Time to Rewire Your TV

Don't cry for Deadwood—an even better series, The Wire, will return to HBO in just 11 days. The Baltimore City Paper has a long feature on the forthcoming fourth season, which will add a new theme to the program: the failures of urban public schools.

One of the show's writer/producers, Ed Burns, is an ex-teacher as well as an ex-cop, and the new episodes will draw on his bleak academic experiences:

"We all want to believe in that Lake Wobegone moment, that all the kids are above average," [show creator David] Simon continues. "But in believing that, there's an element of denial there, and Ed Burns is not about that kind of self-deceit. He's fought too many losing wars not to be full-throated in his criticisms. Between Vietnam, the drug war, and teaching in city schools, I think he's earned the right to call shit 'shit.'"

Bonus Reason link: my interview with Simon.