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The Detail (The Wire episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Detail" is the second episode of the first season of the HBO original series, The Wire
. The episode was written by David Simon
from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns
and was directed by Clark Johnson
. It originally aired on June 9, 2002.
and McNulty
discuss murdered witness William Gant with the coroner. McNulty believes the Barksdale organization had Gant killed to send a message to people in the projects not to testify against them; Bunk, who is the primary investigator on the murder, is skeptical that anybody would kill a witness after they had already testified. McNulty visits Judge Phelan to inform about Gant. Based on Phelan's pressure, Burrell orders Lieutenant Daniels
to let McNulty work the case, hoping to keep the murder of a witness quiet. Mollified, Phelan agrees not to call the media about the murder.
Daniels and his detail arrive at their new office - a damp basement with little furniture. The rest of the detail is introduced, but Daniels dismisses them all as useless "humps", especially after officer Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski accidentally discharges a bullet from his weapon. When Daniels visits ASA Pearlman
to complain, she tells him that Prez was once indicted for shooting his patrol car. Daniels confides that he feels that Burrell sent him a message by not allowing him to pick his detail. Daniels meets with Lieutenant Cantrell and convinces him to assign detective Leander Sydnor
(Cantrell's best man) to the detail to balance taking Prez (his worst).
Detectives Carver
, Greggs
, and Herc photograph Bubbles
as he marks Barksdale dealers with colored hats, under the guise that they are for sale. When Greggs brings Bubbles in to identify the photographed drug dealers, McNulty is impressed with the technique and surprised by the scale of the Barksdale organization.
Bunk and McNulty visit D'Angelo Barksdale
in the low-rise projects to discuss the Gant murder. D'Angelo is reluctant to say anything and when he attempts to leave, Bunk and McNulty bring him in. In the interrogation room, McNulty and Bunk try to convince D'Angelo that he was responsible for Gant's death. D'Angelo is moved to begin writing a letter to Gant's family, but Barksdale attorney Maurice Levy
arrives and stops him before he can write anything possibly incriminating. Greggs and McNulty show the letter to Daniels who is skeptical about its usefulness in building a case. Now free, D'Angelo later takes his girlfriend, Donette, and their son to a family party, where his uncle Avon
rebukes him about the letter.
While drinking late at night, Herc, Carver, and Prez decide to intimidate the tower operation. Prez pistol-whips a young man, Kevin Johnston, in the face for leaning on his car. This prompts a hail of missiles such as beer and liquor bottles, televisions and other household appliances thrown from the towers, and ultimately gunshots. Herc is hit by some glass as Carver calls for back-up but is not seriously hurt. The next day, Daniels berates Herc, Carver, and Prez for their foolishness and asks them to admit who hit Johnston. Prez steps forward and Daniels instructs him to lie about his actions and suggests a story. He warns Prez that he must be convincing or he cannot protect him.
McNulty is awakened by Bunk calling to tell him to look at the newspaper; the Gant murder is on the front page, and the Judge is quoted in the article. Homicide Major Rawls
is enraged. McNulty again visits Phelan, who denies being the one who started the story and quickly leaves McNulty. Later, McNulty gets drunk alone. Daniels has dinner with his wife Marla and she reproves him for covering up the brutality. She counsels him the best course is to not get involved in the case as his superiors do not want it. Daniels is awakened later with the news that Johnston has been blinded in one eye.
, an aging former homicide detective who has spent thirteen years (and four months) in the pawn shop unit; Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, a young and inexperienced detective with a history of erratic behavior and a father-in-law in a command post; Leander Sydnor
, a rising star in the Baltimore PD that Lieutenant Daniels requests for his detail; and Augustus Polk and Patrick Mahon, two alcoholic property detectives who are nearing retirement age and are only interested in overtime pay and are content to let their careers end while performing as little actual police work as possible.
In the Barksdale organization, this episode marks the first appearance of Donette (D'Angelo Barksdale's materialistic girlfriend and the mother of his son), Little Man (a lieutenant who handles resupply for the tower crews), Ronnie Mo (the lieutenant who was previously in charge of the low-rises), and Kevin Johnston (the 14 year old drug dealer who is wounded by Prez).
Guest star Erik Todd Dellums previously appeared in Homicide: Life on the Street
as recurring drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. Reviewers have noted the similarities between the Homicide storyline involving this character and the plot of The Wires first season. Creator David Simon has admitted a tendency to re-cast actors he has worked with previously on Homicide or The Corner in roles on the other side of the law; in The Wire Dellums plays a medical examiner, Randall Frazier, who appears a few more times over the course of the series.
and Wallace
speculate that the man who invented the Chicken McNuggets
must be rich, and D'Angelo explains to them that McDonald's
owns the rights to the McNugget, and the man who invented it likely received nothing for it and is now probably "working in the basement for regular wage thinking of some shit to make the fries taste better." Wallace responds with "he still had the idea though."
