Wired

Tomorrow night marks the return of The Wire. For people who stick with it, the show never disappoints. In fact, a reviewer for the New York Post says the upcoming season may well be "single finest piece of work ever produced for American TV."

What? Better than Cop Rock?

I have to admit that for each of the past three seasons, I've been slow to come around and fully appreciate the show. In fact, I even gave up on season 3 after the first couple of weeks. But when HBO began rerunning the episodes this past summer, I decided to give it another try. It was probably around week five that I saw the light and got hooked.

Maybe that's because taken individually, any single episode doesn't amount to much. It's like focusing on the Mona Lisa's nose; By itself, it's just a pair of oversized nostrils. It's only when you step back and take in the whole picture that you fully appreciate the beauty of what you're looking at.... Well, okay, that's when MOST people would fully appreciate it. To me it would still just be a stupid painting.

So I'm not a connoisseur of fine art. But I do know my TV, and The Wire is worth watching.