`ve never been to Baltimore, but if I do go, I have a good idea whereto buy heroin, sleep rough, get drunk with policemen, hold a top-secretgang meeting and even dispose of a dead body. I feel I know Baltimorebetter than my own city, and no doubt other viewers of The Wire feelthe same. For the uninitiated, The Wire is a drama, set in Baltimore,that`s regularly described as the best TV show ever made. There aremany reasons why this might be true: it`s intelligent, authentic,courageous, and almost as addictive as the drugs it revolves around -but most of all, there is its staggering scope. Great town for a shootout The Wire is bursting with fabulous characters - but the biggest star is the architecture, says Steve Rose Wednesday July 16, 2008The Guardian There goes the neighbourhood ... some of the cast of The Wire  I`venever been to Baltimore, but if I do go, I have a good idea where tobuy heroin, sleep rough, get drunk with policemen, hold a top-secretgang meeting and even dispose of a dead body. I feel I know Baltimorebetter than my own city, and no doubt other viewers of The Wire feelthe same. For the uninitiated, The Wire is a drama, set in Baltimore,that`s regularly described as the best TV show ever made. There aremany reasons why this might be true: it`s intelligent, authentic,courageous, and almost as addictive as the drugs it revolves around -but most of all, there is its staggering scope.Article continues<ahref="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&spacedesc=mpu&site=Arts&navsection=10046&section=123426&country=tur&region=34&city=istanbul&bandwidth=xdsl&rand=2059199&tile=2059199"><imgsrc="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&spacedesc=mpu&site=Arts&navsection=10046&section=123426&country=tur&region=34&city=istanbul&bandwidth=xdsl&rand=2059199&tile=2059199"width="300" height="250" border="0" alt="Advertisement"></a> var setIframeSrcCallback = function{ hasVideo } { var adSrc = "http://ads.guardian.co.uk/html.ng/Params.richmedia=yes&spacedesc=mpu&site=Arts&navsection=10046&section=123426&country=tur&region=34&city=istanbul&bandwidth=xdsl&rand=2059199&tile=2059199"; if{hasVideo} { adSrc += "&system=video&series=" + getVideoSeriesId{} + "&videoId=" + getVideoCdnId{}; } document.getElementById{ `frameId324857` }.src = adSrc; };if{ `function` == typeof addOnLoadCallback } {addOnLoadCallback{ setIframeSrcCallback };} else {setIframeSrcCallback{false};} The Wire`s plate-of-spaghetti plot incorporates more than 40 regularcharacters, from the mayor to homeless addicts. David Simon, one of theshow`s creators, describes the show as a "travelogue", where each ofits five seasons adds another layer to our understanding of Baltimoreby focusing on a particular area: first the drug gangs, then thedockyards, the city council, the schools, and in the final season,which starts next week, the media. The Wire is the opposite ofescapism. It gives you the measure o
arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2291043,00.html