Six things I learned from Funny or Die's musical spoof of The Wire

"Chess is a metaphor for drug deals,

Avon is the king and we're the pawns.

But the game don't change and the king will stay the king,

While you and I will soon be dead and gone."

In honor of the tenth anniversary of The Wire, Funny or Die put together a sublime sketch that answers a question we've all asked ourselves at one point or another*: what would the five-season portrait of America's decaying inner cities look like as a musical? With the help of a surprising number of original cast members - Michael K. Williams (Omar), Sonja Sohn (Kima), Andre Royo (Bubbles), Larry Gillard, Jr. (D'Angelo) and Felicia Pearson (Snoop) appear in the clip - we now have our answer (via The AV Club):

The Wire: The Musical with Michael Kenneth Williams

There are six lessons I took away from this inspired endeavor:

1. Larry Gillard, Jr. is a pretty damned good singer! Andrew Royo, on the other hand, sounds remarkably like a latter-day Bob Dylan.

2. Michael K. William's broad grin, combined with his exaggerated musical theater shenanigans, suggest that the man has a future in comedy.

3. Omar's immortal line "I got the shotgun, you got the briefcase" was meant to be sung.

4. Snoop is significantly less intimidating in a dress, although I'm sure the fear would come right back the second she got her hands on a nail gun.

5. "Way Down In The Hole" performed by a barbershop quartet works surprisingly well.

6. A four-minute, family-friendly spoof of The Wire is still better than either Glee or Smash.

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*Or not, as the case may be.

Community Season Three Promo: Do I sense a 'Glee' parody in the works?

The first promo for Community's third season is here, and things are looking just as crazy (and hilarious) as ever. Check out the short version of the promo below; a longer version can be found on Community's Facebook page.

I'm really excited about all the John Goodman goodness present here. It certainly looks like Dan Harmon and the writers are using the man's bulk and voice to great comedic effect, and it will be great to see him square off against Dean Pelton (Jim Rash, who got promoted to series regular this year!). I wish we could have seen a little Michael K. Williams (The Wire's Omar, for those of you who aren't awesome enough to know that), but I'll take what I can get at this point.

I'm also really hoping that the elaborate musical number teased in the longer trailer indicates a full-length Glee parody. I've enjoyed the good-natured Glee mockery we've seen in several episodes up to this point, including the first paintball episode, the flashback episode, and Jeff's memorable exclamation of, "I hate Glee! I don't understand the appeal at all!" I'm excited to see what the show can do with a full-on parody.