The Wire — which concluded its 60-episode run in March — may or may not have been the best television show ever. (If you can name a better one, we’re listening!) But the lavishly packaged 23-DVD set that drops on December 9 is far and away the present we’d most like to see under our Christmas tree this year.
Yes, the 23 DVDs are light on bonus features (you can expect the requisite audio commentaries, a handful of featurettes, and a gag reel). And yes, the $250 sticker price is daunting (Amazon provides a 42 percent discount). And yet the breadth, depth, originality, and addictiveness of the series — and the fact that somehow it all got better as it went along — make the prospect of owning it, all in one place, seem totally worthwhile. (At two bucks an episode, The Complete Series may also be the cheapest way of earning the eternal gratitude of friends and loved ones who might have missed out on Bunk, Omar, and Stringer Bell the first time around.) So if you’re feeling self-appreciative — or if someone you know has been extra-nice this year — this set is a sweet way of saying “Thanks!”
 to a friend
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