The Shield

[theruiner]

I don't know how much discussion this will generate since the show's been off the air for a few years, but I think it needs a thread. 'Cause it's awesome. Seriously. I'm still kind of amazed at the level that this show reached, especially in season five. There are very few shows as powerful, and I don't think I've ever seen a show as suspenseful. It really was on a whole other level.

[PQHooligan]

I don't know how much discussion this will generate since the show's been off the air for a few years, but I think it needs a thread. 'Cause it's awesome. Seriously. I'm still kind of amazed at the level that this show reached, especially in season five. There are very few shows as powerful, and I don't think I've ever seen a show as suspenseful. It really was on a whole other level.

agreed! I have the entire series on DVD and it will always be an all-time favorite!

[scotty79]

I lost track with this after the 3rd season when they started changing the schedules for it, ended up downloading it all and watched again from the start, awesome show, looking forward to the rampart(?) movie based on the same 'strike team' story

[theruiner]

***Spoilers***

Ah, nostalgia. Remember this scene? (http://tinyurl.com/7kr5l8o) So awesome.

There aren't enough good clips of this show on Youtube. It's been a few years, and I've been itching to watch the series again.

[novacide]

"I thought this guy was eating Dutch for lunch!"

Great scene. Great show.

[Deepvoid]

I happened to watch this show at the same time as The Wire so I ended up labeling this show as the cop show that's "not as good as The Wire". It really isn't fair because it was by all means, a fantastic series.

It's been a while since we've had a good police drama.

[Space Suicide]

Apologies for bumping this thread 4+ years after the last reply, but...

After years of promising myself I'd check this show out with no distractions, I'm at the midway point of the second season, and hot damn if this shit isn't the most compelling television I've seen since Breaking Bad. I try not to binge-watch shows and usually limit myself to one episode a week of any given series I'm watching, but I can't control myself with this one. Even SOA, which I'm also about midway through the second season of, isn't holding a torch to this.

Vic Mackey is one fucked up anti-hero. There's like zero Walter White build-up to his moral freefall or anything, he's just a pitbull right out of the gate. I saw someone earlier in this thread mentioning that it gets super-great by Season Five? I seriously can't wait..

I own the entire series on DVD. I stopped watching and got sidetracked near the end of season 4 (the one with Glenn Close as the Captain of the Precinct) last year. I need to continue watching it sometime but there's just so much shit going on and things to watch.

[Space Suicide]

I also really love Shane on this show. Walton Goggins is a terrific actor in any capacity, but he's ruthless on this shit and I'm only about 20 episodes in..

He's a great actor. His best known (and for obviously talented reasons) role as Boyd Crowder on Justified is even more amazing.

[onthewall2983]

Sort of old news but work is being done for a Blu-ray release of the entire show to come out next year, which will mark 15 years since the first season.

Of everything that's come along since the boom of cable dramas, this is in among at least the very top 3 for me.

[Archive_Reports]

The Shield was seriously underrated. One of my favorite shows ever and Anthony Anderson absolutely kills it.

[Archive_Reports]

Just started Season 3 this evening. The first episode and you can already tell that everything is simmering and getting ready to blow

That part when Vic is asking Aceveda for the $100,000 so he can set up the gun buy sting and Aceveda says to him "File the requisite paperwork and wait the two days for the cash. Or...just stop by an ATM" had me like 'ohhhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiiit...' Fucking brilliant.

For anyone who has seen this series, on a scale of 1 - 10 (with 10 being the highest), how insane is this season going to get? :eek:

The overall tension of The Shield ramps up through the entire series. If memory serves me correctly, the end of season three is where things start to just go nuts.

[theruiner]

Just finished episodes three and four of Season Three. Ho...ly...shit. I did not see that coming at all :eek:You're saying holy shit NOW? Just wait 'till you get to season 5...

Also, regarding your question about season 3 on a scale of 1-10, I would say it was a 6. I don't think the fireworks REALLY started until season 4.

[Space Suicide]

Aceveda's oral rape scene was always kinda...offputting. No clue why that made him a sexual deviant afterwards. Guess it excited him post traumatically?

[bruised]

This is one of the best shows ever made, top 5 without question. IMO of course... I really need to watch it again now that I have the box set.

[Archive_Reports]

Season 5 gets beyond tense and I'm not ashamed to admit I teared up more than once.

[theruiner]

I maintain that season 5 is the best season of dramatic television I have ever seen from any show. It is phenomenal.

[Prettybrokenspiral]

I'm mid-way through Season 5 now and Claudette just took a header down the stairs of the Barn.

