The Shield
I could swear this show was discussed on here, but a search yields nothing so I guess I was wrong.
Did anyone watch this when it was on? I didn’t, mostly because at the time it first came out it was a wave of basic cable shows that were being called so edgy just because they had some swearing or a little bit of violence so as is my typical way I raised my nose at the hype.
But finally caving and getting all the seasons from netflix and starting from the beginning, I just finished up all 7 seasons in a month and a half.
Goddamn did I like this show. At first it seemed like all the characters were too broadly drawn and cartoonish (“Hey, it’s bad cop!….And there’s cop with integrity!”). But as it went on it got much more layered and nuanced and definitely pushed some ridiculous envelopes and explored a lot of different takes on morality, family, humanity, crime and a lot of other topics. At times it stretched plausibility as almost any show or movie is going to do. But almost every actor was great on it, and the series finale was pretty much everything the Lost finale was not (even as someone who liked the Lost finale). Finite, moving, and absolutely jaw dropping.
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It’s just one of those shows I have absolutely zero interest in. I feel that way about pretty much every cop show, though. Also, lawyer shows.
Yeah, I don’t watch many cop shows or laywer shows either other than Law and Order which is a stand alone type of disposable show where you can catch just an episode of and not have to think about things. Which is why I never really bothered with this. It was phenomenal though.
I’ve heard amazing things about this show, but share John’s discomfort with cop and law-talkin’ subject matter. Example: I admire The Wire for its vast scope and complicated, interlocking structure and well-observed dialogue… but there’s still something about that show that leaves me incredibly cold and often struggling to make my way through a season.
I have a strange relationship with antihero protagonists, too. I usually want them to suffer in the end and mete out penance for their transgressions in the long run… something to do with my Catholic upbringing, I imagine.
Sounds like the overall arc is extremely satisfying, though. Would you rank this in your top ten shows of all time?
I think I’m about to rewatch Deadwood for the 4th time. I love that show in strange ways and never get tired of it.
Justin, I would definitely rank this among my top 10 dramas of all time. I’m about halfway through the first season of the Wire, and the Shield has much of the same cops/bad guys vibe but pushes the envelope about 8 million times further. There is a lot going on. If you’re uneasy about antiheroes then this might be problematic as pretty much every single character in some ways was a flawed antihero. They all did most of what they did for what they perceived to be the right reasons, but each was also rotten and bad in their own way. But in the end, every single character got everything they deserved. Typically envelope pushing shows with regard to sex, violence, and anti-social behavior either avoid or fail miserably at any type of nuance or intricacy. This was one of the few shows I’ve seen which struck that balance.
I also want to add Deadwood to my list of shows to go back to that I didn’t catch the first time around. Especially since it’s only 3 seasons.
We just hit the third DVD of Deadwood and so far it’s up there with Battlestar as one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
O.K. don’t say that or you will discourage me from checking it out. Battlestar for the first season and a half that I was able to get past was just the biggest snoozefest I’ve ever tried to slog through.
Kevin said:O.K. don’t say that or you will discourage me from checking it out. Battlestar for the first season and a half that I was able to get past was just the biggest snoozefest I’ve ever tried to slog through.
Which is a shame because I agree that the first season and a half is tough to get through. It wasn’t until season 2.5 that the show really blows up. That’s when Gosia got hooked, too.
I typically loathe science-fiction, want to rip out my own eyeballs whenever I’ve seen even two or three minutes of a Star Trek (including the new one), but Battlestar was pretty dang good. I’m actually of a different opinion than John… first season and a half is great, but then it takes a nosedive in quality from midseason three to midseason four, but ends on a dizzying high note. It had big flaws, but they were exactly the same flaws Lost had… so I was okay with it. It’s a great show.
Deadwood is in my top ten of all time, easily.
Oh, John, I envy you. You haven’t even begun to hit the good stuff yet… the sustained brilliance of season two is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. And the dialogue! Holy shit, the dialogue! Elegant, beautifully constructed, perfectly metered sentences spilling out in blank verse. There’s not a single weak performance on Deadwood. Ian McShane is, of course, one of the greatest things going there… but, hell, even the disabled cousin from that episode of “Facts of Life” does amazing things. There’s a terrific monologue by Brad Dourif’s doctor in an upcoming season one episode that’s easily one of the best dialogues between a man and his god that’s ever been put on film.
Kevin said:
O.K. don’t say that or you will discourage me from checking it out. Battlestar for the first season and a half that I was able to get past was just the biggest snoozefest I’ve ever tried to slog through.
I even tried to watch it again, like 2 years later and I still couldn’t do it. SO DULL!
Haven’t watched the Shield for much of the reasons stated here, although I do love me an anti-hero, I have a hard time getting into cop shows….unless the cop has a super power or something.
Ryan said:Kevin said:
O.K. don’t say that or you will discourage me from checking it out. Battlestar for the first season and a half that I was able to get past was just the biggest snoozefest I’ve ever tried to slog through.I even tried to watch it again, like 2 years later and I still couldn’t do it. SO DULL!
Haven’t watched the Shield for much of the reasons stated here, although I do love me an anti-hero, I have a hard time getting into cop shows….unless the cop has a super power or something.
I forget, are you one of the Scrabbled folks who likes Dexter? I love Dexter. And the Shield, while a cop show, definitely has a similar vibe. There’s a similar dark humor and the whole thin line between good and evil/ends justifies the means type deal to the proceedings.
I am also not into cop shows very much, but my husband is. So, I watched the last season of the Shield when I didn’t have anything else to do. I thought the series finale was the best one I have ever seen! It wrapped up all the characters in the way they deserved.
I never watched the Wire, but plan to one day since everyone says how awesome it is.
I love love love Deadwood. And Dexter.
Suzanne said:I thought the series finale was the best one I have ever seen! It wrapped up all the characters in the way they deserved.
Exactly! I almost wish people could get a quick primer on the characters to that point and then watch the finale. It was absolutely one of the most perfect endings to a series, for every character involved.