Two days ago I put to rest two entertainment obsessions: Dorothy Dunnett's 8-book House of Niccolo series (and by extension The Lymond Chronicles, her closely related 6-book series), and The Wire.
I can't recommend either enough, although, realistically, I can imagine watching The Wire as an easier undertaking for most of you; I've been reading Dorothy Dunnett since freshman year of high school (with hiatuses, obviously).
At any rate, having spent as much time thinking about these two series as I have, I was bound to, in the words of my mother and mothers everywhere, learn something. Therefore, below, I present ten things I learned from each series. Enjoy.

Things I Have Learned From The Wire:
1) Have a hobby. Make miniature furniture or become a Honey Nut Cheerio connoisseur, for example.
2) Grown men are not the only scary people out there. Women and little kids are equally capable of terrifying behavior.
3) Sometimes, a dog is just a dog.
4) If you leave Charm City, Garrison Keillor will automatically come on the radio, and who wants that?
5) Robin Hood's got nothing on Omar Little, not even style (have you seen his PJs?).
6) Don't start a relationship with McNulty. (Or Kima. Or Bunk. Or D'Angelo. Or Nick. In fact, just stick with Freamon, okay? Or latter-season Prez.)
7) Middle School is, in fact, the worst place in the world. You've always suspected you were right.
8) Academia, unlike armed robbery, will never, ever, look good in prime time.
9) Gus Triandos needs some love.
10)No one thing can be fixed. It's everything changes, or nothing does.

Things I Have Learned From Dorothy Dunnett:
1) It's all about paternity: fourteen books of who's related to who and who's whose son. A Renaissance-flavored episode of Maury, if you will.
2) The main character, on some level, knows everything, and has always known.
3) There can only be one good, handsome man.
4) Little kids are adorable, perceptive, and doomed. When your author obviously has a cap on the number of cute little kids there can be at one time, avoid having a favorite.
5) Eight books worth of drama can, in fact, be chalked up to one old man's misplaced homophobia. This is only one of many reasons why homophobia is BAD.
6) Smart women save the day every time.
7) Don't play chess. Just don't.
8) Settling for marrying your one true love's doppelganger never works. Never, ever.
9) Disguises rock. Drunken disguises rock even harder.
10) "Yunitsa" is a term of endearment. It also means heifer, but that's neither here nor there.