Element of popular culture

I just finished watching the fifth and final season of the Wire, and have come to the conclusion that it is the best piece of cinema I have ever seen.  The show takes place in Baltimore Maryland and each season they chronicle a different facet of the city.  Season 1 is the drug trade, season 2 is the ports and harbors, season 3 is a political campaign, season 4 is inner city schools, and season 5 goes inside the day to day operations of running a newspaper.  All of this is done with striking realism and authenticity, and gives you the impression that the creators care much more about provoking thought and interest then they do about ratings.  Also the show has five years (over sixty hours) to introduce you to the characters, and the development in that department is nothing short of superb.  All of it is shot on location in Baltimore, the only time there is music is when it is ambient (coming from a car, someone listening to it on a boom box), and there are no flashbacks or narrations, all of this adding to its unparalleled realism.  In season three it documents a man named Thomas Carcetti running for mayor, it shows the back door bureaucratics that are involved in such a quest, how a candidate promises one thing and then once in office delivers another.  It shows the tireless work and effort that it would take to run for any position in office, and more then anything it shows the problems one faces once elected to try and fix a terribly underfunded and ignored post industrial American city.  As you can tell I am entranced by the Wire, I have never seen anything like it before or since and most likely never will, but don't just take my word for it, go watch it!