Maybe I should try and stretch it out over several months (years even)
I've been looking for an alternative show to follow for a while, and this show sounds very promising. I considered "the sopranos" as well which I've also heard great things about. Might have to pick up both.
I'd say it's the best TV show not made by Joss Whedon, so maybe the 4th best ever - I never really got into Angel.
But hang on, there's Lost, Alias(the 1st 4 seasons), Farscape, B5, so maybe the 8th best ever.
I realise all the other TV I listed is SF or Fantasy, so IMHO
The Wire - best non SF&F TV show everAnd for those of you at the beginning of season 2, stick with it, it gets better.
I see what you mean with the child actors, they're very good. I was very impressed by the girl who plays "snoop" too, apparently she really is (or was) a gangster from Baltimore who grew up on the streets. I think alot of the actors are actually.