oh my god i love it; this is my favorite art ever on the entire planet oh my god!!!

Somewhat of an answer to my prayers ...

OK, it is a workable answer if you live in the United States: "Homicide: Life on the Streets" (1993-1999).

(Check your local library. You'll be the first to check out the DVDs, which is always a plus.)

I'm not saying "Homicide" is the best writing ever on TV but it is passable and MY GOD the star -- at least the leader of the ensemble cast -- is a dark-skinned black man: Detective Frank Pembleton, played by Andre Braugher, an actor to write home about.

Detective Pembleton has a capable white partner, Detective Tim Bayliss (played by Kyle Secor, who I do like).

The man in charge -- a really, really dark-skinned black man -- is Lt. Al Giardello, played by the FABULOUS Yaphet Kotto.

In this show there are minorities all over the place!

(This all takes place in Baltimore. Shot on location, which is always preferable to anything shot in Los Angeles. And the only reason to watch "Law & Order" at this point. When you are desperate.)

Yes, a friend has recommended "The Wire." I'm on the lengthy wait-list for it at my library. Which means by the time I get the DVDs I can't promise you they will play.

OK. "Homicide." There are a few more white folks worth mentioning, but that's not what this post is about. So I'll end by saying I also LOVE Detective Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson).

One final note: Every episode is steeped in race issues. I LOVE IT. Remember when Geraldine Ferraro got busted for stating the obvious about Barack Obama? At work I was like, geez, it is 2008 and we can't even discuss race openly yet? Like if you're white you can't say anything about race without having to make a public apology?

I mentioned this outlook on race in American during the Ferraro deal to my really cool friend who I totally love at work (whose sister happens to work for Mr. Obama). We got into it! She said: I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE WE ARE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!

And we had to stop talking. Couldn't go there. That never happens between us!

I think we should talk about race. A white person should be able to say: Wow, sure can't hurt that he is a black man.

What I really want for Christmas: a TV show in which the main character is a charismatic black man whose sidekick is a white man ...

Come on, people. Don't you ever get tired of these TV shows and movies in which the main character is a white guy who has a black best friend, and the black best friend has, like, nothing better to do than look out for the interests of the white guy? Don't you just want to see a black guy as the main character? With the

white guy acting as personal assistant? Also, don't you ever wonder what it would be like -- this is kind of for white readers only -- if all your life all the people on TV and in the movies were Chinese? Like once in a great while there was one show that featured white people? But otherwise all the other stuff was Chinese folks? Ninety percent? On the TV news. All the shows. All the movies. Maybe one white person on the TV news. Or in a supporting role in one of the movies. (Picking up the luggage or driving the car.) And the white person in that supporting role gets an Academy Award in, like, 2002. Are you getting my drift here, people? Like how fun would that be never to see anyone who looked like you on the TV set or in the movies? And when you did they were like the personal assistant to the main character, who was, you know, black, Chinese, substitute whatever hue you want. You get my point. What I want for Christmas is for the black man in the movie to the right to star in the next movie and have that white guy in the picture with him be in the supporting role. And the black man calls the shots. You know? I just would like to see things shaken up a bit! The Dead Zone -- LOVED the movie. Sometimes the show can be fun. But it creeps me out that the black man sort of follows the main character around to look out for him. Like he just dropped whatever else he had going in his life to be there. The supporting role folks are never quite as smart. He looks smarter. So does the guy in the movie to the left. He looks like the guy from Pulp Fiction. He looks like he should own a city. Put him in charge of stuff for the afternoon! Jeez!