The Shield 2002 – 2008

This is my goodbye to one of the greatest shows in television history.  I have so many fond memories and here I will be sharing them with all of you.  Remember if you ain’t seen the whole seven seasons then don’t click read more.

How it came into my life?

As some of you may know, I live in the United Kingdom. The Shield was shown on Channel 5 here and first aired in 2002 but sadly I cannot remember the month or day it aired. I have a terrible memory when it comes to little details so I’m not sure if I saw a trailer for the show or why I was sitting down to watch this. I remember though that I started to watch the pilot episode with my mum.

I wasn’t sucked in right away, not until the end. The sight of Vic shooting Terry is the moment which suckered me in and kept me watching for the next six years. The pilot is a prime example of how to draw an audience in. For me it’s one of the greatest pilot shows in history, along with Lost and The X-Files. It sets up characters beautifully and then leaves you wanting to know more about the character of Vic Mackey.

The first three seasons of the show I had to watch on Channel 5. Now if you are a Shield fan and from the UK you’ll know it took a while for the show to appear after it’s airing in the United States. The times when I didn’t have internet to help me with my fix. Put up with watching the show with advertisements. Those were the dark days of my television watching. I always used to watch the show with my mom, she loved the show as much as I did. Sadly once I left for University she didn’t keep up with the show. With the power of internet I was able to view American TV shows quickly and without the annoyance of adverts.

Favourite Character?

Everyone has a favourite character when it comes to films or TV shows. There is always one that appeals to you more than anyone else. The Shield is a rarity in that I honestly don’t have a favourite character. I wouldn’t choose one over another as not one character in the show is unlikeable and all of them are contrasts of each other. Some might say Vic Mackey is their favourite, he’s the sort of lead of the show which I disagree with because it’s an ensemble show. He might be the face of the show but he’s not the soul of it. The soul is from all the main characters who put everything in to make a brilliant show.

Some might have a favourite and that’s fine. Some characters will appeal to others more so than others and that’s fine. The greatest achievement I find is that I do not dislike any one of the main characters. I could go through my list of all time favourite TV shows and they’ll always be one character that I don’t get on with. This is not the case with The Shield.

Seven seasons to choose from.

As some might have a favourite character, everyone always has a favourite season. It’s tough to pick one because for the seven seasons, it’s been consistently good. I think most would agree with me, in that The Shield does not have a bad season. There isn’t one season in which people complain that the show has lost its way, it’s jumped the shark. Every season has provided many great moments, all have given us wonderful storylines.

My favourite though has to be season 5. For so many reasons it for me is my favourite season. It focused on Lem, had the brilliant Forest Whitaker and the season ended with one of the most shocking and depressing endings to a television season ever. The shit hit the fan for The Strike Team in that season. Its been a while since I’ve seen the season but every actor/actress brought their A game in that season. Everything about it was spectacular, edge of your seat drama.

Though honestly there’s not much that pushes that season over the rest because all of the seasons contain something brilliant within them. If someone asked what my second favourite would be then that would be a tough question to answer. Though I would have to watch the show all over again to come up with that answer but season 7 was outstanding so it would be hard not to put that second. Though honestly I just wouldn’t know at this moment.

One Liners

The fondest memory I will have from The Shield is the many wonderful, hilarious one liners. Lines of comedic genius that pop up so often. I think the comedy that comes about makes the show stand out to others. The show deals with a lot of taboo subjects which can be hard to take, including rape and child pornography. I couldn’t imagine watching a show which deals with subjects like that and not have a break for comedy.

The episode “Cherrypoppers” from the first season is a prime example of how to balance the right amount of humour and taboo context. I couldn’t imagine that episode not having breaks for us to laugh. It deals with a tough subject and the audience needs moments to laugh at because it’d be far too depressing otherwise.

To pick out my favourite one line out of the show would be far too tough but the one that I remember the most is this by Shane,

If you’re wondering what the line is, it’s the “with a back full of shiv and an ass full of cum.”

A very risky line but hilarious none the less, I’ll always remember that because I’ve never heard anything that obscene in a television programme ever, still haven’t.

Guerrilla filmmaking

One of the things that fascinated me the most about the show was the style of guerrila filmmaking. If you know me, I’m a person fascinated with the filmmaking process. Here was something I’ve never seen before from a television show. Most TV I’d seen up to that point was standard American network television. Here was a show filmed with a style used by independent filmmakers.

The Shock Factor

The one thing that The Shield did well was to shock you beyond belief. So many moments which open your eyes, you just can’t believe what you’re seeing. The series started with a shocking moment and it ended with one. From the moment to Vic shooting Terry, to Acevada’s rape to Shane’s final moments, the show has always had the ability to shock the audience and shock them well.

Though the show wasn’t just about the ability to shock people. Some shows that are on cable try to shock people to gain viewers. All they are remembered for is the shock factor but The Shield wasn’t like that.

How will the show be remembered?

The Shield is very much like how The Wire will be remembered. The two shows are and will always be compared even though the contrast between the two shows is so great. The Shield probably got the more viewers and the more acknowledgement but both shows were mostly ignored come awards season. I’m hoping come Emmy season that the show gets nominated for the best show but I’m not hopeful. The Wire is slowly getting the respect it deserves, it’s only now finding it’s audience and I think The Shield will find it’s audience as well. I’m not saying The Shield never had an audience because it has had an audience but not one strong enough to rival The Sopranos.

With so much accolade being given to the last season of the show then it finally has to get those awards it deserves. The show will always be remembered for great acting and brilliant writing. The show pushed the boundaries more so than any other show before it. Dealt with subjects that no network would deal with. It was a cop show unlike any other, the characters were unique and it’s portrayal of Los Angeles so different to what had been portrayed before.

For me I will always remember the show as something that had warmth and charm over a surface dealing with issues that you don’t want to face, that you don’t see in your everyday life. It dealt with subjects that were hard to take sometimes but when you became sickened by it’s context, the show uplifted you with it’s humour. It will be remembered for being a god damn good TV show.

Thank you Shawn Ryan for creating one of the finest television shows in history. Though it’s also thanks to all involved within the show. Here is that final credit montage that ended the show. Can’t not watch it without getting emotional but it’s a perfect sentiment for the show.