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. The episode was written by David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
and was directed by Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson , sometimes credited as Clark 'Slappy' Jackson, Clarque Johnson, and J. Clark Johnson, is an American actor and director who has worked in both television and film.-Early years:...
. It originally aired on June 9, 2002.
Epigraph
This line is spoken in a conversation with Marla's husband Cedric about his impossible position of running the Barksdale investigation while trying to further his career. Extended to the episode as a whole the quote can also mean that if you do not become involved with the drug trade, commonly referred to as "The Game", you will not lose your life. This is most obviously evidenced in the episode by the murder of William Gant, about which D'Angelo exclaims, "he ain't have to testify"; if Gant had chosen not to testify he would not have become involved in D'Angelo's drug trial and would have still been alive.Guest stars
- Peter GeretyPeter GeretyPeter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...
as Judge Daniel Phelan - Seth GilliamSeth GilliamSeth Gilliam is an American actor. He is known for his HBO television roles, first as corrections officer-turned-prisoner Clayton Hughes on Oz, and later as Baltimore police detective promoted to sergeant Ellis Carver on The Wire. On both of these series, he co-starred with Lance Reddick and J.D....
as Detective Ellis CarverEllis CarverEllis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit... - Domenick LombardozziDomenick LombardozziDomenico "Domenick" Lombardozzi is an American actor best known for his role as Thomas "Herc" Hauk on The Wire. Lombardozzi was inspired to act by the film State of Grace.-Filmography:...
as Detective Thomas "Herc" Hauk - Clarke PetersClarke PetersClarke Peters is an American actor, singer, writer and director best known for his role as Detective Lester Freamon on the HBO drama The Wire.-Early life:...
as Detective Lester FreamonLester FreamonLester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit... - Jim True-FrostJim True-FrostJim True-Frost, born Jim True, is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program The Wire.-Biography:...
as Detective Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski - Maria Broom as Marla Daniels
- J.D. Williams as Preston "Bodie" Broadus
- Hassan JohnsonHassan JohnsonHassan 'Iniko' Johnson is an American actor/producer from Staten Island, NY, born November 19, 1976. His most noted performance was appearing on the HBO program The Wire as Roland Wee-Bey Brice. His first acting role was in the 1995 Spike Lee film Clockers. He also had a significant role in the...
as Roland "Wee-Bey" BriceWee-Bey BriceRoland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey was the Barksdale Organization's most trusted soldier before being sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple homicides.... - Michael B. JordanMichael B. JordanMichael Bakari Jordan is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as teenage drug dealer Wallace on the HBO drama television series The Wire, for his role as Reggie Montgomery in All My Children, as quarterback Vince Howard on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights, and since...
as WallaceWallace (The Wire)Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Jordan. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as "The Pit" with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie Broadus and Poot Carr... - Corey Parker-Robinson as Detective Leander SydnorLeander SydnorLeander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.-Season 1:...
- Tom QuinnTom Quinn (actor)Tom Quinn is an American actor who has appeared in numerous small roles on television and in various films, including a stint as Detective Patrick Mahon on HBO's The Wire.-External links:...
as Detective Patrick Mahon - Michael Salconi as Detective Michael Santangelo
- Delaney WilliamsDelaney WilliamsDelaney Williams is an American actor from Washington, D.C. He appears on the HBO drama The Wire as a recurring guest star playing homicide sergeant Jay Landsman. He also had a small role on HBO's mini-series The Corner which brought him to the attention of the producers, who worked on The prior to...
as Sergeant Jay LandsmanJay Landsman (The Wire)Jay Landsman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Delaney Williams.-Policing method:Landsman's role in the police department is that of a supervisory detective sergeant who doesn't participate in much investigation work... - Richard DeAngelis as Major Raymond Foerster
- Nat BenchleyNat BenchleyNathaniel Robert "Nat" Benchley is a writer and actor who has performed on stage, television, and film. He is the grandson of humorist Robert Benchley, the son of author Nathaniel G...
as Detective Augustus Polk - Shamyl Brown as Donette
- Tray ChaneyTray ChaneyTray Chaney is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as Poot Carr.Chaney began his entertainment career as a dancer at the age of four winning competitions at the Apollo Theater. He appeared in the 2003 music video "My Baby" by rap artist Bow Wow. He later appeared in The Wire...
