Jimmy McNulty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| James McNulty | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | "The Target" (episode 1.01) |
| Last appearance | "–30–" (episode 5.10) |
| Cause/reason | End of series |
| Created by | David Simon |
| Portrayed by | Dominic West |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Jimmy, McNutty |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 30s |
| Occupation | Major Crimes Detective |
| Title | Detective |
| Spouse(s) | Elena McNulty (ex-wife), Beadie Russell (girlfriend) |
| Children | Sean McNulty, Michael McNulty |
Detective James "Jimmy" McNulty is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by British actor Dominic West. McNulty is an Irish American detective in the Baltimore Police Department. While he has proven to be a canny and tenacious detective, he is disliked by several of his superiors because of his disdain for authority and tendency to circumvent the chain of command to set up investigations. When off the job, he has frequent problems involving alimony, alcoholism, child support, relationships, and money. McNulty's negative qualities can be best described by an FBI description of a serial killer who he voices during Season 5's fabricated homeless killing spree. McNulty nevertheless manages to play the role as one of the more competent officers in several of the largest drug-related arrests that take place within Baltimore.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
McNulty is presumed to be a Baltimore native whose father worked as a docksman. He joined the department after a year of college at Loyola College in Maryland in Baltimore as a means of supporting his pregnant girlfriend Elena, whom he later married. His first few years on the force proved him to be a very effective patrolman in the western district under the command of Major Colvin. After assisting Detective Ray Cole in solving a homicide (Cole had arrested the wrong man), he was promoted to detective and assigned to the homicide unit, where he was partnered with Bunk Moreland.
[edit] Season one
Prior to the beginning of the series, McNulty began to notice that Avon Barksdale was building his territory in the drug trade, and had successfully beaten several murder prosecutions. McNulty becomes responsible for the formation of the Barksdale detail following the trial of D'Angelo Barksdale, who is found not guilty after a witness changes her story in court. In the Judge's chambers, McNulty is frank about his observations and the lack of investigation so far, prompting Judge Phelan to bring it up to Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell. Major Rawls is furious with him for going around the chain of command. Needing a report to show the murders that the Barksdale Organization supposedly beat, Rawls keeps McNulty past his shift to type a report for the Deputy with each case bulleted in the report, as "The deputy loves dots." McNulty tells Bunk that he hopes that this investigation will lead to a case that means something to him. Landsman asks McNulty what assignment he would find least desirable, and McNulty says that he finds the diesel fumes in the Marine Unit intolerable.
Due to McNulty, a case unit initially consisting of Narcotics Lieutenant Cedric Daniels and his squad of Kima Greggs, Ellis Carver, and "Herc" Hauk is formed. Deputy Burrell then urges the majors and shift lieutenants to send additional detectives to set up an investigative detail of the Barksdale Organization. As Burrell had given the department the idea that the case was unwanted, most of the additional manpower were rejected by their commanders and dumped onto Daniels as a message to make a quick case not focusing on quality police work. From Homicide, Rawls dumps McNulty and Detective Santangelo into Daniels' case squad, as both detectives have proved somewhat undesirable in that unit. Daniels and McNulty argue about how to handle the case at their first meeting; McNulty, after seeing an FBI drug sting, suggests surveillance and wiretaps, while Burrell has ordered Daniels to provide a fast case with buy busts, to appease Phelan. Soon after the investigation begins, McNulty learns that Daniels had been investigated for having questionable liquid assets from his friend in the FBI, Special Agent Fitzhugh. McNulty's relationship with Daniels continues to be complicated by their mutual distrust.
The detail is assigned assistant state's attorney Rhonda Pearlman as a prosecutor. McNulty is having a casual relationship with Pearlman at the time. McNulty is officially separated from his wife, who limits his contact with his two sons, Sean and Michael. One afternoon while they are in his custody, he spots Stringer Bell in public, and sends his sons to tail him and get his license plate number. When Elena finds out, she tries to have an emergency order placed against him to stop him from seeing his sons at all. She is also angry that he continues to see Pearlman casually.
Working on the Barksdale detail, McNulty becomes friends with Lester Freamon, who is defiant like McNulty and has been reassigned to a dead-end job because of it. Freamon often tries to temper McNulty's aggressive attitude towards Daniels. Frustrated by the fact that Barksdale's dealers don't use cell phones, they come up with the notion of cloning the dealers' pagers instead. They also work together on Daniels' conscience, convincing him to allow them to do better police work and look deeper.
