The Wire: Complete Series

David Simon, a former crime reporter and TV cop show veteran (Homicide), launched this compelling HBO series in 2002. More than a crime drama, this story of cops, crooks, and the social and bureaucratic forces that both divide and bind them starts as a dense, interwoven study of a task force investigation of an inner-city drug dealer and the violence surrounding his ambitious expansion. Subsequent seasons took on the unions, drug policy, education, city hall, and finally the media (specifically newspaper journalism), building over five seasons a complex portrait of Baltimore using fictional stories that illuminated the social and bureaucratic forces that make our cities work—or just as often, not work. Boasting a novelistic sweep and complexity that was unprecedented on the small screen, The Wire remains one of the best American TV shows ever, thanks to a stable of fantastic writers that included Simon and novelists Richard Price and Dennis Lehane, as well as a strong cast that featured Dominic West, Idris Elba, Amy Ryan, and Glynn Turman. Remastered in high-def for its Blu-ray debut and reformatted for widescreen TVs, this set compiles all 60 episodes from the show's 2002-08 five season run, along with extras including episode commentaries, a new roundtable discussion with Simon and cast members, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and prequel shorts. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Axmaker)