as Malik "Poot" CarrPoot CarrMalik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him... - Erik Todd DellumsErik DellumsErik Todd Dellums is a U.S. actor. He has had parts in television police dramas such as New York Undercover, Homicide: Life on the Street and The Wire...
as Dr. Randall Frazier - Michael KostroffMichael KostroffMichael Kostroff is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star.- Biography :...
as Maurice LevyMaurice Levy (The Wire)Maurice "Maury" Levy is a fictional lawyer on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Michael Kostroff. He is a skilled defense attorney and was kept on retainer by the drug-trafficking Barksdale Organization, representing the organization's members at trials and advising Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell... - Brandon Price as Anton "Stinkum" Artis
- Dave Trovato as Lieutenant Cantrell
Uncredited appearances
- Robert F. ColesberryRobert F. ColesberryRobert F. "Bob" Colesberry, Jr. was an American film and television producer and first assistant director notable for his work as a producer on the Emmy Award winning miniseries The Corner, the Peabody Award winning television series The Wire for HBO, and the Oscar-nominated movie Mississippi...
as Detective Ray Cole - Jarvis George as Ronnie Mo
- Micaiah Jones as Little Man
- Chris ClantonChris ClantonChris Clanton is an American actor. He has a recurring role as Savino Bratton in season 1 and 5 of The Wire. He is credited as Christopher J. Clanton in the fifth series. He also had an uncredited role in The Corner as a street kid...
as Savino Bratton - Jimmie Jelani Manners as Kevin Johnston
Plot
Detectives MorelandBunk Moreland
William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore City Police Detective named Rick Requer and nicknamed "the Bunk", an officer who joined the force in 1964 as a Western District patrolman who...
and McNulty
Jimmy McNulty
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department...
discuss murdered witness William Gant with the coroner. McNulty believes the Barksdale organization had Gant killed to send a message to people in the projects not to testify against them; Bunk, who is the primary investigator on the murder, is skeptical that anybody would kill a witness after they had already testified. McNulty visits Judge Phelan to inform about Gant. Based on Phelan's pressure, Burrell orders Lieutenant Daniels
Cedric Daniels
Cedric Daniels is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Lance Reddick. He is a well regarded officer in the department whose focus is on good police work and quality arrests...
to let McNulty work the case, hoping to keep the murder of a witness quiet. Mollified, Phelan agrees not to call the media about the murder.
Daniels and his detail arrive at their new office - a damp basement with little furniture. The rest of the detail is introduced, but Daniels dismisses them all as useless "humps", especially after officer Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski accidentally discharges a bullet from his weapon. When Daniels visits ASA Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman
Rhonda Pearlman is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Deirdre Lovejoy. Pearlman has been the legal system liaison for all of Lieutenant Cedric Daniels' investigations on the show...
to complain, she tells him that Prez was once indicted for shooting his patrol car. Daniels confides that he feels that Burrell sent him a message by not allowing him to pick his detail. Daniels meets with Lieutenant Cantrell and convinces him to assign detective Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.-Season 1:...
(Cantrell's best man) to the detail to balance taking Prez (his worst).
Detectives Carver
Ellis Carver
Ellis Carver is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Seth Gilliam. Carver is an African American lieutenant and formerly in command of the Baltimore Police Department's Western District Drug Enforcement Unit...
, Greggs
Kima Greggs
Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a police detective in the Baltimore Police Department who is a dedicated officer and capable detective with some off-the-job issues. Openly lesbian, she has had problems...
, and Herc photograph Bubbles
Bubbles (The Wire)
Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Andre Royo. Bubbles is a recovering heroin addict. His real name is not revealed until a fourth-season episode when he is called "Mr. Cousins" and in the fifth-season premiere when he is called "Reginald"...
as he marks Barksdale dealers with colored hats, under the guise that they are for sale. When Greggs brings Bubbles in to identify the photographed drug dealers, McNulty is impressed with the technique and surprised by the scale of the Barksdale organization.