I've never been a big Forest Whitaker fan, but he's been phenomenal this season. That part when he flips out in his motel room is the perfect ending to that episode.

You guys didn't tell me Laura Herring had a major role in this season. She's as smoking hot as ever, even as a razor-sharp lawyer.

I'm aware that someone is going to die by the end of this season. Can't tell if it's going to be Shane, Lem or Claudette. I'm hoping it's a surprise I don't see coming.

[kdrcraig]

You won't see it coming until right before it happens. It's fucked

[Space Suicide]

I'm aware that someone is going to die by the end of this season. Can't tell if it's going to be Shane, Lem or Claudette. I'm hoping it's a surprise I don't see coming.

Le sigh, you're right. :(

[Tumnayar]

My all-time favorite show, I miss it!

[theruiner]

Jesus...just watched the episode where Cavanaugh finally arrests Lem formally. Holy shit, this is getting intense! So much fucking treacherous shit going on amongst these people. Right after Lem got done saving his ass from that grenade, too. What a dick move on Cavanaugh's part. And what the fuck is going on with his crazy ex-wife?!

I've only got three episodes left in Season 5. Probably watch the next two later this evening and save the finale for tomorrow :eek:
Season 5 also ends on the best cliffhanger EVER. The last line of the season will haunt you.

Actually, the whole final episode will haunt you. My brother had a friend who told him, "Hey, thanks a lot for getting me into this damn show. I watched that last episode (of season 5) on my birthday and it ruined my whole day." ha ha

Don't forget there's a mini episode to watch after you finish 5 (should be in the extras menu on that same disc) that bridges the gap between seasons 5 and 6.

I can't wait to read your reaction after you watch the season finale. You're going to lose your shit.

[theruiner]

Have some tissues ready. Good luck.

[howdidislipinto]

Didn't even know there was a Shield thread here, and so exciting to read about someone going through it for the first time. Holy shit was this series an intense, roller coaster of a journey, and at times it felt like I was going through it all alone -- not many people I knew watched, and it was before all our social networks.

What a perfect show.

[theruiner]

Just finished Season 6

Goddamn, this show was amazing. It's easy to see why @theruiner (http://www.echoingthesound.org/community/member.php?u=51) was marveling at the level this show reached; it really is something else entirely.

I'm really glad you're enjoying it! I've never seen a show that intense. After it was over I thought I might be ruined for dramatic shows forever because I just couldn't see anything topping it. And nothing has but a few have come close ("Breaking Bad" was almost as good as "The Shield.")

So, two things about the last season: episode 8 might give you a heart attack (definitely in my top three favorite episodes of the series) and the series finale is phenomenal. Probably my second favorite episode of the entire series behind only the season finale of 5. I remember my jaw hanging open during one scene.

I wish I could erase my memory and watch it again for the first time because it was an amazing ride.

Also, I loved "Oz" when I was younger but haven't seen it since I was a teenager. I maintain that Schillinger is the scariest and most evil villain I have ever seen on any show. He makes Gus from "Breaking Bad" look like a Disney character. For years I could not see J.K. Simmons in any other role because to me he was always still Schillinger. I probably would have crossed the street had I seen him (half joking about that). He was that scary. Such an amazing performance.

[theruiner]

Can I make a suggestion to help ease the pain of "The Shield" ending?

"The Americans," dude. I recommend it to anyone who likes "The Shield" and/or "Breaking Bad." I think all three of those shows are in the same wheelhouse.

It's not as good as those two but it's amazing in its own right. It fills the void those others left when they ended. Overall it doesn't quite reach the intensity level of those shows (though it is very intense) but the end of season 3 is, in my opinion, more intense than anything in "The Shield." "The Shield" is more intense overall, don't get me wrong, but I'd put that scene up against anything on "The Shield" or "Breaking Bad."

The first three seasons are on Amazon Prime if you have that. It's slow but stick with it because it is very rewarding.

[Space Suicide]

Can I make a suggestion to help ease the pain of "The Shield" ending?

"The Americans," dude. I recommend it to anyone who likes "The Shield" and/or "Breaking Bad." I think all three of those shows are in the same wheelhouse.

It's not as good as those two but it's amazing in its own right. It fills the void those others left when they ended. Overall it doesn't quite reach the intensity level of those shows (though it is very intense) but the end of season 3 is, in my opinion, more intense than anything in "The Shield." "The Shield" is more intense overall, don't get me wrong, but I'd put that scene up against anything on "The Shield" or "Breaking Bad."

