The Shield - 7th and Final Season

[JJJ's Ulcer]

The Shield is definitely one of the most underrated cable dramas. It still got its due and thankfully got to complete its run as intended (*sigh* Deadwood and Rome ), but it never got the media love that Sopranos, The Wire and Breaking Bad got. It has the most shocking series premiere I've ever seen of any show (last few minutes... you know what I'm talking about) and just had an awesome evolving storyline. In the same way BB had a clear ending planned out from the start, so did The Shield. Was it as good as BB? Probably not quite, but it's definitely up there with Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire and miles better than more popular dreck like Dexter and True Blood. Dean Norris (Hank from BB) recently tweeted a pic of him and Michael Chicklis (Vic) and it made me think how similar they look and how Hank was a good cop who did a couple bad things and Vic was a bad cop who did a couple good things.

 

[kit1982]

I can only speak for over here but in the UK the marketing for The Shield was none existent, I think it used to premiere at 11pm on a Thursday! I've never met anyone who has a bad word to say about it, but the problem is I've barely met anyone who has seen it

Agreed on the pilot, I remember sitting there mouth open

Spoiler

after Vic had fired the shot and that's shocking enough but then the way he looks at Terry on the floor and then shakes his head at him

I rewound it a couple of times just to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me!

 

[James]

In New Zealand we got maybe 4 seasons, and I had to wait for the rest on DVD. Painful stuff when it's your favorite TV show of all time.

I agree with JJJ, The Shield is incredibly underrated. It's easy to find people who have never seen it, but you know would enjoy it. And despite that, it's been hugely influential to modern drama. The Wire took plenty of cues from The Shield, and shows like Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire might not be the same without it. That's not to say dark heroes like Vic Mackey didn't exist prior to his appearance on television screens though, only that he was probably the most impactful of the bunch up to that point.

There's a lot of great TV shows these days, I love all those mentioned above along with others like Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Hell on Wheels, Banshee, Hannibal, the list goes on -but so far none have topped The Shield.

 

[Webfoot Hero]

The Shield is what really put FX on the map as far as dark, gritty dramas. It's what led to them developing their brand around that type of show.

 

[Maximus One]

Three best series ever, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos and The Shield. Period.

 

[Maximus One]

The Wire while amazing I found to be tedious and the fact of no clear cut protagonist drops it for me. What makes the ones I mentioned so great are that they by far have had the most tragic and iconic protagonists in modern television.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I actually have to agree. With The Wire, there were few individual stand-out episodes. It was more like a long Russian novel that rewarded your patience at the end and it was so gritty and realistic that occasionally it felt like a chore to get through. Still a great series.

If ROME and Deadwood had been allowed to see through their entire runs, they'd be mentioned up there with Sopranos and BB as some of the greats. I think when all is said and done Boardwalk Empire and GoT will be remembered in that upper-tier as well.

 

[Maximus One]

Most definitely. I also think Justified and Sons of Anarchy with a few others deserve at the very least honorable mentions but the 3 I listed are just the most influential (You know Breaking Bad will be) shows to have come around. They transcend the crime genre and everything that they seem on the surface. Boardwalk and GoT will definitely be there too though

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Wow, that's timely.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...sed_to_echo_the_great_fx_show_the_shield.html

A Slate article came out, basically saying what we are, that The Shield should stand shoulder to shoulder with the other greats like Sopranos and BB and that it was a perfectly mapped show from beginning to end, which seems increasingly rare (*cough* Dexter *cough* Weeds). He also argues that BB does a lot of stuff that The Shield did first. This is where it gets a bit dicey. I think he stretches a lot with some of his comparisons (one example is mentioning bumbling supporting characters (Saul from BB and the awkward detective from Shield, like almost every drama doesn't have a comic-relief character) and another is about how both have severed body-parts.... okay), but if you can get past that (or perhaps you'll agree) it's a good read.

One point he makes that really nails it, is that unlike Tony Soprano and Jimmy McNulty who were affected and changed by traumas and unforeseen storylines over the course of the series, Vic and Walter were doomed from the first episodes of their respective series. Vic shot a cop, Walter cooked meth. Everything else was a natural progression from those two original sins. Vic is a victim of Vic, he writes. Walt is a victim of Walt.

I wonder how Hank would have gotten along at the Barn. He's like the anti-Vic.

