I am – Hercules!!

Sunday at 10 p.m. is one brutal timeslot this summer – at least if you have cable. That hour has USA running new episodes of Michael Piller’s excellent “Dead Zone” series, Showtime has fresh episodes of its hugely compelling parole drama “Street Time,” Comedy Central has been busily unfurling fresh installments of “Crank Yankers,” and HBO has “The Wire.”

Here at Mt. Olympus, it’s “The Wire” that has gone largely unwatched. “Dead Zone” can’t be missed. “Street Time” has sucked us in. And we know in the backs of our brains that “The Wire” will be repeated Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (and Monday if you get HBO2). But we never get around to catching those encores.

So if you’re willing to give up the SNL repeat, late Saturday is the night to catch up on “The Wire”: HBO is repeating the first five episodes between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

But is “The Wire” worth catching up on? Here’s what the critics had to say in the early going:

Variety says:

HBO's "The Wire" might not be quite as startling as the cabler's other original series, but that's because this police show rather boldly seeks drama in dullness. That's not to suggest that the show is boring but this is a series that's all about the fine print, finding its most emotional moments not in violent confrontations between good guys and bad guys in the drug war, but in depicting the battles of bureaucrats.

The Hollywood Reporter says:

Like "The Corner," this series paints a detailed and often depressing picture of life on the mean streets. But where "The Corner" searched the souls of its troubled characters to find an underlying humanity, "The Wire" presents characters largely devoid of conscience or compassion who are guided mainly by ambition or expedience. Despite solid acting and several interesting twists and turns, viewers may be understandably reluctant to return each week to the scenes of these ugly crimes.

USA Today says:

David Simon insists on taking TV, and TV viewers, to places they've long been resistant to go … Never has the drug trade's human toll been more painfully captured. … While there are moments of overly arty chatter, the show's ability to create a believable sense of place is nothing short of astounding (as is its profanity).

The Los Angeles Times says:

HBO is an Energizer Bunny whose assembly line of first-rate series keeps going and going. Joining "Six Feet Under," "Sex and the City," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Sopranos" on this pedestal is "The Wire," a scorching look at the drug trade in a Baltimore housing project through the eyes of mid-level dealers and police. … "The Wire" is more evidence that TV's best crime shows are in their own golden age.

I am – Hercules!!