Hi guys. I've been away and now I'm back. And that's enough about that.

So, let me just plunge directly into my topic by saying that I don't watch TV. I watch DVDs of TV programs or movies almost exclusively. Ok, sometimes while turning on the set in order to load a DVD (I have one of those TVs that have the player built in) I'll catch a bit of Antiques Roadshow and be hooked for the duration. I keep hoping that it will feature the exact kind of old porcelain or German drinking stein I happen to have and it will be worth thousands and I can finance a trip to Paris, because I will sell that sucker immediately; none of that "I'll never part with this precious family treasure,"I can tell you.

But, be that as it may, I mostly do not watch regular TV programming with commericals. I watch entire seasons of TV programs on DVD sans commercials and often within a few days. And I love it. Luckily, I can find entire seasons of TV programs right here at the Fort Worth Library.

Recently, while I was "away," I watched all five seasons of The Wire. That experience was akin to reading the very best novels that have ever consumed and overpowered me and that includes Dickens, Tolstoy and Jane Austen. The Wire is just so good...almost too good. It makes most other cop shows look like the hollow, formulaic, lifeless, processed, slightly disguised clones that they are...kind of like that parody cop show, Crime Scene: Scene of the Crime, in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall . A friend told me that he recommended The Wire to his dad and that after his dad watched it he couldn't stand to watch his former favorite cop show. It was completely ruined for him. So beware.

But, if you feel like taking the risk, it is totally worth it. That is some powerful storytelling. Oh, by the way, we have all five seasons of The Wire here at the Fort Worth Library. Just thought you should know.