My DVR is officially clear of programs to record, until 30 Rock starts up again. I have to say, the finale of The Wire was bittersweet. It had everything: drama! action! gunshots! a new baby??!!?? a great answer to that big will-they-or-won't-they question! a city in peril! huggings! a cryptic and much talked-about blackout. and of course, the return of Mr. Big!

It's strange, though. As much as I cared for the veteran characters who were there from the first episode all the way until the last chopper flew out of Korea, it was the kids from seasons four and five who made the greatest impression. Michael, Dukie, Bug, Juju, Bing-Bong, Cryin' Shame, Partyhat, Ring 'n' Run, and Pizza Pie. There's something about the fate of a child that gets under my skin and lives there, like a heroin needle I was too high to remove. Just a floppin' in the breeze on angel wings.

Like, remember the time that one kid sold all that candy? Or the time Ratfink and Cobra Commander tried to sneak a tape recorder into the Doobie Brothers concert, but got caught when the tape recorder fell out Ratfink's pants during his signature dance, "The Corduroy Jump?" Or the time they made their own home movie about the first Thanksgiving? Or when Dukie shot all those drugs into his arms and lived in a garbage can?

I will miss The Wire like I'd miss an old friend I had killed because I was suspicious of his loyalty. And since the show was always very quotable--each episode began with a simple title card featuring a line of dialogue from that chapter, just like how Stephen King books will begin his novels with profound quotes, like this one from the Ramones: "Gabba Gabba Hey"--I think I'll end this eulogy, fittingly, with one of my favorite lines from The Wire's short, yet epic run:

"Ooo-whee, do it one more time for me!" --Mayor Clarence F. Royce