With the help of Kima Greggs, McNulty tracks down the elusive Omar Little, gaining his respect and cooperation. Omar agrees to testify against "Bird" Hilton. His assistance also leads to McNulty inadvertently solving a case for Santeangelo, who in turn reveals that he has been acting as a mole for Rawls, and that Rawls will fire McNulty if he can find any way to justify it. Kima introduces McNulty to her CI Bubbles. When she is shot in a buy-bust sting operation gone wrong, McNulty takes it particularly hard, though everybody (even Rawls) assures him it's not his fault. McNulty has a frank discussion with Daniels in which he admits that the Barksdale case is really just a chance for him to show how clever he is and how messed up the department is. Daniels tells him that everyone has known this all along but that the case has taken on meaning for those involved.
The detail succeeds in arresting Wee-Bey Brice for shooting Kima, "Bird" Hilton for murdering a states' witness, and both D'Angelo and Avon Barksdale. McNulty is almost able to convince D'Angelo to testify against Avon but, ultimately, D'Angelo takes a twenty-year sentence instead. When the Barksdale investigation closes, Rawls reassigns McNulty to the marine unit, based on information that Landsman gave him.
[edit] Season two
McNulty is bored at his new job in the Marine Unit, where he is partnered with Claude Diggins. While on harbor patrol, he spots the body of a dead girl in the water. When Rawls argues the case does not lie in his jurisdiction, McNulty got some revenge, spending three hours poring over wind and tide charts to prove that it was. When Beadie Russell finds thirteen dead bodies in a shipping container on the Baltimore docks, McNulty again intervenes and, with the help of the city medical examiner, Doc Frazier, shows that they too lay within Rawls' jurisdiction. The case is given to Bunk and Freamon, who thus grow quite angry with McNulty.
To make amends, McNulty promises to discover the identity of the murdered girl he found floating. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to do so. Bunk Moreland is also after him to find Omar, who is needed to testify against Bird. McNulty coerces Bubbles into looking for the elusive stick-up man, and Omar testifies successfully.
McNulty signs an agreement that he will pay alimony, thinking it will be unnecessary because he believes he can still reconcile his marriage. He decides to give up alcohol and detective work, two of the main reasons for his failed marriage. He even breaks it off entirely with Pearlman. When Elena confirms the marriage is over, he grew despondent, and began drinking more heavily than ever.
When Daniels' unit is recreated to investigate Frank Sobotka, a vengeful Rawls refuses to allow Daniels to have McNulty. McNulty seems to accept this with good grace, but continues to try to help the detail in unofficial ways. Daniels is able to persuade Rawls to let McNulty return to the unit by taking on the murders of the fourteen girls. Appropriately, McNulty's first assignment is to go undercover as a john visiting a local whorehouse, a task he enjoys greatly, much to the amusement of his colleagues. He also flirts with Beadie Russell, who has been assigned to Daniels' detail, though he seems to shy away from a relationship.
While on surveillance, McNulty watches the Greek's subordinate Vondas send a text message. He reasons that the time and location could be used to retrieve it from the phone company's databases; it is from this message that the detail learn that the Greek had shut down his operations.
After McNulty learns from Bubbles that Stringer Bell and Proposition Joe are sharing territory, he begins investigating them on his own time, convinced that he can gather enough evidence to prompt Daniels to focus MCU's attention on Bell once again.
[edit] Season three
McNulty manages to get back his detective position when the Major Case Unit was formed in season three, but is disappointed that their target is not Stringer Bell. He begins looking into the Barksdales anyway, finding out about D'Angelo's alleged suicide and Avon's early release. Investigating D'Angelo's death, he quickly realizes it was no suicide, though he is not able to prove anybody's culpability.
McNulty reconnects with his old commanding officer from the beginning of his career, Major Colvin to set up the Barksdale organization as the Major Crimes Unit's primary target. McNulty finds himself going around the chain of command again to set up an investigation upon Barksdale as Daniels refuses to take show an interest in the quality of unit's assigned case targets blaming his rank in the department for his lack of case target interests. Angered by McNulty's back burning attitude, Daniels tells McNulty "When the cuffs go on Stringer, you need to find a new home, you're done in this unit!". Even Freamon thinks McNulty should be more loyal to Daniels.
