A good friend of mine convinced me to give "The Wire" a try. I've just finished season four of five. This is the best TV programme I have ever seen. I'd have a renewed faith in the TV industry's quality standards were it not for the fact it stands alone, quality-wise.

Guardian columnist Charlie brooker says it best:

The Wire's so good, I've lost count of the number of people who've approached or emailed me just to thank ME for convincing THEM to watch it. The Wire's so good, I'm jealous of anyone who hasn't seen it yet, because they get to discover it anew. The Wire's so good, it's come to an end.

That last point is an important one. I'm only ten episodes away from it ending. As much as I'm going to hate reaching the end, I'm glad it will. I'm reasonably confident it will end with the same quality as it began: something which I can't say about Battlestar Galactica, for example.

I wish I'd discovered "The Wire" sooner: I think you can learn a lot about relationship politics which can be applied to aspects of your own life.

A word of advice to the folks who produce the boxed-set: a second set of Season One episodes would be very useful, as things stand I can only loan it out to one person at a time.