Took (The Wire)

Last updated

"Took"
The Wire episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 7
Directed by Dominic West
Story by David Simon
Richard Price
Teleplay by Richard Price
Original air dateFebruary 17, 2008 (2008-02-17)
Running time58 minutes
Episode chronology
← Previous
"The Dickensian Aspect"		Next →
"Clarifications"
List of episodes

"Took" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire . The episode was written by Richard Price from a story by David Simon & Richard Price and was directed by cast member Dominic West. [1] It aired on February 17, 2008. [2]

Contents

Plot

They don't teach it in law school.

— Pearlman

McNulty, Freamon, and Sydnor plot to get Templeton to take a phone call from the "serial killer." McNulty, posing as the killer, acts upset about Templeton's articles painting him in a sexual light and says that no more bodies will be found in Baltimore; instead, he will simply send pictures of his victims. Both the BPD and The Baltimore Sun prioritize the serial killer and resolve to see the case to its end. Freamon, now able to intercept cell phone images via his illegal wiretap on Marlo, runs up against a tougher code than he expected – a simple clock face showing a different time in each picture – and he needs more manpower to determine what these messages mean. McNulty, knowing the serial killer case is a hoax, sends his surveillance teams to Freamon while allocating the extra manpower assigned to him to allow other detectives to earn their overtime pay. McNulty is overwhelmed as the bosses offer him more and more men. Eventually, the fact that he's giving away time gets out and people come looking for it.

Knowing the truth about McNulty's hoax, Bunk refuses to attend a mandatory meeting about the serial killer and instead goes back to investigating the vacant murders. Carver brings in Michael to let Bunk interview him about his stepfather. Omar robs a Stanfield stash house, killing a soldier and flushing several kilos of heroin. He later traps and executes Savino Bratton, now working for Marlo. Later, Omar tells Michael that he will take out all Marlo's muscle until Marlo comes at him himself. Gus consults his old friend, Major Dennis Mello, about whether someone can go through the court system with a false name. Mello's answer casts doubt on Templeton's reporting. Gus and Corbett show disgust at Templeton's maudlin story about living with the homeless. Gus sends Sun reporter Mike Fletcher to research the homeless, which leads Fletcher to Bubbles' soup kitchen. Bubbles guides Fletcher to the Jones Falls Expressway, where he talks to local homeless. When Fletcher offers to pay Bubbles, he turns him down and tells him to "write it how it feels".

Senator Davis hires high-powered attorney Billy Murphy. Despite another round of incriminating testimony from Damien Price, Davis is able to charm the jury and present himself as a man of the people. To the shock of Bond and Pearlman, Davis is acquitted. Greggs, assigned to the homeless killings full-time, spends an entire day getting background information on the homeless victims. She plans to keep her ex-partner's son Elijah for the night. When Elijah can't sleep, Greggs sits with him in the apartment window and says goodnight to the denizens of the inner city à la Goodnight Moon .

Production

Guest stars

Stanley Boyd's name is misspelled in the credits as Stanely Boyd.

Uncredited appearances

Special appearance

Richard Belzer makes a cameo appearance as former Baltimore police detective John Munch, the character he portrayed on the Baltimore-based police drama Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999), and subsequently on the New York-based Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–2014). Clark Johnson's character, Augustus Haynes, walks into a bar to speak with Major Dennis Mello, played by Jay Landsman (the John Munch character was based upon Landsman from David Simon's non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets ). On Homicide, Johnson's character Meldrick Lewis owned a Baltimore bar with Munch. As Haynes walks past him, Munch can be heard telling the bartender that he cannot ask a regular to pay his entire outstanding tab as "it just isn't done" and adds that he once owned a bar. As the audio of their conversation fades, the bartender can be faintly heard saying "Whatever, John."

