Edward Norris

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. Stringer Bell sets up shop using a new sales strategy as he awaits the return of Avon. 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 dealers. Burrell is caught in a power play by Councilman Tommy Carcetti. Mayor Clarence Royce, facing re-election next year, puts Burrell on notice that crime stats must come down. The order from on high has put police commanders in the hot seat during the new Comstat meetings. Daniels, too, is confronted by the reach of City Hall, as his promotion to major may be derailed. A rash of murders cuts short Bunk's day at the ballpark. On the eve of his parole, Cutty Wise is offered a new start on the outside by Avon.

Omar continues his bold strikes on Barksdale stash houses, now heavily guarded. Under orders from Stringer Bell, Bodie faces a critical test against Marlo. As the wire on Proposition Joe continues to yield little, a restless McNulty launches his own reinvestigation of last year's prison suicide of D'Angelo Barksdale. On the street, bodies continue to drop, prompting Burrell and Rawls to jack up the heat on their district commanders. The street violence also presents Daniels with the difficult decision of whether to help end a drug war in the Eastern. Cheese loses more than a little on his bet at a bloody dogfight and later is hauled downtown for questioning as a murder suspect by Bunk and McNulty. A beleaguered Cutty attempts to get on track, seeking employment outside the drug world. Carver, Herc and the Western drug unit take to the street undercover, but a hand-to-hand drug buy goes sour, prompting district commander Major 'Bunny' Colvin to question his thirty years on the force.

Bodie's effort to improve sales ends disastrously, forcing Bell to rethink his strategy. Ziggy, duck in tow, pulls Johnny Fifty into a new caper that should have the Greeks paying off big. McNulty, undercover and outnumbered in the brothel, awaits 'rescue' by the detail. Daniels and Pearlman keep their composure as Valcheck fumes over the change of targets--and Burrell pulls the rug out beneath him. Meanwhile, the Greeks, feeling confident, get back to business.

In the Season Four premiere, four boys from West Baltimore--Michael, Namond, Randy and Dukie--play out their summer vacation in the streets. Having failed to capture a potentially valuable homing pigeon, the boys are stirred to action when Dukie is beaten up, and Randy concocts a retaliation plan against the rival gang. The action is slower at Bodie's corner, giving young Namond an excuse to take off early. Meanwhile, Marlo has solved the problem that baffled Stringer Bell: how to maintain discipline--read: murders--without getting police attention. At the detail's office, Freamon and Sydnor press Pearlman to issue City Hall subpoenas. With the mayoral race heading into its final weeks, Mayor Royce and his primary challenger, Tommy Carcetti, hit different campaign trails. Carcetti's deputy campaign manager, Norman Wilson, and his campaign guru, Theresa D'Agostino, try to keep their candidate focused. Prez preps for a new career in higher education and McNulty turns down a promotion.

Colvin feels the sting of Burrell and Rawls during a Comstat assessment of his district's felony numbers; a blown wiretap forces Daniels's detail to turn to a new target; Proposition Joe cautions Stringer Bell that the police have been tapping phones. Carcetti continues to curry favor in Mayor Royce's inner circle with a scheme for jump-starting a police-academy class for Burrell. Omar and crew get more than they bargained for during a stick-up of a Barksdale stash house; Colvin has a new crime-reduction plan. Already awash in police work, Bunk is dispatched on a mission impossible. McNulty probes deeper into D'Angelo Barksdale's prison suicide, while Marlo suggests Fruit get his slumping sales numbers up with a persuasive visit to Bodie's crew. Cutty struggles to stay on the straight and narrow, still hopeful as he tries to reconnect with his long-ago girlfriend, while a group of colleagues gather to pay tribute and provide a proper sendoff to a friend at an old-time Irish wake.