HBO's The Wire will cure cancer, save your newspaper and stand for millennia as the highest recorded form of human culture ever, every publication in the world reported this week. Gawker commenters have called the Wire "the best show ever," "completely addict[ing]," "really that good" and "I fucking love this show." But apparently "getting people to watch it is like pulling teeth" — hence the video after the jump, providing four seasons of backstory in four minutes.

[YouTube via TVTattle]