Al Brown

The early-morning 'field interviews' by Herc, Carver and Prez result in a minor riot, a boy losing an eye and some bad publicity for the department. On the other side of the law, D'Angelo teaches Wallace and Bodie how to play the game (chess) and later impresses Bell with his 'take' from the low-rises.

In the Season Two premiere, Det. Jimmy McNulty--exiled to police-boat duty--finds the body of a woman floating in the Baltimore harbor. Bodie drives to Philly to make a connection for the Barksdale crew and Stringer Bell takes the train to New York to feel out the crew's reticent suppliers.

Major Valchek gets back at Sobotka for the church gift fiasco and a feud begins, and Valchek ups the ante by asking Deputy Commissioner Burrell for a detail to go after Sobotka. Avon Barksdale continues to run his empire from a prison cell--counseling his nephew D'Angelo and going after a guard who is harassing the organization's convicted hit-man, Wee-Bey. On the waterfront, port police officer Beatrice Russell gets stuck investigating the contraband found in The Greek's container. McNulty lends a hand with the investigation, albeit for vindictive reasons. Ultimately, Detectives Bunk Moreland and Lester Freamon are assigned to help Russell investigate the deaths.

Bunk and Freamon chase their crime scene, a container ship, to Philly, where none of the crew finds it useful to speak English. Lt. Cedric Daniels--disgusted with his exile to the evidence control unit--lets it be known he's going to leave the department. On orders from Barksdale, Bell finds a way to set up the correctional officer, Tilghman, who's been harassing Wee-Bey. McNulty pursues the identity of the Jane Doe found floating in the harbor. A pair of young longshoremen--Frank Sobotka's son Ziggy and his nephew Nick--heist a container of digital cameras and sell them to men working for The Greek. After an ominous visit from his uncle, Avon Barksdale, D'Angelo agrees to stop getting high in prison, a wise move in more ways than one.

In the Season Three premiere, a wave of urban reform brings down the notorious Franklin Terrace public housing towers, forcing the Barksdale drug crew to find a new home on the streets of West Baltimore. Stringer Bell sets up shop using a new sales strategy for Bodie, Poot, Puddin and the rest of the gang, as he awaits the return of Avon from prison. McNulty, Greggs and the Detail look to make a case against Stringer with a wiretap on a drug ring run by his ally, Proposition Joe. Assigned to the Western District drug unit, Carver and Herc notch up the pressure on street dealers. Burrell is caught in a power play by First District Councilman Tommy Carcetti, an ambitious young man with roots deep in the ethnic politics of Baltimore. Mayor Clarence Royce, facing re-election next year, puts Burrell on notice that crime stats, and murders in particular, must come down, whatever it takes. The order from on high has put police commanders in the hot seat during the new Comstat meetings, where they are held up to aggressive criticism by Rawls and others before their peers. Daniels, too, is confronted by the reach of City Hall, as his promotion to major appears to be derailed because of his estranged wife's political ambitions. A rash of murders cuts short Bunk's day at the ballpark, as Bubbles and Johnny lose big in their latest caper for cash. On the eve of his parole, Cutty Wise is offered a new start on the outside by Avon, but after being released, he finds the drug life has changed.