Well, my show The Wire ended last night and I am already suffering from Wire withdrawl. I won't get too deep into the details of the last episode, but with all credit to David Simon and Ed Burns - that show was the shit!

I have watched other Baltimore based shows and movies, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Corner (both by Simon) and some indie films (the straight to DVD kind). The Wire, it must be said, got it right. Yeah, I have heard, "Oh, this season is too slow" "Who cares about the docks?" blah, blah, blah....

If you want violence for absolutely no reason, watch the news! If you don't see how the second season plays into the series, then you may have missed the point of the last five years!

I am not going to lie, I started watching for Idris Elba and Wood Harris. I didn't even get hooked until last Christmas, if you remember. But man, that show had me from the first episode til the last. I kept watching after Avon went to jail. I was still glued when Stringer was gunned down. Heck, I don't even think that I was all that surprised when Omar and Snoop got dropped they way they did. Because The Wire was less about drug dealing and more about the criminal enterprise of it ALL. And if you don't think that touches city halls, police stations, and newspapers around the country, than you aren't living in America, folks.

The Wire, if digested properly, opens your eyes to things you know happen but wish they didn't.

So thanks, David Simon and Ed Burns, the cast, crew and all involved with the Wire. Not only did you do a great service for your viewers but for regular citizens like me. I signed me and my daughter up to volunteer and plant trees around Baltimore with the Parks and Recreation, through the Ella Fund.