The Wire
Similar to my Y rant, once something I love reaches its end, I am compelled to tell you all about it. Maybe it is part of the letting go process, attempting to give it to others, in hopes that it will live on with them. But then again, I would have been willing to tell you about it at any point in its 60 episode run, because it is the best thing I have watched in a long time. It is an amazing hyper-realistic examination of modern American city, represented here by Baltimore, Maryland.
It starts out as a twist on the old cop show formula, in that the crime is not solved by the end of the hour long episode. The case is allowed to breathe through 13 episode seasons. It gives time to the showcase minutia of detective work, really develops characters, and becomes a very satisfying experience. This means it requires you to watch TV a bit differently, however. You will need to pay attention to things. Threads are dropped and picked up multiple episodes later, and it will be all the better if you remember who that guy was and what he was doing.
As the series progresses, it does not bother telling the same stories of drug dealers and the po-lice after them. It shifts gears each season, introducing a new facet of the city, while never neglecting the people you already know and love. You get to see the plight of the blue collar dock workers, the back door dealings of the politicians, the heartbreak of the school system, and the crushing responsibility of the media to report it all.
And in the end (as it has been with each season finale, but especially now), it somehow manages to be satisfyingly closed and open. They managed to combine a circular “life will go on” with a “this story is complete”. We know exactly how the lives will work out for most characters, except for two, and I will happily continue to imagine their possible lives far into the future. Creators David Simon and Ed Burns have made something really special here, it is the most riveting and rewarding show I have ever seen. Congratulations to them and everybody involved! I will never be able to get you out of my head.