Related Research Articles

<i>The Wire</i> American crime drama television series (2002–2008)

The Wire is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by American author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the 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. The idea for the show started out as a police drama loosely based on the experiences of Simon's writing partner Ed Burns, a former homicide detective and public school teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy McNulty</span> Character from The Wire

James McNulty is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO drama The Wire, played by Dominic West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kima Greggs</span> Character from The Wire

Shakima "Kima" Greggs is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actress Sonja Sohn. Greggs is a determined and capable police detective in the Baltimore Police Department. Openly lesbian, she often displays a hardened, cynical demeanor, and has had problems with infidelity, alcohol, and relationships. She plays a key role in all of her BPD details' main cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester Freamon</span> Character from The Wire

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. He is a wise, methodical detective whose intelligence and experience are often central to investigations throughout the series, particularly with respect to uncovering networks of money laundering and corruption. He sometimes serves as an avuncular figure to several of the characters.

"The Hunt" is the 11th episode of the first season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Joy Lusco from a story by David Simon and Ed Burns and was directed by Steve Shill. It originally aired on August 18, 2002.

"Back Burners" is the seventh episode of the third season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Joy Lusco from a story by David Simon & Joy Lusco and was directed by Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on November 7, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bunk Moreland</span> Character from The Wire

William "Bunk" Moreland is a fictional character in The Wire, played by Wendell Pierce. Bunk's character is based on a retired Baltimore detective named Oscar "The Bunk" Requer. He is portrayed as a generally competent, if profane and curmudgeonly detective. Like his best friend Jimmy McNulty, he also has problems related to infidelity and alcohol abuse, although he is more mindful than McNulty of the department's chain of command.

Jay Landsman (<i>The Wire</i>) Fictional character

Jay Landsman is a semi-fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire based upon the real life Baltimore City police officer Jay Landsman. The fictional character of Jay Landsman is portrayed by actor Delaney Williams.

The Baltimore Police Department plays an integral part in The Wire.

<i>The Wire</i> season 5 Season of television series

The fifth and final season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it was the show's shortest season with 10 episodes. The series introduced a fictionalized version of the Baltimore Sun newsroom, while continuing to follow the Baltimore police department and city hall, and the Stanfield crime syndicate.

"More with Less" is the first episode of the fifth 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 Joe Chappelle. It originally aired on January 6, 2008.

"Unconfirmed Reports" is the second episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by William F. Zorzi from a story by David Simon & William F. Zorzi and was directed by Ernest Dickerson. It originally aired on 13 January 2008.

"Not for Attribution" is the third episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Chris Collins from a story by David Simon & Chris Collins and was directed by Joy Kecken and Scott Kecken. It aired on January 20, 2008.

"Transitions" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Dan Attias, who won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for the episode. It first aired on January 27, 2008.

"React Quotes" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by David Mills from a story by David Simon & David Mills and was directed by Agnieszka Holland. It first aired on February 3, 2008.

"The Dickensian Aspect" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the HBO series The Wire. The episode was written by Ed Burns and was directed by Seith Mann. It aired on February 10, 2008.

"Clarifications" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Dennis Lehane from a story by David Simon and Dennis Lehane and was directed by Anthony Hemingway. It aired on February 24, 2008.

"Late Editions" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series The Wire, the penultimate episode of the series. The episode was written by George Pelecanos from a story by David Simon and George Pelecanos and was directed by Joe Chappelle. It aired on March 2, 2008.

"-30-" is the series finale of the HBO original series The Wire. It is the tenth episode of the fifth season, and the 60th episode overall. Written by series creator/executive producer David Simon (teleplay/story) and co-executive producer Ed Burns (story), and directed by Clark Johnson, who also directed the pilot episode and stars on the show, it originally aired on HBO on March 9, 2008. This episode is the longest-running episode of the series, with a runtime of 93 minutes. The episode's writers were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

References

  1. ↑ "Season 5 crew". HBO. 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  2. ↑ "HBO Schedule: THE WIRE 57: TOOK". HBO. 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.