McNulty begins a relationship with political consultant Theresa D'Agostino, but he grows to realize that she has little interest in him in any way other than physical. He eventually grows dissatisfied with this, and begins to feel less fulfilled. Largely due to Freamon's work, the Unit is able to implicate Stringer Bell, but he is murdered before McNulty is able to arrest him. After Avon is arrested, Daniels reevaluates his decision to get rid of McNulty, but McNulty has come to realize that he has no life outside of his work. He gets a transfer to patrol in the western district, which he remembers as the happiest time of his life, and begins a relationship with Beadie Russell.[1]
[edit] Season four
McNulty's role was drastically scaled down in the fourth season. The character moved in with Russell and her two children, and is enjoying his life as a patrolman in the Western district alongside Sergeant Ellis Carver. His beat includes the corner Bodie Broadus is working on behalf of Marlo Stanfield. McNulty is requested by both Major Daniels and Administrative Lieutenant Mello to do investigative work in the district but he declines. Mello remains disappointed while Daniels realizes that McNulty has improved his behavior in working as a patrolman. When the other officers are involved in making arrests for statistical purposes, he focuses on quality arrests. This is exemplified by the arrest of two burglars who had been stealing from churches. In the process he mentors Officer Baker, a younger patrol officer in the Western, whom he and Bunk Moreland end up referring to as "good police." He also cuts down significantly on his drinking, only having one or two now and again, and sometimes resolving to stay sober. Bunk and Freamon are amazed at how much Jimmy has changed, and Elena expresses regret for having left him, saying "if I would have known you'd grow up to be a grown-up." McNulty soon begins to miss the importance of the Major Case Squad, and quietly begins getting closer to Bodie, hoping to turn him into an informant against Marlo. After "Monk" Metcalf sees Bodie with McNulty, Bodie is killed. McNulty feels guilty, and rejoins the Major Case Unit, much to the delight of Freamon and Daniels.
[edit] Season five
Season Five opens with McNulty back to his old habits after a frustrating year-long investigation into the vacant murders that has failed to yield any results. When the Major Crimes Unit is closed down McNulty is despondent, telling himself that he was talked into rejoining the unit by Command's promises of departmental reform. McNulty is transferred back to Homicide and his frustration manifests itself in heavy drinking and womanizing despite his relationship with Russell.[2][3]
McNulty faces further frustration in the Homicide Unit as he is assigned an accidental death and cannot get a working vehicle to get to the crime scene. When he waits at the morgue he finds Baltimore County homicide detectives Nancy Porter and Kevin Infante arguing with a new medical examiner. Porter later explains to McNulty that they were assigned an accidental death but that the body was trapped behind a toilet and the paramedics had to grab the decedent by the neck to move him. The medical examiner has noticed signs of strangulation and is going to rule the death a homicide. McNulty is amazed that post mortem strangulation is indistinguishable from strangulation as cause of death. McNulty talks about the lack of interest in the vacant murders with his colleagues Bunk Moreland and Lester Freamon and they tell him he must be smart enough to devise a plan to make the city care. Freamon and McNulty approach the FBI through McNulty's friend Special Agent "Fitz" Fitzhugh. Fitz agrees to take the case to his superiors but later reports that he has had no success. McNulty is drinking heavily on the job when he is assigned another probable overdose case with Bunk. McNulty dismisses the first officer on scene and goes to his car for another drink. When he returns he begins to disrupt the crime scene to make it seem that a struggle has taken place. Bunk is outraged but McNulty continues and begins to choke the decedent. Bunk goes to leave and McNulty tells him that there is a serial killer in Baltimore. Bunk leaves, telling McNulty that he wants no part of his actions. McNulty repositions the body in a head down position to encourage the appearance of the bruises that indicate strangulation.[4][5]
McNulty spends the rest of the night looking for old cases to link to his fake strangulation in order to create the impression of a serial killer. He finds an old strangulation of a homeless man investigated by the late detective Ray Cole. McNulty doctors the case file to create connections to his own murder. McNulty also finds a strangulation of a homeless man investigated by Frank Barlow and notices a red ribbon tied around the victim's wrists. McNulty inserts mention of a red ribbon into the Cole case file and visits the morgue to tie a ribbon around his own decedent's wrist before the autopsy. McNulty's decedent is ruled as death by strangulation by medical examiner Diane Lerner. After the "serial murders" are ignored by Landsman, McNulty goes to Alma Gutierrez of The Baltimore Sun to generate publicity for the murders. His plans fail, however, when the story is relegated to a small column in the middle of the paper instead of appearing on the front page. Bunk repeatedly tries, without success, to warn McNulty that his path will lead only to self-destruction; Lester, however, gives McNulty's project his approval and suggests that it needs sensationalism to succeed. McNulty continues to drink heavily and cheats on his domestic partner Beadie Russell.[6][7]
McNulty and Freamon collaborate on enhancing the appeal of their serial killer story. McNulty researches where the majority of dead homeless men are found and notices a concentration in the Southern District at night time. Freamon puts McNulty in touch with his old patrol partner Oscar Requer who agrees to notify them of any dead homeless men found in the district with no questions asked. Freamon also devises a plan to show maturation in their serial killers pattern and acquires a set of dentures to use to create bite marks on the victim.
