As soon as I heard the title of HBO's latest documentary, "The Nine Lives of Marion Barry (tonight at 9 p.m.)," I got excited.

There's no doubt that Barry is one of the more interesting characters on America's political landscape. And his ongoing relationship with Washington, D.C. has to be complex -- because from the outside looking in, it just looks crazy.

After all, this is the man who got busted smoking crack in a room with a woman who wasn't his wife, served 6 months in federal prison and still managed to get elected mayor for the fourth time.