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THE WIRE is the best show ever, no doubt. THE SOPRANOS is terrific also, but there isn't one character that the audience can identify with. They were, to a man and woman, utterly loathesome, and I would have been perfectly happy if Chase had killed them all off.
THE WIRE on the other hand brings out the humanity in even the worst criminals. As I just noted on the BUFFY AWEARD thread below, THE WIRE, when all is said and done, will be considered the greatest artistic accomplishment of the 21st Century.