The Wire The Complete Guide PDF generated using the open source mwlib toolkit. See http://code.pediapress.com/ for more information. PDF generated at: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 02:03:03 UTC Contents Articles Overview 1 The Wire 1 David Simon 24 Writers and directors 36 Awards and nominations 38 Seasons and episodes 42 List of The Wire episodes 42 Season 1 46 Season 2 54 Season 3 61 Season 4 70 Season 5 79 Characters 86 List of The Wire characters 86 Police 95 Police of The Wire 95 Jimmy McNulty 118 Kima Greggs 124 Bunk Moreland 128 Lester Freamon 131 Herc Hauk 135 Roland Pryzbylewski 138 Ellis Carver 141 Leander Sydnor 145 Beadie Russell 147 Cedric Daniels 150 William Rawls 156 Ervin Burrell 160 Stanislaus Valchek 165 Jay Landsman 168 Law enforcement 172 Law enforcement characters of The Wire 172 Rhonda Pearlman 178 Maurice Levy 181 Street-level characters 184 Street-level characters of The Wire 184 Omar Little 190 Bubbles 196 Dennis "Cutty" Wise 199 Stringer Bell 202 Avon Barksdale 206 Marlo Stanfield 212 Proposition Joe 218 Spiros Vondas 222 The Greek 224 Chris Partlow 226 Snoop (The Wire) 230 Wee-Bey Brice 232 Bodie Broadus 235 Poot Carr 239 D'Angelo Barksdale 242 Cheese Wagstaff 245 Wallace 247 Docks 249 Characters from the docks of The Wire 249 Frank Sobotka 254 Nick Sobotka 256 Ziggy Sobotka 258 Sergei Malatov 261 Politicians 263 Politicians of The Wire 263 Tommy Carcetti 271 Clarence Royce 275 Clay Davis 279 Norman Wilson 282 School 284 School system of The Wire 284 Howard "Bunny" Colvin 290 Michael Lee 293 Duquan "Dukie" Weems 296 Namond Brice 298 Randy Wagstaff 301 Journalists 304 Journalists of The Wire 304 Augustus Haynes 309 Scott Templeton 312 Alma Gutierrez 315 Miscellany 317 And All the Pieces Matter — Five Years of Music from The Wire 317 References Article Sources and Contributors 320 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 324 Article Licenses License 325 1 Overview The Wire The Wire Second season intertitle Genre Crime drama Format Serial drama Created by David Simon Starring Dominic West John Doman Idris Elba Frankie Faison Larry Gilliard, Jr. Wood Harris Deirdre Lovejoy Wendell Pierce Lance Reddick Andre Royo Sonja Sohn Chris Bauer Paul Ben-Victor Clarke Peters Amy Ryan Aidan Gillen Jim True-Frost Robert Wisdom Seth Gilliam Domenick Lombardozzi J. D. Williams Michael K. Williams Corey Parker Robinson Reg E. Cathey Chad L. Coleman Jamie Hector Glynn Turman Clark Johnson Tom McCarthy Gbenga Akinnagbe Neal Huff Jermaine Crawford Tristan Wilds Michael Kostroff Michelle Paress Isiah Whitlock, Jr. Theme music composer Tom Waits The Wire 2 Opening theme "Way Down in the Hole" Season 1: The Blind Boys of Alabama Season 2: Tom Waits Season 3: The Neville Brothers Season 4: DoMaJe Season 5: Steve Earle Ending theme "The Fall" by Blake Leyh Country of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 5 No. of episodes 60 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) David Simon Robert F. Colesberry (Seasons 1–3) Nina Kostroff Noble (Seasons 3–5) Producer(s) Karen L. Thorson Ed Burns (Seasons 3–5) Joe Chappelle (Seasons 3–5) George Pelecanos (Season 3) Eric Overmyer (Season 4) Location(s) Baltimore, Maryland Camera setup Single-camera Running time 55–60 minutes Broadcast Original channel HBO Picture format 480i SDTV Audio format Dolby Digital 5.1 Original run June 2, 2002 – March 9, 2008 External links [1] Website The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States. The Wire premiered on June 2, 2002, and ended on March 9, 2008, comprising 60 episodes over five seasons. Each season of The Wire focuses on a different facet of the city of Baltimore. In chronological order they are: the illegal drug trade, the seaport system, the city government and bureaucracy, the school system, and the print news media. The large cast consists mainly of character actors who are little known for their other roles. Simon has said that despite its presentation as a crime drama, the show is "really about the American city, and about how we live together. It's about how institutions have an effect on individuals. Whether one is a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge or a lawyer, all are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution The Wire 3 they are committed to."[2] Despite only receiving modest ratings and never winning major television awards, The Wire has been described by many critics as one of the greatest TV dramas of all time.