a bit of The Wire - related trivia, although you have now seen more of the show than I have:

Actor Lance Reddick grew up at Grace and St. Peter's. In fact, I think he was in the boys choir. His mother Dorothy, is still a regular, and quite a character. She taught music in the Baltimore City schools for decades.

So which character does Lance play?

The guy who plays Jimmy McNulty is actually a Brit- and not only a Brit but an upper-crust Brit who went to Eton. What a huge cultural leap!

Oh, OK- you've whetted my appetite.

I strongly suggest that you get hold of the Danish crime-drama series" Ornen" or "The Eagle - a crime odyssey" ... beats the rest hands down.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.

I know a few people who love this TV show. I watched it- thought it was OK, but yeah- the blurring of the lines of documentary and fiction kind of lost my interest.

If I'm going to watch a documentary, I want it to be real. If it's fiction, I want it to have a wild conceit, like LOST, or at least be a bit closer to something I'm interested in. Fiction and documentary? Hmm. I feel like it the same as I feel about Neil Stephenson's massive System of the World trilogy. If I'm going to read history, I'd rather read REAL history than half-real.

I feel rather the same. I'm not sure I want to spend on those hours on the projects in Baltimore.

But I'll watch a few more episodes before I make up my mind.

Have you watched any Homicide: Life on the Street? It is by far the better Baltimore-based crime shows. The characters are much more human, and the women characters are appealing, and struggle with the idea of strength rather than just masculinity.

As a side note, I had the opportunity to talk to Dominic West on set one time. Really nice guy who loves Shakespeare.

I haven't seen Homicide. On the whole I avoid cop shows. I find them a bit samey. I only made an exception for The Wire because people were saying, "Oh wow, this is as good as Dickens or Tolstoy!"