McNulty and Freamon canvass an area where the homeless gather at night. McNulty is dubious of the need for actual canvassing on their false case. Freamon believes that it is still worth doing the work even on their false case as it will make their office reports seem true and verifiable and protect them from the potential consequences of their plan. McNulty complains that he was working on the case in the squad room and that Landsman barely noticed but Freamon reminds him that if their plan works the case will attract more interest and sloppiness could be their downfall. McNulty gets a call from Requer but when he attends the scene he realizes the body has decomposed too much.
McNulty returns home and faces a confrontation from his domestic partner Russell. She criticizes his behavior and he tries to claim it is all because of the case he is working. Russell points out his increased alcohol intake and McNulty downplays his drinking. She reminds him of the strength of their relationship and tells him that she used to not believe people when they warned her about his self destructive behavior. McNulty's phone rings and he readies himself to leave. He tells Russell he is chasing a serial killer and she tells him he is chasing more than that - referencing his philandering. She warns him not to return if he doesn't want to be there.
McNulty attends a further death with Freamon on Requer's tip. McNulty fakes a homicide as before and this time mutilates the decedent to show bite marks and defensive wounds. He asks Freamon to keep his confidence.[8]
When investigating the "homeless killer", McNulty and fellow detective Greggs drive down to Quantico, Virginia when given assistance by the FBI. McNulty realizes its a waste of time because he and Freamon have been providing the police department with false information on the killer. Furthermore McNulty has been voicing the killer all along giving the FBI the only means of tracking it. After doing the voice analysis, the FBI describes the homeless killer to McNulty and Greggs yielding a near pinpoint description of McNulty.
"The suspect is most likely a white male in his late twenties to late thirties, who is not a college graduate, but feels superior to those with advanced education, and is likely employed in a bureaucratic entity, possibly civil or public service. He has a problem with authority and a deep-seated resentment for those that have impeded his progress professionally. The sexual nature of the killings is thought to be a secondary motivation and the lack of DNA or saliva in the bite marks suggests possible postmortem staging. He may be struggling with lasting relationships and potentially a high functioning alcoholic with alcohol being used as a trigger in the crimes. The suspect’s apparent resentment of the homeless may indicate a previous personal relationship with a homeless person or the targeting may simply be an opportunity for the killer to assert his superiority and intellectual prowess."
With all of the worst aspects of himself spelled out, McNulty is visually surprised during the description. As he has been thoroughly defined in the room of other law enforcement agents he realizes that the truth about the fabricated homeless killer will soon be figured out. McNulty comes clean to Greggs who later informs Deputy Commissioner for Operations Cedric Danielsof McNulty's actions. Angered to learn about the serial killer being made up, Daniels and Pearlman meet with Acting Commissioner Bill Rawls, State's Attorney Rupert Bond, and the Mayor's office who are equally upset. Daniels and Rawls confront McNulty regarding the truth of the "killer", informing him that this will be his last CID case ever.
He starts by solving a new crime in the 'serial killer case'. A homeless man he had met on his previous canvas had apparently gotten the idea to settle old scores using the modus operandi of McNulty's homeless menace. Quickly piecing together the clues, McNulty brings this, his final criminal, to justice. After attending a wake (of sorts) in his and Lester's honor (as they have been forced to retire due to their actions with the 'serial killer case'), McNulty leaves the bar and his friends, suggesting an attempt to reconcile with Russell. The show closes with a montage of McNulty looking at the city of Baltimore, revealing some of the fates of other characters on the show. Fittingly, the show ends as it began, on this seminal character clearly deeply involved in the troubles of his city.
