to the wealth of characters we followed. It had an air of authenticity beyond almost any other fictional show, it almost never let drama get in the way of verisimilitude, and it's ambition when it came to explain the individuals as prisoners of the societal structures they inhabited was unprecedented. It completely blew me away, it greatly fits the way I see the world working, and I love it for it. For these reasons, I like it more than anything I've ever seen, and I think it's the greatest show ever made.
Later, I read an interview with David Simon. He talked about "Paths of Glory" which is very fitting for the theme, and said that he was uninterested in Shakespearian drama, and wanted Greek tragedy, where he did not as much examine his character's souls as presenting characters being trapped by the fates and the gods, largely unable to break free of their shackles. Some elements of the show are merely servicable (though almost never bad), but the tings it really excels in sets it apart.
/panegyric slobbering fanboyism