[3][4][5][6][7][8] The show is recognized for its realistic portrayal of urban life, its literary ambitions, and its uncommonly deep exploration of sociopolitical themes. Production Conception Simon has stated that he originally set out to create a police drama loosely based on the experiences of his writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective. Burns, when working on protracted investigations of violent drug dealers using surveillance technology, had often been frustrated by the bureaucracy of the Baltimore police department; Simon saw similarities with his own ordeals as a police reporter for The Baltimore Sun. Simon chose to set the show in Baltimore because of his intimate familiarity with the city. During his time as a writer and producer for the NBC program Homicide: Life on the Street, based on his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and also set in Baltimore, Simon had come into conflict with NBC network executives who were displeased by the show's pessimism. David Simon, creator of The Wire Simon wanted to avoid a repeat of these conflicts. He chose to take The Wire to HBO because of their existing working relationship from the 2000 miniseries The Corner. Owing to its reputation for exploring new areas, HBO was initially doubtful about including a police drama in its lineup, but eventually agreed to produce the pilot episode.[9][10] Simon approached the mayor of Baltimore, telling him that he wanted to give a bleak portrayal of certain aspects of the city; he was welcomed to work there again. He hoped that the show would change the opinions of some viewers but said that it was unlikely to have an impact on the issues it portrays.[9] Casting The casting of the show has been praised for avoiding big-name stars and providing character actors who appear natural in their roles.[11] The looks of the cast as a whole have been described as defying TV expectations by presenting a true range of humanity on screen.[12] The initial cast was assembled through a process of auditions and readings. Lance Reddick received the role of Cedric Daniels after auditioning for several other parts.[13] Michael K. Williams got the part of Omar Little after only a single audition.[14] Several prominent real-life Baltimore figures, including former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.; Rev. Frank M. Reid III; former police chief, convicted felon, and radio personality Ed Norris; Virginia Delegate Rob Bell; Howard County Executive Ken Ulman; and former mayor Kurt Schmoke have appeared in minor roles despite not being professional actors.[15][16] "Little Melvin" Williams, a Baltimore drug lord arrested in the 1980s by an investigation that Ed Burns had been part of, had a recurring role as a deacon beginning in the third season. Jay Landsman, a longtime police officer who inspired the character of the same name,[17] played Lieutenant Dennis Mello.[18] Baltimore police commander Gary D'Addario served as the series technical advisor for the first two seasons[19][20] and has a recurring role as prosecutor Gary DiPasquale.[21] Simon shadowed D'Addario's shift when researching his book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and both D'Addario and Landsman are subjects of the book.[22] The Wire 4 More than a dozen cast members previously appeared on HBO's first hour long drama, Oz. J. D. Williams, Seth Gilliam, Lance Reddick, and Reg E. Cathey were featured in very prominent roles in Oz, while a number of other notable stars of The Wire, including Wood Harris, Frankie Faison, John Doman, Clarke Peters, Domenick Lombardozzi, Michael Hyatt and Method Man appeared in at least one episode of Oz.[23] Cast members Erik Dellums, Peter Gerety, Clark Johnson, Clayton LeBouef, Toni Lewis and Callie Thorne also appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street, the earlier and award winning network television series also based on Simon's book; Lewis appeared on Oz as well.[24][25][26][27][28] A number of cast members, as well as crew members, also appeared in the preceding HBO miniseries The Corner including Clarke Peters, Reg E. Cathey, Lance Reddick, Corey Parker Robinson, Robert F. Chew and Delaney Williams. Crew Alongside Simon, the show's creator, head writer, showrunner and executive producer, much of the creative team behind The Wire were alumni of Homicide and Emmy-winning miniseries The Corner. The Corner veteran, Robert F. Colesberry, was executive producer for the first two seasons and directed the season 2 finale before dying from complications from heart surgery in 2004. He is credited by the rest of the creative team as having a large creative role for a producer, and Simon credits him for achieving the show's realistic visual feel.[2] He also had a small recurring role as Detective Ray Cole.[29] Colesberry's wife Karen L. Thorson joined him on the production staff.[19] A third producer on The Corner, Nina Kostroff Noble also stayed with the production staff for The Wire rounding out the initial four-person team.[19] Following Colesberry's death, she became the show's second executive producer alongside Simon.[30] Stories for the show were often co-written by Ed Burns, a former Baltimore homicide detective and public school teacher who had worked with Simon on other projects including The Corner.