WIRE, THE: SLAPSTICK (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about the police and the criminals they target. This is the ninth episode of the series' third season, which focuses on the nexus between Baltimore's election-year politics and the Barksdale drug enterprise.
D'Agostino calls McNulty in the middle of the night and gets him to come to her hotel room for a sexual encounter. He leaves soon thereafter, hoping that their future encounters will be more romantic. Barksdale gang members Gerard and Sapper prepare to shoot Little on his way to pick up his grandmother for church, although they hesitate due to the gangs' traditional Sunday morning truce. Bell attempts to placate the various factions as they voice grievances at a meeting. He receives word about the hit on Little and gives his permission for it to go forward. Little spots the soldiers and manages to escape under a hail of gunfire; they are unclear whether he was hit. Colvin still plans to retire despite the “truce” he helped bring about in the drug war. The Deacon visits him, believing that it is dangerous to retire while there is still so much to be done. McNulty comes into the station on Sunday and finds Freamon and Pryzbylewski setting up a surveillance camera they plan to install across from Bell's print shop. McNulty goes on a rant about the uselessness of man fellow officers, not realizing that the camera is recording him. Freamon tries to tell McNulty that his job cannot bring him true fulfillment and that he needs a life outside of his work.
Slim Charles berates Gerard and Sapper for failing to kill Little and for violating the Sunday truce. Little is highly distressed by the encounter and fears that his grandmother may find out about his criminal activities; he has convinced her that he works in an airport cafeteria. He vows to get revenge on the Barksdales; Kimmy will no longer target the Barksdale and Dante offers to assist him, but Omar insists that this is something he must do alone. Daniels assigns his men to place wiretaps on the Barksdale organization’s cell phones. Wise attempts to secure proper permits for his proposed boxing gym, but soon finds himself mired in bureaucratic documentation. Sydnor tails Bernard to figure out where the Barksdale disposable phones are being bought. McNulty and Greggs place a wire on Bubbles so he can perform a drug transaction, hoping to force a Barksdale dealer to use his disposable phone. Meanwhile, Daniels and Pearlman attempt to negotiate with the company selling the phones, and are frustrated when they learn that it may take a month to get their wiretaps request approved. They manage to intimidate the company into expediting the process.
Wise tells The Deacon about his troubles with the permits and he secures the assistance of Reverend Frank Reid. Bubbles accomplishes his task successfully. McNulty periodically attempts to call D'Agostino, but cannot get in touch with her. Avon speaks to Bell about the attempt on Little’s life and Bell says he approved without fully understanding the circumstances. Pearlman and Daniels attempt to convince the feds to put pressure on the disposable phone company to solve their inability to place wiretaps in a timely manner. While getting Chinese food, McNulty and Pryzbylewski respond to a 911 call from nearby. Pryzbylewski shoots and kills a black man that turns out to be undercover police officer Derrick Waggoner, much to McNulty’s shock.
Stewart meets with Vinson to mediate a truce with Stanfield’s operation. Tensions run high in the department once news of Waggoner’s death gets out; some believe the shooting had a “racial component.” Daniels speaks to Pryzbylewski alone, advising him to speak to a lawyer. Pryzbylewski states that he “wasn’t scared or angry” and did not take Waggoner’s race into consideration, although he wonders aloud if he did so subconsciously. He chooses not to call a lawyer, believing that there is no more hope for him. However, Daniels secures a lawyer for him anyway and places him on suicide watch. Reid gets Watkins to assist Cutty, with further help from Marla. Bell’s efforts to get his property development started are stymied by bureaucratic obstacles, and he urges Davis to resolve them.
Gray plans to run for mayor and Carcetti offers his approval, advising him to “charm” Watkins into lending his support instead of asking for it outright. Gray gives Carcetti the chance to run with him as council president but Carcetti plays coy. Hauk and Carver respond to a call and find a shooting victim dead on a street corner within Hamsterdam. Carver asks Hauk to help him move the body so as not to tip off the department about Colvin’s drug-selling zone. Hauk refuses, incensed at Carver’s violation of police ethics; Carver gets two other officers to assist him. Hauk calls the Baltimore Sun to expose the undertaking. Brianna remains convinced that D’Angelo was murdered, although Avon and Bell stonewall her. Avon reacts angrily when Brianna seemingly implies that he had something to do with D’Angelo’s death. The police find evidence of Carver moving the body and he discusses the situation with Colvin, who says he'll take full responsibility. Gray and Carcetti meet with Watkins about the witness protection initiative, and the three of them discuss the mayor’s unwillingness to accept their advice.