 

[Project862006]

Most definitely. I also think Justified and Sons of Anarchy with a few others deserve at the very least honorable mentions but the 3 I listed are just the most influential (You know Breaking Bad will be) shows to have come around. They transcend the crime genre and everything that they seem on the surface. Boardwalk and GoT will definitely be there too though

third watch was also a great fx show doesn't get enough credit

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

One show that I never saw, but used to be all the rage on FX was Nip/Tuck. But now you never hear a word about it. Unlike Sopranos, The Wire and other ended shows, it seems to have no enduring legacy. Is it one of those shows that seemed good at the time, but in retrospect was kinda ehhhhh?

 

[James]

Three best series ever, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos and The Shield. Period.

The only thing that knocks The Sopranos down a few pegs for me compared to the others shows talked about here, is those stupid dream sequences. The worst of the lot was when Tony had his coma/alternate-life thing, far too much time was dedicated to that. The dreams were always overly simplistic, or just weird for the sake of weird. Other than that, The Sopranos was a great show.

One point he makes that really nails it, is that unlike Tony Soprano and Jimmy McNulty who were affected and changed by traumas and unforeseen storylines over the course of the series, Vic and Walter were doomed from the first episodes of their respective series. Vic shot a cop, Walter cooked meth. Everything else was a natural progression from those two original sins. Vic is a victim of Vic, he writes. Walt is a victim of Walt.

I'd definitely agree with that. People make excuses for the characters, Walter especially, but at the end of the day everything that happened wasn't down to cancer or family troubles -it was greed, ego and their own self-destructive personalities.

third watch was also a great fx show doesn't get enough credit

I loved Third Watch when it was on. Not sure I'd like it quite as much now, but it was a damn good show at the time. In the later seasons it dealt with corrupt cops too, and it had some really good story lines.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

The only thing that knocks The Sopranos down a few pegs for me compared to the others shows talked about here, is those stupid dream sequences. The worst of the lot was when Tony had his coma/alternate-life thing, far too much time was dedicated to that. The dreams were always overly simplistic, or just weird for the sake of weird. Other than that, The Sopranos was a great show.

The season 2 dream was great, but the one in season 5 did seem like a pointless rehash. And the Kevin Finnety stuff? Oh man. Interesting idea, but I'm not sure it was executed that well. But I thought Sopranos really lost something after Tony's mother had to be written out (due to the actress dying). I remember the fourth season, while having some great moments like the confrontation with Ralph over Pie-Oh-My, treaded water in spots and had a couple episodes that were just boring.

Sopranos never had a serious decline like Dexter, but I do remember the early seasons a lot more fondly than the latter ones when I think of my favorite episodes or moments. Maybe a subtle step down from a brilliant show to merely a great one by the time it ended. Conversely, I absolutely love the ambigious ending in the diner, even though most people seem to hate it. It worked, because people are still debating it today.

 

[Maximus One]

Well, with Sopranos if you look at season 6 as a whole it all makes much more sense. I mean yea, while watching it it is tedious but it has meaning and was essential to the final chapter of Tony's story

 

[Maximus One]

And JJJ's Ulcer, Nip/Tuck in its first 3 seasons was GREAT. It was one of the first shows I ever really got into hardcore. Used to be obsessed with that show. Rescue Me is another great show that people don't talk about much anymore as well. Never saw Third Watch. The Riches and Dirt should've NEVER been cancelled though, I ****ing miss those shows

 

[kguillou]

Nip/Tuck, imo, has probably the largest decline in quality i've ever seen in a tv show. Seasons 1-3- superb. After that it just plummeted and it got to the point where I was just watching it to merely see how it ends but not even enjoying it. I can at least say the finale was very fitting and satisfying but the journey there was painful. The characters never grew and continuously fell back into old habits and the situations that the writers put them in just become more and more outrageous and absurd. I've never seen such a fall from grace before (well, except maybe Heroes)

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Wow the decline has to be pretty bad if it beats Dexter, Weeds and True Blood.

 

[kguillou]

The difference is that while those shows you listed declined, they had periods where they bounced back up and showed signs of recovery. Nip/Tuck just kept on plummeting til the bitter end.

 

[Maximus One]

I don't think it bears Dexter. Well, it's actually pretty close. Both shows started out ****ing stellar and by the middle then the end you just couldn't believe the decisions the characters were ever making

 

[Maximus One]

And yea, nothing beats Heroes decline. I still wish we'd get a reboot there though

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Heroes... man, I didn't watch it, but I heard the stories. Who thought it was a good idea to keep bringing back the same villain over and over again?

Speaking of which, I just remembered Nip/Tuck had a villain named the Carver. What was that all about? