LITTLE BIG LEAGUE Popular character Omar Little lights up The Wire: Season Five

Even with a chorus of critics placing the Baltimore crime drama’s run on the masterpiece scale somewhere between Dickens and Shakespeare, creator David Simon has outdone himself. In previous seasons, the show’s complex, multiple-perspective storytelling had viewers sympathizing with drug dealers and police alike; the final installment is no exception. Its thickened plot web is the most outrageous to date: bigger-billed deaths, more ambitious busts and a bizarre but fitting end for the hero: Officer Plays-By-His-Own-Rules McNulty. This time around, the broken media is the target (past seasons have taken on corrupt politicians and union dock workers), exposed through the exploits of an ambitious young Baltimore Sun reporter who, pressured by layoffs, cooks up a few big-selling stories. Urban anthropology lessons aside, the show’s rich cast of characters and the harsh realities of their interwoven lives contribute to one of TV’s most worthwhile series in ages. Bonus material includes Wire-staff commentary that delves into the intriguing litany of the authentic Baltimore people Simon has shed light on these past five years.