McNulty: The classic barnacle.

While watching season one of The Wire again, it occurred to me that McNulty is essentially a gritty, heavily armed, badass version of Larry David, right down to the fat, slightly more competent, buddy. This is probably part of why I love the show so much--it's the first cop show I can think of that explores the schliemel/schlamazel archetype and applies it to a neo-noir protagonist. McNulty's last scene in season one, in particular, when he's on the boat, is crying out for the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme music.