"the wire" is beyond amazing. i actually used it as an example in an essay on the GRE earlier this year. it was question about whether criminals, having broken the social contract, no longer deserve the same rights as everyone else. the wire really pulls back the curtain and shows you that there are a vast number of people in this country (the united states) for which no social contract ever existed. whether it's the heroin dealers in the towers or the working poor on the docks. society ignores them. opportunity eludes them. "the wire" tries to show you how everything is connected: the war on drugs, the outsourcing of industries, the failure of no child left behind...
god, i could write about that show forever. sorry to ramble. you guys should all check it out. and if you like it, you should watch "the corner," too. it's an HBO miniseries by the same dudes, and it's just as honest and poignant.