City Hall shuts down Hamsterdam

[D39MUSIC]

all they arrested were a bunch of kids and dope fiends.

and when they did arrest someone of significance like bodie he just claimed entrapment and walked free.

[jbuugi]

6:13, had school busses to arrest niggas in? damn,lol!

[Mustang424]

They made Yuri Boyka a cop. lol.

[roryphelan]

Shame on the politicians. Shame on the Media.

[jbahadur10]

Bubbles' line ("I'm just saying") at 8:45 in response to Colvin's assessment of Hammsterdam ("It was a good thing, huh?") exemplifies why this series is so great. A more trite writer would have had Bubbles answer "Yeah, too bad them politicians had to go mess things up."

But The Wire had such a great moral ambiguity about it... the show explored social problems without shoving any ideology or magic bullet solutions down the viewer's throat.

[JackyBarf]

@jbahadur10 great comment. shyeah man, the restraint the writers show, the trust they place in the viewer. There's nothing else like it ever been made.

[Mattraction513]

Who do yall think the top 3 people that deserved to get walked to the vacants by chris & snoop my 3 are namonds mom clay davis and rawls

[jointhearmy555]

@Mattraction513 marlo, valchek, and clay davis

[morgantown1]

@Mattraction513 Levy, Namond's mom, and.....Kenard?

[ruggeroization]

Major colvin was gay and he betrayed the people of baltimroer

[titanicmusic14]

@ruggeroization All he was trying to do was create the illusion that things were getting better and that it was becoming a better place. Kind of like what they are doing with our economy right now in DC and NYC.

[djcountry1985]

b-more my home city

[rawman18]

In the words of Senator Clay Davis " MAJOR CRIM.......opps , i mean CITY HALL SHUTS DOWN HAMSTERDAM , SHEEEEEEEEEEEET "

[WiseGuy5674]

Hampsterdamn was wrong...it would have kept growing and would have been an enabler to dealers and addicts...It would have grown through word of mouth to the point that it would have spilled over to other neighborhoods..out of control..It had to end.

[Antrizzle2009]

@WiseGuy5674 Perhaps, but in the meantime the crime rate would have been reduced enough for the police to get a handle on things.

[djcountry1985]

@WiseGuy5674 ur an idiot, im sorry but hampsterdam was a good idea. it got all dealers and addicts in one area instead of all over the city

[WiseGuy5674]

@djcountry1985 ..My comment..which I made 4 months ago..made sense you fucking moron. Climb off your daddy's cock, bitch.

[abighairywoman]

@WiseGuy5674 they could keepo them all contained in the same place UNDER CONTROL so this way they could give them clean needles, condoms, access to healthcare and help and rehab etc

[ixcuincle]

RIP Hamsterdam

[HOLYHERETIC1]

Collichio ratted about hamsterdam right?

Herc and Collichio were the worst scumbags in this whole show, worse than Marlo even

[illflip]

@HOLYHERETIC1 i agree,easily the most hated characters in the show. was pretty happy to see herc reduced to being levys bitch

[TBIGMIL]

so johnny dies of an overdose right? when did bugs find out that he died or did he already know??

[WiseGuy5674]

@TBIGMIL .."Bubs" never finds out.

[lildwayne21]

That Ervin Burrell was one sneaky ass muthafucka. The only thing he cares about is a photo-op

[chicagosfinest83]

poor bunny colvin he was the man

[PERFECTCOMMENT]

i love the wire its great isnt it?

[lildwayne21]

We need more shows on television like the Wire instead of the tired old crime drama's dealing with combating terrorism and bullshit. I'll take the hood shit over the terrorism crime drama's any day

[zZoiks]

watch Oz if you like the wire

[illflip]

@zZoiks i love OZ,but the wire is a much better show IMO

[zZoiks]

@illflip yeah obviously, but if you're looking for something just as watchable (the first 3 seasons anyway) Oz is the way forward

[illflip]

@zZoiks true that,season 4s not bad either

[LightningDevilPS3]

Lol at the man showing his ass.

[illouie]

Incredible writing..this is the craziest thing I've heard of. Legalized crack and heroine, wow...

[pizzawar]

Woooow check it, 5:43 a cop does a takedown of a blonde woman. 5:47 he punches her in the face. Something tells me she isn't the re-up.

[WildWestSamurai]

lol Kinda ironic they used Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" for the music. Same music was used during the helicopters scene in Apocalypse Now.

[elweffa]

The best scene of season 3 bar none!

[sureseg]

Can they really arrest them? Isn't like entrapment of something? Especially if they think that they're getting a free pass

[TheMickMiester]

kind of but Entrapment is forcing them to sell. The dealers werent forced to deal but were ALLOWED to deal there.

[Shack83]

@TheMickMiester It IS entrapment. The cops gave the dealers and crew chiefs permission to sling in the free zones. Bodie Broadus was the only one smart enough to claim entrapment which is why he got let loose at the end of this season.

[jerrel8]

Hasterdam wuz a good idea tha crime rate wuz low

[djcountry1985]

@jerrel8 maybe america should legalize all drugs and have free zones

[JJTheMastah]

everyone's freakin out, but they don't realize shit like this happens behind closed doors when it's illegal, but more people get killed by guns. if druggies want to be druggies, open up some places like this and let them be secluded. would reduce the body count of people killed by violence.

[Lgilsig]

Reminds me of 11th/Lake, or Crenshaw and 64...

[Damu9000]

at 3:22 that looked like Namond for a sec

[astewart2005]

I never understood how Hamsterdam could work. Wouldn't the dealers fight over turf there also?

[MALCB15]

its like a free market system, dealers fight over spots where dope fiends travel most, if theyre all in hamsterdam then everybody is making money and on paper no violence

[chunga777]

MALCB15 is totally right.

Why fight if law and order is provided by the police?

And even better, as MALCB15 said, why waste time and energy fighting when you can put effort into making yourself as much money as possible?

[chunga777]

Ask yourself: Why don't Anheuser-Busch, Tecate and Corona fight over turf?

Because their product is legal. Remember the alcohol prohibition era in the US. Previous the outlawing of liquor brewing companies did not have turf wars or kill each others' employees.

If something is illegal a "black" market gets created. Since it is now outside the system, regular law enforcement and courts are now inaccessible to the producers of the illegal product, which leaves them no other choice but violence.

[aharris82]

They should show The Wire in schools about the dangers of the game and using drugs

[MALCB15]

specifically season 4 and focus on dookie's life, that shit really shows wat its like

[shinytoycar]

sucked that johnny died--could never kick the habit

[MrE985]

his prob was he didnt know how 2 come down off it and take a break, steady coppin and shooting.

[cs00024]

"keep slammin shit like that you gone fall out one day. im tryin to school you boy, but u just dont wanna know"

[puklop]

"im tryin to school you" Bubbles says the same thing to the kid trying to help him. Bubbles and Johnny are both contrasting examples of what a life of drug abuse can lead to.

[lildwayne21]

The nigga in that hat and jacket looks like a mini version of Silkk The Shocker. Great line too. He delivered his lines with a lot of swag and cockiness. Great acting

[pizzawar]

It's interesting, that guy telling Johnny words that could have come from Bubbles (wait -- isn't there an earlier season parallel where Bubs warns him with similar language?). Johnny looks out to see Bubs selling his shirts, and then turns back in to the room he dies in. Haunting scene.