Watch "The Wire" or Die

Reality TV might be on the outs, but the last nail is hardly being driven into the coffin. Recently my roomates and I have sat down to watch HBO's The Wire on DVD. If any of you have any taste in television watching, you will want to watch this subtle series and let it just grow on you. It's done by many of the same people who produced, wrote and directed episodes of the fantastic Homicide: Life on the Streets and the grittiness of the latter series is very evident in the former. If any of you are aware with Homicide, think of the Luther Mahoney storyline expanded into its own series. It's sad how NBC has applied gloss to nearly all of its current dramatic series turning its schedule into a bland marathon of pretty faces and easy-to-digest storylines. I'm not saying Homicide was a Masterpiece Theatre, but shows like Crossing Jordan and Las Vegas are making the viewing public dumber and dumber.

I caught E.R. last week and though the series has lost its freshness (hard to keep after nearly 10 full seasons), it was still pretty good. Point being: watch The Wire on DVD and watch E.R.