Best TV dramatic series of the last 25 years, and the winner is …

A couple of days ago I wrote about a discovery I made about this Web site or magazine or whatever that was staging a matchup of 16 lauded television dramas to determine the best TV drama series of the last quarter century.

Each day or so two shows were pitted against one another and a noted television critic was asked to decide which of the two was the best.

I loved the whole thing because it finally came down to my two favorite TV shows of all time The Sopranos and The Wire. Matt Zoller Seitz, the television critic of New York Magazine, was tabbed to pick the winner.

Seitz used six criteria on which to base his decision. The Sopranos won two of them, The Wire won two and two he judged ties. But ultimately he chose The Wire as the best dramatic series of the last 25 years. Here’s why.