The Pager (30 Jun. 2002)

When Avon becomes more and more suspicious, he orders Wee-Bey to change phone lines in his apartment. He also promotes Stinkum to manage a new territory and he gets word that one of Omar's ... See full summary »

Director:

Clark Johnson

Writers:

David Simon (creator), Ed Burns (teleplay),

Stars:

Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dominic West	...	Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty
John Doman	...	Maj. William A. Rawls (credit only)
Idris Elba	...	Russell 'Stringer' Bell
Frankie Faison	...	Dep. Comm. for Operations Ervin H. Burrell (credit only) (as Frankie R. Faison)
Lawrence Gilliard Jr.	...	D'Angelo Barksdale (as Larry Gilliard Jr.)
Wood Harris	...	Avon Barksdale
Deirdre Lovejoy	...	Asst. State's Atty. Rhonda Pearlman
Wendell Pierce	...	Det. William 'Bunk' Moreland
Lance Reddick	...	Lt. Cedric Daniels
Andre Royo	...	Reginald 'Bubbles' Cousins
Sonja Sohn	...	Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs
Peter Gerety	...	Judge Daniel Phelan
Seth Gilliam	...	Det. Ellis Carver
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Det. Thomas 'Herc' Hauk
Clarke Peters	...	Det. Lester Freamon

Storyline

When Avon becomes more and more suspicious, he orders Wee-Bey to change phone lines in his apartment. He also promotes Stinkum to manage a new territory and he gets word that one of Omar's crewmembers has been "got". Stringer warns D'Angelo that a snitch may be in his camp and D'Angelo should tighten up his crew by withholding their pay. While talking with Orlando, D'Angelo learns of Stinkum's promotion.

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Plot Keywords:

wiretapping

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Release Date:

30 June 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode marks the first appearance of Marquis 'Bird' Hilton, played by Fredro Starr.

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Quotes

Det. James 'Jimmy' McNulty: [after his ex-wife hangs up on him] You know something? My ex-wife, the way she acts sometimes, the way she deals with shit... You would think a less enlightened man than myself, a cruder man than myself, a man less sensitized to the qualities and charms and value of women- a man like that, not me, but a man like that, he just might call her a 'cunt.'
Det. Shakima 'Kima' Greggs: You just called the mother of your children a cunt.

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Connections

References Hawaii Five-O (1968)

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Soundtracks

"Hey Pretty"
(uncredited)
Written by Poe, Kenneth Burgomaster and Matthew Wilder
Performed by Poe
Courtesy of Atlantic Records

User Reviews

Paranoia and retribution

Things get moving as the first season of The Wire gets to the practical part of the drug-fighting business, not to mention some violent reactions on the dope kingpins' part. It's slow-burning as usual, but it's never dull.

The main issue at the center of the episode is Avon's growing paranoia, which leads to Stringer telling D'Angelo to cut payments for the week in order to spot possible snitches. Also, the search for Omar and his boy continues without mercy. Meanwhile, Judge Phelan gives Daniels' detail the green light for the cloned beeper operation, and McNulty and Greggs have a meeting with Omar to discuss their common problem: Barksdale. Caught in the middle is the detail's regular informant, Bubbles, who has to deal with the hospitalization of his partner Johnny.

In keeping with the tradition of previous episodes, it's the little moments that matter. In this case, standout bits include every scene with Omar, the operation being put in action, Prez's brief moment in the spotlight and the tragic epilogue, which sets the tone for some characters' development over the course of the next eight episodes. Most revealing, though, is a scene where McNulty talks about his ex-wife with Greggs and says "a lesser man would just call her a c*nt". It's a rough, uncompromising line, just like the series. No sanitized drama here: this show looks, sounds and feels real.