High wire act

Finally, the rest of the world’s catching on. The Wire just got renewed for a fifth and probably final season. Slate’s editor-in-chief Jacob Weisberg rightly calls it “the best TV show ever broadcast in America,” and uses his authority to start up a TV club devoted to the show. Since I don’t get HBO, it’ll be months before I see this season, so I’m staying away from the TV Club (and, boy, does that make me gnash my teeth… and almost make me break down and become a subscriber. Fight it, Walter, fight it). Somehow, I failed to notice that the House Next Door, hosted and corralled by film critic/filmmaker Matt Zoller Seitz, ran absorbing features, character studies, and extended commentary about its treatment of race and politics all last week. (Check to the site’s right for its “On The Wire” section; note that the site will, like Slate, be hosting weekly commentary on the show. I wouldn’t miss it if you’re a first-time viewer, unless you don’t have HBO.) So, the show has reached critical mass; let’s hope it gets mass appeal, too.