The Dickensian Aspect
| "The Dickensian Aspect" | |
|---|---|
| The Wire episode | |
| File:TheWire56.jpg | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 6 |
| Directed by | Seith Mann |
| Story by | David Simon Ed Burns |
| Teleplay by | Ed Burns |
| Original air date | February 10, 2008 |
| Running time | 58 minutes |
| Guest appearance | |
| see below | |
"The Dickensian Aspect" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the HBO series The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns (from a story by David Simon and Ed Burns) and was directed by Seith Mann.[1] It aired on February 10, 2008.[2]
Production
Epigraph
If you have a problem with this, I understand completely.
— Freamon
After explaining to Sydnor his plan to begin an illegal wiretap on Marlo Stanfield, Freamon makes it clear that the younger detective is under no obligation to help him. The quote echoes through the episode as the homeless man's abduction gives Freamon and McNulty, and by extension the audience, their most serious doubts yet about the justifiability of their actions.
Non-fiction elements
The judge Phelan, surprised, asks McNulty and Pearlman if the "GPS chip" is not enough for them to track the serial killer. The Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 requires that starting in 2006, 95% of any carrier cell phones be able to give their location (but not necessarily carry a GPS chip), in order to provide enhanced 911 services.
Credits
Starring cast
Although credited Andre Royo, Seth Gilliam, Domenick Lombardozzi, Jermaine Crawford, Tristan Wilds, Michael Kostroff, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. do not appear in this episode.
Guest stars
- Peter Gerety as Judge Daniel Phelan
- Pablo Schreiber as Nick Sobotka
- Maestro Harrell as Randy Wagstaff
- Felicia Pearson as Felicia "Snoop" Pearson
- Anwan Glover as Slim Charles
- Method Man as Melvin "Cheese" Wagstaff
- Delaney Williams as Jay Landsman
- William Joseph Brookes as Lawrence Butler
- Shamika Cotton as Raylene Lee
- Brian Anthony Wilson as Vernon Holley
- Michael Willis as Andy Krawczyk
- David Costabile as Thomas Klebanow
- Sam Freed as James Whiting
- Nancy Grace as Herself
- Dion Graham as Rupert Bond
- Sho "Swordsman" Brown as Phil Boy
- Christopher J. Clanton as Savino Bratton
- Kwame Patterson as Monk Metcalf
- Troj Marquis Strickland as Ricardo "Fat-Face Rick" Hendrix
- Robert Poletick as Steven Luxenberg
- Scott Shane as Scott Shane
- Brandon Young as Mike Fletcher
- William F. Zorzi as Bill Zorzi
- Luray Cooper as Nat Coxson
- Aubrey Deeker as Terry Hanning (credited as Aubrey Daniels)
- Roscoe Orman as Oscar Requer
- Richard Pelzman as Little Big Roy
- Dionne Audain as Social Worker
- Dave Ettlin as Dave Ettlin
- Crissandra Spencer as Crissandra Spencer
- Ken Ulman as Reporter Ken Ullman
- Ross Widdall as Ron Lowenthal
- Neerja Sharma as Woman Monk interviews
- Edet B. Isuk as Stanfield soldier (shot by Omar)
- Jeffrey Wendell Moffatt as Stanfield muscle
- Rashiela Daniels as Unknown
- Reginald Gilmer as Unknown
- Carlos J. Gonzalez as Unknown
Uncredited appearances
- Mike D. Anderson as Ghost
- Megan Anderson as Jen Carcetti
- Donald Neal as Jay Spry
- Ed Norris as Ed Norris
Plot
As Marlo's crew searches in vain, an injured Omar hides himself in the same building where he had attempted to ambush Monk, Partlow, and Snoop. He threatens Fat-Face and takes his gun, which he uses to wound a Stanfield soldier before stealing and setting fire to one of Marlo's cash pickups. Marlo increases the bounty on Omar's head, effectively ends the New Day Co-Op, and ups the wholesale drug price. A wary Slim Charles declines Marlo's offer for control of the Baltimore County territories, which are instead given to Cheese. At the Baltimore Sun, Templeton's reporting on the "serial killer" gets national attention, leading editors Whiting and Klebanow to ask for a follow-up article. Templeton spends the night under the Jones Falls Expressway and interviews Terry, a homeless Iraq War veteran with PTSD. Gus is surprised with Templeton's writing, but remains skeptical of his reporting overall. He asks Templeton to pursue a lead on the story of the woman who died from seafood poisoning. When Templeton claims the lead was false, Gus gets more suspicious.
McNulty realizes that Templeton made up a few details of his own about the killer. Bunk, thoroughly disgusted with McNulty's behavior, dives back into the old murder cases tied to Marlo's crew. He decides to interview Randy Wagstaff, who remains in his group home, but he refuses to cooperate. Greggs tells Bunk that an informant implicated the Stanfield Organization for her triple homicide. The detectives learn that evidence from the vacant murders has become irrevocably jumbled due to human error. Bunk then investigates the killing of Bug's father and interviews Michael's mother. Bunk is given a folder of stolen grand jury indictments found in Proposition Joe's shop. Meanwhile, Mayor Carcetti hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony for portside condos while being heckled by ex-dockworkers, including Nick Sobotka. Later, Carcetti gives a press conference vowing to protect the homeless from the "serial killer." Wilson and Steinhorf suggest that running on defending the homeless may be Carcetti's key to getting elected governor. Daniels hands the stolen indictments to Pearlman and Bond, who realize there is a leak in the courthouse.
Judge Daniel Phelan declines McNulty and Pearlman's request for a wiretap on the Sun 's phones. Freamon reveals his illegal wiretap of Marlo to Sydnor, who agrees to help. Freamon determines that Marlo is sending photos, but a new wiretap authorization is needed to see what is being sent. McNulty finds that, with police now arriving on the scene immediately whenever a homeless person turns up dead, he is unable to stage more serial murders. He comes across a mentally ill homeless man named Larry and, with Freamon's help, photographs him with the "killer"'s trademark ribbon, after which Larry will never be seen again; the killer, according to the cover story, will now only send photos of his victims to the press, and their bodies will not be found. McNulty gives Larry $100 and drives him down to a homeless shelter in Richmond, Virginia, giving him a stolen ID card. As he leaves, he feels a pang of guilt over what he has done to Larry.
In popular culture
- Emcee Noesis from Philadelphia Slick references the episode in his song "Meet the Press".[3]
References
- ^ "Season 5 crew". HBO. 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ^ "HBO Schedule: THE WIRE 56: THE DICKENSIAN ASPECT". HBO. 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
- ^ Noesis. "Meet The Press". 2012. The Way Things Work. Philadelphia Slick, 2012, CD.
