I was going to post this last week as I was watching the 5th season of The Shield - but I never got around to it. Today at lunch, I finished the final episode of the season... and I am now assured in my thoughts.
The Shield will go down as one of the greatest TV shows ever - and right now, it is the most interesting and compelling series that you can see on TV!
I am not going to waste everyone's time and explain what the show is about; it's a cop show - bam. And I also would have a hard time defending parts of season 2 and some episodes in 3&4. The reason I am writing about the show is because of season 5 - I don't know what happened in the break between seasons... but the Shield production team came back with 11 hours of pure gold!
Forrest Whittaker was brought on as an investigator trying to take down Vic (Chiklis) and his strike team. Whittaker's work was astounding!!! It seems that his strong pressence almost inspired the rest of the crew to make the show the strongest it has ever been. In fact, the series has had it's moments, but this season was a continual growth with every episode.
It was very interesting to watch this season while Sopranos aired every Sunday. For the first time, I can see a clear difference in what HBO does and how FX (or NBC,ABC,CBS etc)handles TV shows. Sopranos plays like a film every week - the show is not forced to see plot lines through - vast amounts of time are spent planning each episode - which creates quite a different feeling in viewing compared to regular TV series.
The Shield might exist outside of regular television, but it is far closer to seasonal TV than Sopranos is. And for the first time ever - I am prefering the straightforward serial approach of The Shield than the slow/cold film style of The Sopranos.
It is astounding to me that a series can step up to such a superior level in it's 5th season! Most of the time, characters get old and writers tire of their stories - and perhaps this season will be the pinacle of the series - but nothing changes the fact that The Shield has produced 11 hours of perfection that can be viewed over and over.
Stop watching reality garbage - rent some DVD's and take a trip into Farmington.
Yo
3 comments:
Have yet to break the seal on "The Shield". But so far Jed has opened my eyes to Family Guy, Arrested Developement and Rescue Me. I'll take the leap after a record like that.
b.o.
ps: Sheriff also got a nice summer outfit which will make a showing at the Kern Returns bash and the special edition of "Crimson Tide" with additional footage.
Sweet!
I've been a proponent of The Shield for since I watched the Season one marathon right before they kicked into season 2. In fact, I think at one point I had a conversation with someone in which I listed a handful of the shows which have still to this day never disappointed me. The Shield is definitely on that list, as is The Wire.
Bravo, Fino. I'm glad to see someone else enthusiastically spreading the love for The Shield and preaching the Gospel of Mackey!
Sheriff-What kind of summer outfit are we talking? Summer weight leather? Seersucker bondage masks? Inquiring minds want to know!
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