The Wire has transcended the tropes of police drama and looks at the human conditions, the human ecology of certain social groups who are often neglected, forgotten or even rejected by the mainstream of a society. It puts you right into their community and show you both the pretty and ugly sides, both the virtues and vices without flinching, thus avoiding depicting them from an outsider's perspective. In other words, The Wire manages to represent these groups without giving them a sense of otherness, and that is something truly admirable.
hey I was like, done watching S01 n half-way 'round S03, and I thought maybe the missing S02 would help me with some understandin'. so I made a 180 turn to catch up with some shit. and you know what? me accent might've gone Baltimore.