The Shield
Created by Shawn Ryan
2002 - 2008
A violent and corrupt cop heads a somewhat experimental and incredibly controversial strike team that uses any means necessary to take crime off the streets. And pocket some extra money on the side. And orchestrate drug busts where they pocket some drugs on the side. And set up and frame people. And kill cops who they see as a threat... Okay, so maybe they don't take as much crime off the streets as it seems on the surface. And that's basically what a majority of the show is about. Serial in nature, this show sacrifices one-off episodes in favor of an overarching story.
Shot largely on handheld cameras, the show has a very distinct, guerrilla style to it that adds to the gritty tone and atmosphere, but is often distracting with just how low quality it really looks. It's sort of a double-edged sword, as I get what they were going for, but often I felt it made the whole show look and feel like a cheap, unprofessional production. With a very linear editing and story progression, there's very little experimentation here in that sense, but being one of the boundary-pushing cop dramas of the 2000s, I didn't need it to do anything too crazy to leave a mark. It did that with the story it told, not with how it told it.
Apart from just introducing moral bankruptcy to the cop drama and ways that had never been seen before, the Shield's greatest success was in how it painted its lead character, Vic Mackey. While he obviously shows early on just how despicable he can be, his loyalty and commitment to his friends and family had you convinced of the good nature of this man at his core. As the show goes further along and he's forced to dig himself deeper into this corrupt side, you slowly begin to realize there is a limit to his loyalty and human decency, but not necessarily a cap on his need for self-preservation. While there are some wonderful performances and characters surrounding him (Dutch, Claudette, Aceveda, and Shane are all very well developed), he is the main attraction, and a very enticing one at that.
My overall feelings for the show are definitely in conflict, as I find it fairly difficult to point out many of the issues and problems I had with it, but due to the heavy serialization of its plot, I found individual episodes and moments were hardly ever able to stand out. This is both a good and bad thing, because I liked the overall product, but I wasn't necessarily sucked in by many storylines, which take up mch more time when spread out over the course of several episodes or even seasons. That being said, seasonal guest appearances by Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker help to break up the repetition, which was very welcome, and it never stopped the flow of the overarching story.
From beginning to end, this is a consistent show. Because of that, it can sometimes be a little bit redundant, but I can't say I was ever bored. It may not be the most exciting thing to binge through, but I didn't hit the point of fatigue and disinterest that left it sitting unwatched for weeks at a time. The finale alone will make the whole show worthwhile. I know that because weeks later, I'm still thinking about it and impressed with the risks they took wrapping the whole thing up. Not exactly my favorite type of show, but I liked it nonetheless.
My grade: B-
Created by Shawn Ryan
2002 - 2008
A violent and corrupt cop heads a somewhat experimental and incredibly controversial strike team that uses any means necessary to take crime off the streets. And pocket some extra money on the side. And orchestrate drug busts where they pocket some drugs on the side. And set up and frame people. And kill cops who they see as a threat... Okay, so maybe they don't take as much crime off the streets as it seems on the surface. And that's basically what a majority of the show is about. Serial in nature, this show sacrifices one-off episodes in favor of an overarching story.
Shot largely on handheld cameras, the show has a very distinct, guerrilla style to it that adds to the gritty tone and atmosphere, but is often distracting with just how low quality it really looks. It's sort of a double-edged sword, as I get what they were going for, but often I felt it made the whole show look and feel like a cheap, unprofessional production. With a very linear editing and story progression, there's very little experimentation here in that sense, but being one of the boundary-pushing cop dramas of the 2000s, I didn't need it to do anything too crazy to leave a mark. It did that with the story it told, not with how it told it.
Apart from just introducing moral bankruptcy to the cop drama and ways that had never been seen before, the Shield's greatest success was in how it painted its lead character, Vic Mackey. While he obviously shows early on just how despicable he can be, his loyalty and commitment to his friends and family had you convinced of the good nature of this man at his core. As the show goes further along and he's forced to dig himself deeper into this corrupt side, you slowly begin to realize there is a limit to his loyalty and human decency, but not necessarily a cap on his need for self-preservation. While there are some wonderful performances and characters surrounding him (Dutch, Claudette, Aceveda, and Shane are all very well developed), he is the main attraction, and a very enticing one at that.
My overall feelings for the show are definitely in conflict, as I find it fairly difficult to point out many of the issues and problems I had with it, but due to the heavy serialization of its plot, I found individual episodes and moments were hardly ever able to stand out. This is both a good and bad thing, because I liked the overall product, but I wasn't necessarily sucked in by many storylines, which take up mch more time when spread out over the course of several episodes or even seasons. That being said, seasonal guest appearances by Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker help to break up the repetition, which was very welcome, and it never stopped the flow of the overarching story.
From beginning to end, this is a consistent show. Because of that, it can sometimes be a little bit redundant, but I can't say I was ever bored. It may not be the most exciting thing to binge through, but I didn't hit the point of fatigue and disinterest that left it sitting unwatched for weeks at a time. The finale alone will make the whole show worthwhile. I know that because weeks later, I'm still thinking about it and impressed with the risks they took wrapping the whole thing up. Not exactly my favorite type of show, but I liked it nonetheless.
My grade: B-
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