[edit] Critical response and analysis
The character has been described as "irresistibly charming, a classic anti-hero; a modern-day Rockford."[9] Entertainment Weekly said that the character was exemplary of the funky feel of the show citing his naturalistic dialogue, soulful voice and easy rapport with his African-American work partners.[10] The role of McNulty's character has been described as defying genre conventions - although his actions drive several plot points he is not exactly the central character you might expect from the shows opening or promotional material.[11] Flak Magazine also picked McNulty as a central character - they commented on the uncommon experience of having the main character fit to a standard police character archetype ("He has poor impulse control. He's personally fearless and outspoken, and he bangs babes like a hunchback rings bells.") but also exposing the archetype as self destructive and emotionally immature.[12] Salon described McNulty as "The heart, soul and oft-impaired nervous system of "The Wire"", again selecting him as a central character. Salon also chose McNulty's pride as his main character trait - they described this aspect of his personality as being the thing which gives him his success as an investigator and his failure in most other aspects of his life.[13] EW picked McNulty as offering one of the shows most wicked ironies, he is one of the characters you would expect to be on the side of law and order as a police detective but they describe him as a "boozing cop who pisses on authority and order."[14]
[edit] Origins
David Simon, the character's creator, has described his goal of presenting McNulty as ambiguous in his motivations. Based on his experiences with real detectives, he feels that most crime dramas present their police characters with the inherent falsehood that they care deeply about the victims in the cases they are investigating. Simon states that in his experience a good detective is usually motivated by the game of solving the crime - he sees the crime as an "insult to his intellectual vanity" and this gives him motivation to solve it.[15]
The character was originally named Jimmy McArdle but executive producer Robert F. Colesberry suggested renaming him to Jimmy McNulty (after his maternal grandmother) because no-one liked the name. Dominic West's original audition tape for the part was recorded with him as the sole actor leaving spaces for the lines that would be spoken back to him. The producers were amused by the tape and agreed that they had to give him an audition.[16]
[edit] Trivia
- In the second season McNulty fakes a British accent to conceal his identity and gain him entry into a brothel that is being investigated. The irony is that, despite the comedically overblown accent, Dominic West is in fact from England.
A widely popular drink, "The McNulty," is served throughout the nation. It is a shot of Jameson served alongside a Heineken and was inspired by Dominic West's character on The Wire. The name of this drink was coined by Patrick McKegney of New York, New York -- an all-around swell guy.
[edit] References
- ^ Org Chart - The Law. HBO (2004). Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
- ^ "More with Less". Joe Chappelle, Writ. David Simon (story and teleplay), Ed Burns (story). The Wire. HBO. 2008-01-06. No. 1, season 5.
- ^ The Wire episode guide - episode 51 More with Less. HBO (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Unconfirmed Reports". Ernest Dickerson, Writ. William F. Zorzi (story and teleplay), David Simon (story). The Wire. HBO. 2008-01-13. No. 2, season 5.
- ^ The Wire episode guide - episode 52 Uncomfirmed Reports. HBO (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Not for Attribution". Joy Kecken & Scott Kecken, Writ. Chris Collins (story and teleplay), David Simon (story). The Wire. HBO. 2008-01-20. No. 3, season 5.
- ^ The Wire episode guide - episode 53 Not for Attribution. HBO (2008). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Transitions". Dan Attias, Writ. Ed Burns (story and teleplay), David Simon (story). The Wire. HBO. 2008-01-27. No. 4, season 5.
- ^ Jim Shelley (2005). Call The Cops. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Wire Power. Entertainment Weekly (2002). Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ Jon Garelick (2004). "A man must have a code" - listening in on The Wire.. Boston Phoenix. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ James Norton (2005). The Wire vs. The Sopranos. Flak magazine. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Dan Kois (2004). Everything you were afraid to ask about "The Wire". Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Gillian Flinn (2004). TV 2004 The 10 Best. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-07-12.
- ^ Ian Rothkerch (2002). "What drugs have not destroyed, the war on them has". Salon.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-22.
- ^ Alvarez, Rafael (2004). The Wire: Truth Be Told. New York: Pocket Books.
