I've seen the whole Luther. First season is good, my fav episode is the fourth.

Idris Elba (or Stringer Bell if you want :D) is as good as ever in the main cast.

But season two? Horrible, if you've asked me.

The Wire is fantastic, easily the best TV show I've ever seen. It's unfortunate that the final season was also the worst imo, leaving me a bit disappointed (especially after the very strong fourth season). I didn't care for the whole fake serial killer arc - I thought it was unrealistic and didn't fit in with the tone of the rest of the series. Nevertheless, the show is miles ahead of anything else.

Are you guys watching David Simon's new show, Treme? It's very different from The Wire, but also very, very good.

I haven't seen it yet, but it is also on my "to do". But I can highly recommend "Generation Kill", also by David Simon. Also very engaging and you will see Ziggy again!

You mean youll start watching it in the next 5 years... Kind of, but budget cuts, morale dropping, and other problems in the Police departament were cool.

And all the major plots were finished in this. What happened to Mike, Dukie, Snoop, Omar, everything's there.

The actor that plays Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) isn't Welsh, he's a Londoner born and bred. I've seen him at Arsenal games.

And he won golden globe award for Luther performance this year (finally!)

The Wire is to date, the best show ever. Just a show that tells a story properly, without regard for the constraints of television. Tons of memorable characters and I think the best part is that there are no real 'good' or 'bad' guys. There are cops and there are criminals (and politicians, dock workers, etc) and each have their own motivations and reasons for being where they are.

It's pretty crazy when you find yourself rooting for drug dealers and murderers (as was the case with Bodie and Omar) but that's the beauty of the show. If you haven't seen it, you need to. Also, it's wonderful to watch all 5 seasons back-to-back as they are all related and familiar characters continually pop up.

For those looking for other shows, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones are also near the quality of The Wire, although the setting is much different obviously.

I think the closest to The wire setting is The Sopranos. Ok, it's more focused on gangster's life (and not focused at all at police work), but it presents greatly how modern gangster's life (from middle-top shelf) looks like.

if you liked the wire and never seen the sopranos, it's damn time to keep up ;)