Colvin confronts members of the street gangs and demands that they bring the shooter into his custody or he will close Hamsterdam. McNulty goes on a dinner date with D'Agostino and they talk about their upbringings and careers, including her work as a political strategist. McNulty makes his distaste for politicians clear, believing that they are out of touch with the real world; D'Agostino quickly realizes that they are not a match. The date ends with McNulty getting turned away at the apartment. Bell learns about Colvin's ultimatum and asks that the shooter turn himself in, which subsequently occurs. be found. Pryzbylewski sits alone in the department, surrounded by computers monitoring the wiretapped phones.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: November 21, 2004 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:20
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:86829
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; TV - Drama, police/private detective; LGBT Collection - Drama
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2002-2008
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Simon … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Robert F. Colesberry … Executive Producer
- Nina Kostroff Noble … Executive Producer
- Joe Chappelle … Co-Executive Producer
- George Pelecanos … Producer, Writer
- Ed Burns … Producer
- Karen L. Thorson … Producer
- Leslie Jacobowitz … Associate Producer
- Simon Egleton … Associate Producer
- Alex Zakrzewski … Director
- William F. Zorzi … Writer
- Dominic West … Cast, Jimmy McNulty
- John Doman … Cast, William Rawls
- Idris Elba … Cast, Russell "Stringer" Bell
- Frankie Faison … Cast, Ervin Burrell
- Aidan Gillen … Cast, Tommy Carcetti
- Wood Harris … Cast, Avon Barksdale
- Deirdre Lovejoy … Cast, Rhonda "Ronnie" Pearlman
- Clarke Peters … Cast, Lester Freamon
- Wendell Pierce … Cast, William "Bunk" Moreland
- Lance Reddick … Cast, Cedric Daniels
- Andre Royo … Cast, Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins
- Sonja Sohn … Cast, Shakima Greggs
- Jim True-Frost … Cast, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
- Robert Wisdom … Cast, Howard "Bunny" Colvin
- Seth Gilliam … Cast, Ellis Carver
- Domenick Lombardozzi … Cast, Thomas "Herc" Hauk
- J.D. Williams … Cast, Preston "Bodie" Broadus
- Michael K. Williams … Cast, Omar Little
- Corey Parker Robinson … Cast, Leander Sydnor
- Isaiah Whitlock Jr. … Cast, Clay Davis
- Chad L. Coleman … Cast, Dennis "Cutty" Wise
- Michael Hyatt … Cast, Brianna Barksdale
- Maria Broom … Cast, Marla Daniels
- Brandy Burre … Cast, Theresa D'Agostino
- Delaney Williams … Cast, Jay Landsman
- Robert F. Chew … Cast, Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart
- Doug Olear … Cast, Terrence Fitzhugh
- Melvin Williams … Cast, Deacon
- Christopher Mann … Cast, Anthony Gray
- Ryan Sands … Cast, Lloyd "Truck" Garrick
- Brandan T. Tate … Cast, Sapper
- Brian Anthony Wilson … Cast, Vernon Holley
- Mayo Best … Cast, Gerard
- Richard Burton … Cast, Sean "Shamrock" McGinty
- Anwan Glover … Cast, Slim Charles
- Kelli R. Brown … Cast, Kimmy
- Mia Arnice Chambers … Cast, Squeak
- Melvin Jackson Jr. … Cast, Bernard
- Felix Stevenson … Cast, Frank Reid
- Ernest Waddell … Cast, Dante
- Al Brown … Cast, Stanislaus Valchek
- Norris Davis … Cast, Vinson
- Richard DeAngelis … Cast, Raymond Foerster
- Frederick Strother … Cast, Odell Watkins
- Gregory L. Williams … Cast, Michael Crutchfield
- Benay Berger … Cast, Amanda Reese
- Tony Cordova … Cast, Michael McNulty
- Eric Ryan … Cast, Sean McNulty
- Michael Salconi … Cast, Michael Santangelo
- Troj. Marquis Strickland … Cast, Ricardo "Fat-Face Rick" Hendrix
- Kim Bogues … Cast, Woman