Why are TV shows, network TV shows in particular, so mediocre? I think I've come across the answer in Vance Packards 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders. It's by design.

In 1955 I Love Lucy was the top-rated comedy show and Philip Morris was the money behind it. Philip Morris found their sales drop 17 percent and some believed a popular show doesn't sell products.

"...Is an advertiser better off with a less than top-rated show in order to get commercials across?" That observation was made in early 1955. [..] Were some of the resolutely mediocre shows on television that way by design, to increase the impact of the commercials?

Another TV show that was put together to sell Mogen David wine wasn't getting the job done.

[The show] was, admittedly, delighting the audience with its chilling, exciting who-dun-it mysteries. The show enjoyed a high rating but it wasn't selling wine.

The problem they decided was that audiences were too tense and that in their "emotional frenzy" they missed the wine message. It was replaced with a panel show. Wine sales increased 1000%.

Shows like The Wire on HBO obviously don't have the same problem.

Salon has created a new award for the most unjustly ignored TV show...The Buffy. Unsurprisingly the first award goes to The Wire. Thankfully a new companion guide to the show has been published for those lost in the dense material. Also the episode guide can be critical if you get a little lost.

The article cites the scene that got me watching the series. Bunk and McNulty investigate a crime scene. It has no dialogue except for the word "Fuck" repeated in various ways. (At the time this was about the only dialogue I understood!) The story elements are revealed through different camera angles and movement. I was surprised that the series would take a risk on losing the audience like that. It's a complex scene and turns out to be pretty crucial to the series. Six episodes later they provide the conclusion for the scene during an interrogation of D'Angelo. The detectives utter the word "Refrigerator" and everything clicks into place for the audience.

Third season of The Wire starts 9/19. This excerpt from the show bio is music to my ears.

In its third season, the drama will continue to expand its sociopolitical desciption of a fictional Baltimore by examining the city's political component and its relevance to the problems confronting a post-industrial city.

That picture with Kima and McNulty looking out a car window, with Stringer and some new guy in the reflection is a classic moment from the series. The two warriors are getting ready to face down again.

But why aren't people watching it? It's written by top selling crime authors (recently added the author of Mystic River). It's won some important awards. It has HBO's endorsement. It has a very compelling and relevant story. While the show transcends genres it has plenty of police procedural elements, and those series own the network ratings. What stops it from being an HBO powerhouse?

It does not simplify the dialogue, and sometimes an episode ends without any resolution. These are points that I think are outside the mainstream and I wonder if that hurts the series.