1713 - Californication: season five

When discussing television series I often resort to food metaphors.  Something like Breaking Bad, The Wire, or Louie are, for me, like main course meals.  They absolutely fill you up with their goodness - they nourish you.  Then there are shows like Entourage, which no offense, but is more like a dessert.  It's not essential, and it's nothing you want every day (or need really) - however when you get it it's usually pretty good, but you might regret wasting your calories on it soon after.
Californication is somewhere in between for me.  It's always been a slightly uneven show, somewhere being poignant and just plain silly.  I think this season they were finally able to find the balance and work a more consistent tone. 
My one complaint about this season was how they took a lot of really strong and layered supporting characters from the top of the season and really reduced them to stereotypes by the end.  Even poor Becca felt like her character was downgraded by the end of this season.  I don't want to say that this was the best season of the show, but it's the season where I feel like they finally really found the show's voice.
This season ended on a pretty solid cliffhanger and I can only hope that they do it justice by playing it out when the show returns next year.  I think Hank Moody is easily one of the most charismatic and fun characters on television and I for one am gain to follow him a little while longer.  If you haven't started yet this season isn't actually a bad one to start at, since the previous ones all kind of lead up to the fourth season and Hank dealing with his misdeeds.  This is almost a reset.  Although I recommend going back and starting from scratch - fair warning though - it's a bit of a bumpy ride here and there.

1184 - The Wire: season five

And so it ends. Alas. What a fantastic show. Seriously. I can't think of any other show that has managed to juggle this many characters. Dozens of story lines, countless characters. What an amazing treat it was to watch this show, and how sad to see it end. The finale gave us some great parallels to sadly show us how history can and will repeat itself. The bad guy doesn't always win. I really liked what ended up happening to a lot of the characters, and sad to see some not make it out alive, but all for, hopefully the greater good. This show will be missed. It was a great final season. If you haven't ever seen this show, you seriously owe it to yourself to start now.

1170 - The Wire: season four

Look at these four boys above. Take a good look 'cause what's so great about that shot is it's a fantastic moment in time. And from that moment on, none of those boys are the same again. Each and every single one of those kids up there shape and change this show and give it more heart than it's ever had. And what's great is that it's an amazing show to begin with, but adding those kids to it, it elevated it to a whole new level. This season saw some major twists and turns for the characters we've grown to love, and I can't wait to see where they go next. I've always enjoyed this series, but after this season I know why a lot of people consider it one of, if not the best show of our generation. A brilliant season.

1140 - The Wire: season three

It's hard to praise this show without giving away details. And because I don't want to ruin anything (like I ruined for myself by stupidly going to the shows wikipedia page... erg... goddamn wikipedia...) I won't go into great detail except to say that if you haven't started watching this show yet, get on it! Being compared to a novel isn't far off. The show has a very specific pace but it's so goddamn rewarding when things start to fall into place. Despite knowing what I know I look forward to the final two seasons and spending more time with these fascinating, complicated characters.

1114 - The Wire: season two

I definitely got turned on to this show late in the game, but I'm glad that I did eventually find it. There isn't a character in this show that hasn't been fantastic and complex in their own way. I like how they bring people in and out in a way that doesn't feel forced. Characters live and die by the nature of the story. They don't care about how much you like someone. In fact, sometimes that's reason enough to take them out. I won't go into too much detail, but the port-guys took a little while to get to liking, but by the end they were an amazing representation of a large part of our population and I really felt for them. Can't wait for season three.

1080 - The Wire: season one

I'm surprised that it took me as long as it did to get into this show, especially since I'm an HBO-whore. I remember when it started up, and something about it just didn't interest me. The amazingly positive word of mouth completely turned it around. I love how this show works, how the characters all make you feel something whether you love or hate them, there is no character that you're really indifferent about.

The case is a puzzle and we get to see both sides playing it out, how to stay one step ahead, how to figure out the next move. The writing is top notch. It's also got enough of a sense of humor to itself that it never gets too heavy without some relief, save a few key moments in the final episodes. I won't give away anything just in case. But if you like cop shows and ESPECIALLY if you like The Wire, check it out.

Can't wait to sit down and watch season two, I just hope that Omar and Bubbles stick around.