The Wire - Week 2

Aw shucks! Omar is coming back to "The Wire." He is my favorite homothug ever!

Wasn't that so cute when Bubbles tried to register his young apprentice for high school? I loved the idea of Bubbles, an addict, trying to mentor a teenager and also trying to expand his pushcart business. He sells everything from white T-shirts to paint cans.

I'm curious to see what's going to become of Michael, the teenager who wouldn't take Marlo's money. Michael is fighting to be his own man in a neighborhood where fists, guns and money define manhood.

I really like this season's emphasis on the young kids. Although the show is fiction, it's loosely based on real events. It's an eye-opening reminder that the lock-'em-up mentality won't solve the drug or crime problems in Baltimore, Charlotte or elsewhere. And for some kids, No Child Left Behind is simply a slogan -- not their reality.

If you haven't seen "The Wire: Connected" and "The Wire: The Game," you should. They both give a behind-the-scenes look at the veracity of some of this season's storylines. They also feature interviews with various cast members, many of whom were as criminal in real life as they are on the show.