I got the shotgun. You got the briefcase. It's all in the game, though, right?

I recall a time years and years ago when The Wire was actually airing on HBO. I heard about it here and there and, honestly, I could not have cared less. It wreaked to me of some sort of Law and Order stuff, you know? One of the shows where they find the killer's toenail in the toilet or whatever and he is caught and goes to jail forever. I hate those shows. The Wire, as it turns out, is not one of those shows

I also must confess that I often show a great resistance to television my friends are really into at the time. I've never watched an episode of Lost and instead own every season of Seinfeld ever made. I know! I'm the worst! My snobbery, however, is somewhat unique. I'd rather watch a show that fits more under mid 1700s definition of "popular"...as in, I'd rather wax philosophical about America's Next Top Model than Dexter. I'd rather hang with the vulgar commoners. I cling to Judge Judy's every word.

This problem of mine does not stand true with The Wire, though. This show is smart. Smart, smart. Way smarter than I. The characters are interesting and intricate, but not overwrought. The storylines weave and dodge and intersect with one another from season to season as the viewer glimpses into the lives of police officers, drug dealers, teachers, and reporters of Baltimore. As the hierarchies of every group are laid out, "good" becomes "bad" and vice versa. I found myself cheering for a thieving man with a sawed off shotgun while becoming morally opposed to the commander of the Southeastern district. I cried for the death of fictional characters and laughed at every joke Bunk Moreland cracked. Ultimately, I fell in love with this show.

This blog is a dedication to The Wire and all its goodness. In it, I hope to explore more deeply the themes as they lend themselves to literary studies (I am an English major, after all). I will draw connections between major texts, authors, and tropes and their presence in the show. The protagonists, antagonists, Byronic heroes, villains, and tragic heroes of the popular show will all find their place in this blog.

Some examples of future blog postings I hope to explore:

Prometheus: Clay Davis is not.
D'Angelo Barksdale and the Great Gatsby
Monomanical Missions: Valchek as Melville's Ahab
The "Dickensian" Spin
McNulty: Byronic Hero or Just a Dummy?
...and many more