On Number 1, point taken. Number 2, I still have some reservations. I think Simon has every right to point out what his (and Price’s and Lehane’s, etc) central concerns were when making the show. I’m just not sure that something like the fan pool precludes a serious consideration of the series as a whole. Simon has always been very clear about what he was trying to say with the show, but I guess I have issues with his repeated characterization of The Wire against other TV, and his assertation that most shows pander to the low common denominator. Give that episode structure and deep character development are hallmarks of TV, it seems like his problem is with the way people typically respond to shows. Yes, The Wire is different from a lot of TV and it trying to do some very new things. But it’s still a television show, released in individual episodes and with deeply drawn characters. It may not be policing reception, but it does come across as a kind of disdain for the form of television, which is a pity coming from a man who has made some of the best TV around. It makes sense that someone with a critical perspective would be to create something that often feels new and innovative, but it also shows a bit of narrow-minded, outdated thinking about what TV “is”.