Hi monkey88, this is kind of off topic since I have not seen The Wire so, can't answer your question about the BBC and the UK press.

But, a while back there was a series called Wire in the Blood with Robson Greene that was shown in the USA on our BBC cable channel. I tried to never miss an episode. WITB was well written and Robson was perfect in the role. Like Mad Men, WITB kept your interest with always surprising you with plot twists and turns.

It's great to know that MM is being shown in the UK and that viewers like you find it as great as we do in the USA.

monkey88...I can only presume that because the Wire is a police/cop show it gets all the media plaudits here (UK) I call it anything with a blue light gets all the publicity syndrome, its typically British.

Mad Men is hard to classify (see Rasputen's Post)
Our media wont go there for a number of reasons:
1. Its a period piece (always tricky, esp. a recent period piece-the 1960s)
2. Its an American period piece (trickier still)
3. And this is the contentious one: The 1960s. There are many (some in authority) that think the '60s was the Devil's most evil offspring and that every ill in society today stems from that period. I don't subscribe to that view yet neither do I think it was the rosy tinted, incredibly wonderous period that many believe. In short, the 1960s is very iffy-bear in mind that people who came of age at that time are now running the country and the country's institutions (including the media)
4. The very fact that its difficult to categorise could be a factor-how easy is it to pronounce 'the latest Cop Blockbuster' to eager audiences-what do you say about Mad Men to potential audiences??
5. Its seen as slighty aloofish, intellectual and erudite (BBC 4 fodder) There are millions who skip the channel for that reason.

We will have to console ouselves with the fact that it won the BAFTA-although I do see a little more interest since the award. Great Post-back to you.

EP, do you all have any clones (or are our originals imported?) of all the "CSI" (Crime Scene Investigation) shows?

Seems there are more and more every year...started with plain ol' "CSI".... then came "CSI-NY" and CSI-Miami"... not sure how many others exactly are running now....I've never really gotten into them, although when I have watched now and then, they are invariably good.

Sorry, that was off-topic.....

Its ok...and yes we do, just like you. I'm not really a fan but a friend of mine never misses an episode.