He didn't resign, there's word of indictments but no confirmation, The New York Times says he's Client #9. I have no words, do you?

I have to get this post off my chest. That way, after tonight's finale, I can write effusive and fawning things about the fact that The Wire is The Most Important Television Show Ever with a clear conscience.

The genius of The Wire is that it pushes us to look beyond the comfortable concepts of hero and villain that populate most TV fiction. David Simon and his team of writers ask us to see virtue and flaw in every character, and they demand that we understand the institutional arrangements that define the choices each is making. The "blame" for social problems is shared, not artificially embodied by a super-villain without whom the rest of the characters could live happy, fulfilling lives. And the "solutions" are hard to come by, not brought to us by a knight on a white horse.

But this season's media critique has been a disappointing exception.

Read more »