WIRE, THE: STORM WARNINGS (TV)
Summary
One in this dramatic series about both sides of the Baltimore drug scene: the dealers and the law enforcement officers that go after them. This is the tenth episode of the series' second season, which focuses on crimes committed on Baltimore's waterfront.
The unit places surveillance devices on the vehicles of those connected with the Sobotka organization. Bell visits the towers and tells Broadus to extend “hospitality” to the newly-arrived Wagstaff and his crew, as they are to be taking over three of the towers. Using the surveillance devices, McNulty creates a computer graphic of the movements of the Sobotka-related vehicles. Daniels acts on the information and assigns the unit to stake out some of the locations presented on the computer. Frank plans to run again for union treasurer and Vernon "Ott" Motley feels offended, believing that Frank does not think he will be able to see the dredging issue to its conclusion. Valchek goes to the FBI to help bring in Frank and tells them about the stolen surveillance van. Broadus feels threatened by the presence of Wagstaff and his group, and decides to outsell them to show them up. Wagstaff accepts the challenge.
Little delivers a package of money to local bartender Butchie. Ziggy and John "Johnny Fifty" Spamanto steal cars from the docks and secretly store them in shipping containers, hoping to fence them without drawing attention back to the union. Aimee discovers a roll of cash hidden in her basement and asks Nick about it. He claims that he is being paid off the books by The Greek, but she does not listen and refuses to accept it. Wagstaff is confronted by Brother Mouzone, a mysterious individual claiming to represent the Barksdale operation, warning him to get out of the West side. When Wagstaff doesn't comply, the man pulls a gun out and shoots him in his shoulder. He explains that the bullet was damaging but not fatal, but cautions Wagstaff that he will not hesitate to kill him; Wagstaff retreats.
FBI agents agree to cooperate with Daniels on the investigation into Frank and the union, although they are primarily concerned with the case"s Homeland Security aspects. Wagstaff convalesces at Stewart’s shop and they figure out how to get even with Brother Mouzone, without attracting the ire of Bell and the other Barksdales. Ziggy reports his progress to Glekas, who gives him a payment, albeit not what they had agreed upon. They get into an argument and Glekas strikes Ziggy and throws him out of his warehouse. Ziggy re-enters with a gun and shoots Glekas dead. As the police approach, Ziggy has a breakdown in his car. Stewart meets with Butchie to discuss Bell’s attempts to create a “parley” between himself and Little to talk about handling Brother Mouzone. Ziggy is arrested and interrogated by Landsman. He is emotionally distraught over having killed Glekas, but insists that the police report be changed to state that Glekas was “begging” him not to shoot.
While staking out the docks, Greggs speaks to Russell about the challenge of looking after children while on the job; she is concerned about Cheryl’s pregnancy and how it will affect her life. Nick tells Frank about what happened to Ziggy, and Frank is furious. Vondopoulos contacts Ben-Eleazer, and his movements are tracked by the police. Valchek arrives and expresses displeasure that Daniels has apparently failed him to make a case against Frank. He orders Pryzbylewski to return to the district, although Pryzbylewski is reluctant to go. When Valchek verbally accosts him, Pryzbylewski punches him in the face, shocking everyone in the room. Valchek leaves without further comment. The police monitor the meeting between Vondopoulos and Ben-Eleazer to discuss the situation concerning Ziggy. He orders Ben-Eleazer to clear out the warehouse and they dispose of their phones. Hauk and Carter see Nick go to the local diner in an attempt to contact Vondolpoulos, but Nick does not find him there.
McNulty discusses the possibility of trying to trace the last text message Vondopoulos made on his phone before pitching it into the ocean, based on the time and place in which the text was made. Broadus contemplates what to do about Brother Mouzone. The phone company traces the text,and an employee tells Moreland that they can give him the last two months of calls from the phone if he comes back with a search warrant. The detectives are stymied, however, upon discovering that the message is in Greek. Later, they learn that the message reads: “shut down immediately.” Nick and Ziggy’s ex-girlfriend Priscilla "Prissy" Catlow commiserate over Ziggy’s arrest, both deeply saddened. The police prepare a massive raid that night as McNulty types up arrest warrants. Meanwhile, Malatov and Ben-Eleazer clean up Glekas’ warehouse, including the disposal of massive amounts of drugs.
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: August 10, 2003 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:78845
- 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 … Co-Executive Producer
- Karen L. Thorson … Co-Producer
- Rob Bailey … Director
- Norman Kinderlein … Researcher
- Ed Burns … Writer
- Rafael Alvarez … Writer
- Joy Lusco Kecken … Writer
- Dominic West … Cast, Jimmy McNulty
- Chris Bauer … Cast, Frank Sobotka
- Paul Ben-Victor … Cast, Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos
- John Doman … Cast, William Rawls
- Idris Elba … Cast, Russell "Stringer" Bell
- Larry Gilliard Jr. … Cast, D'Angelo Barksdale
- 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
- Amy Ryan … Cast, Beatrice "Beadie" Russell
- Sonja Sohn … Cast, Shakima Greggs
- Seth Gilliam … Cast, Ellis Carver
- Domenick Lombardozzi … Cast, Thomas "Herc" Hauk
- Jim True-Frost … Cast, Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski
- James Ransone … Cast, Chester Karol "Ziggy" Sobotka
- Pablo Schreiber … Cast, Nick Sobotka
- Method Man … Cast, Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff
- Melanie Nicholls-King … Cast, Cheryl
- Michael Potts … Cast, Brother Mouzone
- Bill Raymond … Cast, The Greek
- Al Brown … Cast, Stanislaus Valchek
- Robert F. Chew … Cast, Joseph "Proposition Joe" Stewart
- Kristin Proctor … Cast, Aimee
- Merritt Wever … Cast, Priscilla "Prissy" Catlow
- Benay Berger … Cast, Amanda Reese
- Toni Lewis … Cast, Nadiva Bryant
- Tom Mardirosian … Cast, Kristos Koutris
- Delaney Williams … Cast, Jay Landsman
- Ted Feldman … Cast, George "Double G" Glekas
- Jeffrey Fugitt … Cast, Claude Diggins
- Lev Gorens … Cast, Eton Ben-Eleazer
- Charley Scalies … Cast, Thomas "Horseface" Pakusa
- Doug Olear … Cast, Terrance Fitzhugh
- J.D. Williams … Cast, Preston "Bodie" Broadus
- Chris Ashworth … Cast, Sergei Malatov
- S. Robert Morgan … Cast, Butchie
- Kevin McKelvy … Cast, FBI Agent
- William L. Thomas … Cast, FBI Agent