Andrew Sprung spotted a parallel between "The Wire" and the intel-gathering that led to Osama's compound, agreeing with J.F. at DiA that "the death of bin Laden was the triumph not of Jack Bauer, but of Lester Freamon." Sprung:
The [show's opening] medley tracks the movements of cops and bureaucrats and people on Baltimore's poorest streets. It's often struck me that the sequence captures the dignity, the intensity, the concentration in the most mundane human tasks — punching the buttons on a pay phone, dragging on a cigarette, snapping a photo, exchanging cash for product, u-turning a bicycle. It somehow screens out any moral content we might impose on the actions, shows us all as conscious animals doing what we do.
A reader recommends a similar TV show:
There was a TV series last summer on AMC called "Rubicon" about intelligence "consultants". It never got good ratings and was cancelled after one season. Much was made of it being a conspiracy theory show, but I found watching the analysts trying to find patterns in raw data fascinating. There was criticism of the show that some episodes not a lot happened, but I found the season very satisfying, giving me some understanding of how intelligence work really happens. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It was essentially the anti-24 show, where barely any cell phones or "cool computer stuff" is shown and torture is not shown in a good light. Here's a trailer.
The Dish 