Bunk and McNulty visit D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo "D" Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire played by actor Larry Gilliard Jr. D'Angelo is the nephew of Avon Barksdale and a lieutenant in his drug dealing organization which controls most of the trade in West Baltimore...
in the low-rise projects to discuss the Gant murder. D'Angelo is reluctant to say anything and when he attempts to leave, Bunk and McNulty bring him in. In the interrogation room, McNulty and Bunk try to convince D'Angelo that he was responsible for Gant's death. D'Angelo is moved to begin writing a letter to Gant's family, but Barksdale attorney Maurice Levy
Maurice Levy (The Wire)
Maurice "Maury" Levy is a fictional lawyer on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Michael Kostroff. He is a skilled defense attorney and was kept on retainer by the drug-trafficking Barksdale Organization, representing the organization's members at trials and advising Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell...
arrives and stops him before he can write anything possibly incriminating. Greggs and McNulty show the letter to Daniels who is skeptical about its usefulness in building a case. Now free, D'Angelo later takes his girlfriend, Donette, and their son to a family party, where his uncle Avon
Avon Barksdale
Avon Randolph Barksdale is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire portrayed by actor Wood Harris. Avon is the dominant drug dealer of Baltimore's West Side, running the Barksdale Organization...
rebukes him about the letter.
While drinking late at night, Herc, Carver, and Prez decide to intimidate the tower operation. Prez pistol-whips a young man, Kevin Johnston, in the face for leaning on his car. This prompts a hail of missiles such as beer and liquor bottles, televisions and other household appliances thrown from the towers, and ultimately gunshots. Herc is hit by some glass as Carver calls for back-up but is not seriously hurt. The next day, Daniels berates Herc, Carver, and Prez for their foolishness and asks them to admit who hit Johnston. Prez steps forward and Daniels instructs him to lie about his actions and suggests a story. He warns Prez that he must be convincing or he cannot protect him.
McNulty is awakened by Bunk calling to tell him to look at the newspaper; the Gant murder is on the front page, and the Judge is quoted in the article. Homicide Major Rawls
William Rawls
William A. "Bill" Rawls is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor John Doman. Over the course of the series he ascends to the rank of Superintendent of the Maryland State Police.-Season 1:...
is enraged. McNulty again visits Phelan, who denies being the one who started the story and quickly leaves McNulty. Later, McNulty gets drunk alone. Daniels has dinner with his wife Marla and she reproves him for covering up the brutality. She counsels him the best course is to not get involved in the case as his superiors do not want it. Daniels is awakened later with the news that Johnston has been blinded in one eye.
First appearances
The episode marks the first appearance of several new recurring characters. Joining Daniels' detail are Lester FreamonLester Freamon
Lester Freamon is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Clarke Peters. Freamon is a detective in the Baltimore Police Department's Major Crimes Unit...
, an aging former homicide detective who has spent thirteen years (and four months) in the pawn shop unit; Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, a young and inexperienced detective with a history of erratic behavior and a father-in-law in a command post; Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor
Leander Sydnor is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Corey Parker Robinson. Sydnor is a young, married Baltimore Police detective who was a member of the Barksdale detail and later worked in the Major Crimes Unit.-Season 1:...
, a rising star in the Baltimore PD that Lieutenant Daniels requests for his detail; and Augustus Polk and Patrick Mahon, two alcoholic property detectives who are nearing retirement age and are only interested in overtime pay and are content to let their careers end while performing as little actual police work as possible.
In the Barksdale organization, this episode marks the first appearance of Donette (D'Angelo Barksdale's materialistic girlfriend and the mother of his son), Little Man (a lieutenant who handles resupply for the tower crews), Ronnie Mo (the lieutenant who was previously in charge of the low-rises), and Kevin Johnston (the 14 year old drug dealer who is wounded by Prez).
Guest star Erik Todd Dellums previously appeared in Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
as recurring drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. Reviewers have noted the similarities between the Homicide storyline involving this character and the plot of The Wires first season. Creator David Simon has admitted a tendency to re-cast actors he has worked with previously on Homicide or The Corner in roles on the other side of the law; in The Wire Dellums plays a medical examiner, Randall Frazier, who appears a few more times over the course of the series.
Critical response
The "Chicken McNugget" scene is often cited by fans, and some reviewers, as being one of the most memorable moments in the show. PootPoot Carr
Malik "Poot" Carr is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Tray Chaney. Poot is a drug dealer in the Barksdale Organization who slowly rises through the ranks, but ends up serving time in prison as his institution collapses around him...
and Wallace
Wallace (The Wire)
Wallace is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Michael B. Jordan. Wallace is a 16-year-old drug dealer for the Barksdale Organization, who works in the low-rise projects crew known as "The Pit" with his friends and fellow dealers Bodie Broadus and Poot Carr...
speculate that the man who invented the Chicken McNuggets
Chicken McNuggets
Chicken McNuggets are a product offered by international fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's and are one of the most popular trademarked items on the McDonald's menu....
must be rich, and D'Angelo explains to them that McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
owns the rights to the McNugget, and the man who invented it likely received nothing for it and is now probably "working in the basement for regular wage thinking of some shit to make the fries taste better." Wallace responds with "he still had the idea though."