The first three seasons are on Amazon Prime if you have that. It's slow but stick with it because it is very rewarding.

I bought season 1 of The Americans on blu ray back in 2014. I haven't watched it yet. I had every intent to but things tied me up and when both seasons 2 and 3 were released on DVD ONLY I got pissed off and put it off further. I'll suck it up and buy them for mismatched sets like my monstrously odd Sunny in Philadelphia sets (1-4 DVD, 5-8 blu Ray, 9-10 on DVD due to the same bs like Americans). But glad to derail the thread and know I knew I was right in buying the first season a long ass time ago. I look forward to it. I made a thread for it on here ages ago and no one ever posted. Where were ya? Haha

[theruiner]

I made a thread for it on here ages ago and no one ever posted. Where were ya? HahaOh man, I would love to talk about this show with someone. The only one I know who watches it is my brother and we don't get a chance to talk much. If you both jump in I would love to resurrect that thread.

[Archive_Reports]

I started The Americans but it just didn't hook me. I think I made it through four episodes? Maybe I'll have to give it another whirl.

[kdrcraig]

Yep that part with the recorder is one of the most intense scenes I've ever watched. You're making me want to re-watch this big time.

[theruiner]

NYRexall- Just wait until the finale... (http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/192/005/tumblr_lt9x2isgL11qa69wso1_r1_500.gif)

[bruised]

This is fun reading your thoughts as you watch, I did the same thing when I watched a few years ago on dvd. I watched the whole thing in about 6 weeks. I have the box set now, and am waiting for a good time to re-watch. What a rollercoaster!

[theruiner]

You know I'll be here raving like a madman when I'm through :eek:There are a couple of scenes that still give me chills. You'll know them when you see them.

[bruised]

A part of me is thankful I have the boxset of the whole series at my disposal for this kind of binge-watching, which I've never been one to do. I can't imagine what it must have been like for fans of the series having to wait an entire week between episodes to see what was going to happen next. It must have been excruciating.
As was I. My brother in law had the series, and the whole family on my wife's side had already seen it, so they were all waiting for me to finish, and get to certain points. We all did the same thing that we are doing with you here, so it was fun to talk about it during and after.

[Archive_Reports]

I feel like I could go on and on about The Shield because it was the first show I ever really connected with and wateched from start to finish as an adult.

Looking back there were a lot of things that could have been done better, but I think that's only because TV has changed so much since the show premiered. More than anything I wish that less time had been spent on the "monster of the week" format and more on the main arcs.

As for the finale, it carried so much emotional weight. Vic sitting in that office by himself was huge. This man got away with everything (from a legal standpoint) but lost everything that mattered to him and it made you question how much any of it mattered at all. The photograph he cut down to just him and Lem definitely showed that.

Casting-wise, I think it was pretty perfect. Anderson, Whitaker, and Close were outstanding for what little time we got to spend with them and I can't reaplly think of any regulars thag dragged it down. Something tells me I'll be rewatching again soon.

[kdrcraig]

That kind of sucks you were a little disappointed in the finale, I absolutely love it. For me it solidifies Vic ultimately being the villain of the show. He hurt everyone close to him, ruined so many lives and got away with all of it. He was so disillusioned about himself that he thought he could confess to all of that shit and ICE would still let him be actively working out on the streets. In my mind he's working as a low rent security guard right now. Ha

[bruised]

The ending was crazy man. Vic just has to live with everything in his head now, and it's almost like it was for nothing. Him not being on the streets doing whatever he wants is killing him. And Shane's arc throughout the show is fantastic. To go from a happy go lucky - on-top-of-the-world badass cop, to murdering your best bud and then your family, plus committing suicide - yikes. So crazy. And poor Lem! Ronny taking the fall for everything just ices the cake that is Vic Mackey. What a shit.

[Archive_Reports]

I wanted Dutch to be a serial killer SO BADLY at the time.

This show also did a lot of things that no othrr basic cable show had dome in terms of violence, sexuality, and language. Any time it gets brought up I always think about the scene where Shane is in the interrogation room with Mitchell when he was going to kill him. God, that was tense.

[Space Suicide]

Speaking about the "popularity" of this show, I remember reading one catch phrase for the show that is pretty accurate:

"TV's best drama nobody watched." Or something along those lines

Even today I still don't nearly hear as much about this as there could and should be.

