Simon Says.

“Thematically, it’s about the very simple idea that, in this Postmodern world of ours, human beings — all of us — are worth less. We’re worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It’s the triumph of capitalism…The show is written in a 21st-century city-state that is incredibly bureaucratic, and in which a legal pursuit of an unenforceable prohibition has created great absurdity.“

Slate publishes a fascinating extended interview with Wire creator David Simon, which touches on, among other things, why there won’t be a Season 6 focusing on Latino immigrants, and what we can expect from Season 5. “Yes, the last season. The last theme is basically asking the question, why aren’t we paying attention? If we got everything right in the last four seasons in depicting this city-state, how is it that these problems — which have been attendant problems regardless of who is in power — how is it that they endure? That brings into mind one last institution, which is the media. What are we paying attention to?” I can’t say it enough — if you’re not paying attention to The Wire, you owe it to yourself to rent Season 1 and start playing catch-up next to immediately. It really is far and away the best show on television, perhaps ever. Certainly, it’s the savviest take on American politics ever put to the small screen.