Those people missed out. The Wire is kinda what everything, in my eyes, should aspire to be. Sprawling, epic, heartbreaking. The missed chances to solve a huge problem, the bureaucrats who can't see anything, the lazy cops, so rich and fun.

Why is it they are graded on a curve? Weird that they get a pass on the writing/acting side. Flash and Arrow have had some amazingly awful writing. A few line readings were so bad we exploded in laughter. My 6 year old loves The Flash but really when he has it on I must leave the room as it's too awful to even…

Haha. Dexter was too episodic for me too. But I was trying to think of something with an anti-hero and still decently made. Nothing else compares to say Omar or Stringer Bell though.

Seasons 1, 2 and 4 (Lithgow was a beast) and 5. Smits was wretched in season 3 - consistently he ruins everything. S6 with the Hanks/Olmos thing reeked. While the villain in S7 was a nice twist (Isaak) it wasn't an even year. Nothing can really match the awful of season 8. Good enough? :D

Yeah first kinda negative one. :(

Interesting that you complain about the very thing I despise about other shows on TV- the episodic nature. Nothing I hate more than manufactured "come back next week" faux cliffhangers.