[loopcloses]

Thrilling to see somebody going through this for the first time in 2016. As tremendous as Breaking Bad and The Wire are, I still hold this as the best drama ever put to television. The season five and season seven finales are possibly the two best finales to anything ever. Definitely wouldn't have hyped you up so much as you were watching it as I knew reading through the thread it'd have an adverse effect on how you took the finales. Hopefully they'll speak to you more in repeated viewings--season five knocked me on my ass the first time I saw it, and while the ending itself of "Family Meeting" took some time to digest, that was hands down the most depressed a piece of fiction has ever made me. I was thinking about Shane and his family the entire next day at work.

A couple other thoughts on things from the thread... one, co-sign on The Americans. The first season is very good and occasionally great, but each following season is better than the last and for two years now it's been the best series on television. While completely different from The Shield in nearly every way, it's similar in that it's a purely character-driven story (as opposed to a show with story-driven characters) and that the writing is patient and focused on building tension above action. The result is a series that has been escalating the stakes for four seasons now with very few dominoes being knocked down. The remaining two seasons will be crucial in determining where it ends up in the ranks of all-time greats for just that reason, just like The Shield's final three seasons very much defined its legacy. The Americans has set the table for a downward spiral of tragedy like very few shows ever have, so it's going to be a fun ride that you should definitely hop on before it starts next year.

The other thing, and this is something that really gets me... not necessarily here, but in many a forum, is the popular opinion that Walton Goggins was "even better" in Justified than he was in The Shield. As tremendous as he was in Justified, Shane Vendrell is an all-time great performance that I feel is frankly out of the league of Boyd Crowder. They're very different performances--Boyd Crowder is an endlessly entertaining and captivating villain that is made by Goggins' unrivaled charm and charisma, but in terms of depth and nuance, it wasn't nearly as demanding role as Vendrell. The arrogance, pettiness, insecurity, pain, and regret he exhibits in The Shield... so many layers to that character, and so many raw, heartbreaking scenes. The final scene of "Haunts" (season six, episode five) is a performance that I challenge anyone to put against his best performance in Justified (I'd say "Eye of the Storm" in season two, or either of the series' final two episodes) and tell me how much better he is in Justified. I mean, I get it. Shane is a much more subdued character, and also a bit of an unlikable prick for the majority of the series' run. Boyd is a character that demands your attention every time he's on the screen. But we never see Boyd begging his best friend to forgive him after he dropped a grenade in his lap to save his own ass, or agonizingly realizing that the only mercy he can grant his family is death.

Walton Goggins is my favorite actor (after stealing the show in The Hateful Eight, he's now killing it in Vice Principals) and I'm by no means saying his performance in Justified isn't incredible, but much like The Shield itself, I feel his performance in it is so criminally underrated that I have a duty to type overlong paragraphs about it to strangers, just to get it out of my system. You know how many Emmys he was nominated for in that role? Zero. And this was before the golden age of TV we're in now when every performance in every category would be a deserving winner. Performances from Boston Legal and Grey's Anatomy were given recognition over him. How does that happen?

[loopcloses]

Funny you mention the Americans, because I just watched the season one finale this morning during breakfast. I've heard much the same about the proceeding seasons, how they just get better and better. I'm starting on Vinyl next, but as soon as I work my way through that, I'll get back to season two of the Americans.

Coincidentally, I'm only about four weeks out from beginning the second season of Justified, as well. I've heard a lot of people claim that Goggins' character in Justified is better than the Shield, but it's really two very different roles.

Shane ended up being just as much a focal point of the Shield as Vic was towards the end. After season five, it really became the Vic and Shane show. I think my favorite episode is still that season 7 episode when they're interrogating the guy Shane paid off to shoot Ronnie. That shit had me completely on edge the whole hour. I can't think of a better episode of television at the moment..Oh yeah ditto that. The slow walk out of the Barn while Two Man spills is the ultimate payoff of nearly seven seasons of dominoes being set up.

The argument has been made that Shane is the true tragic hero of The Shield and Vic is the true antagonist. For all the awful shit Shane did over the course of the series, it was out of a desire to be more like Vic. But he could never be Vic, because he was neither as smart nor as cold-blooded as Vic. It's set up in the very third episode when Shane's conscience is eating him alive for Terry's death while Vic's suppressing his. It really is a beautiful tragedy that I wish I was smart enough to do justice in text form.

[onthewall2983]

Complete series Blu-ray set coming out November (https://www.millcreekent.com/shield-the-the-complete-series-blu-ray.html)

[theruiner]

^^FINALLY!!

Welp, guess it's time for another run through.

[onthewall2983]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPIn0b-ahcE

Found this a few weeks ago, just trolling through YT