I just watched the Wire from first episode to last a couple of months ago. Very tight all the way through, and despite the seriousness of the subject matter, and the bleakness of the outlook and message (the system never changes; take down a bad guy and he'll be replaced by one just as bad; anyone who tries to effect a real and positive change will only suffer), surprisingly upbeat and humorous and feel-good. Also, featuring classic never-see-this-on-your-father's-cop-show moments like a drug boss conducting a meeting with his street crew according to parliamentary procedure or two detectives poring over a murder scene and discovering how much more complicated their jobs have become, while not saying anything other than a continuous stream of f-bombs, communicating solely by the inflections and tones of their curses. I hate cop shows, and aside the Shield and Malcolm Reynolds' time-traveling undercover adventure pretending to be a writer in NYC, the Wire is the only one I have ever watched an entire season or more of.