TV Club

Week 6: What the Hell Is Going On?

Dear David,

OK, I have to ask this: Am I mistaken, or did Jimmy McNulty kidnap a mentally and physically incapacitated homeless man, take his picture, and then drive him to Washington (or Richmond, Va.? Please inform) and hide him in a homeless shelter so that he could use the photo as evidence of an abduction in his make-believe homeless serial-killer investigation, evidence that will invariably, and quite soon, appear in the press and on national television, which should prompt the obviously competent shelter director to tell the police, “Why, that homeless man on television wasn’t kidnapped; in fact, he’s eating lunch right here,” at which point the police will ask her how he arrived at the shelter, at which time she will describe to them the physical appearance of Jimmy McNulty, who by that time will probably be appearing on television anyway as the lead detective in the by-now most sensational murder-kidnap case in America, and did Jimmy McNulty kidnap this mentally and physically incapacitated homeless man in order to free several hundred dollars from his commanders so that Lester, who is already running an illegal wiretap, could unscramble the photo messages Marlo now apparently uses to communicate?

And, by the way, did Omar survive a five-story fall with only a leg injury?

And one other thing: Did Templeton really set out on a reporting trip to the underpasses of Baltimore wearing a Kansas City Star T-shirt?

Or am I missing something?

No, I just looked again: He’s wearing a Kansas City Star T-shirt, all right. Is this because his “I’m a Douchebag” T-shirt was in the laundry?

David, you’re a smart fellow. Tell me: What the hell is going on?

Jeff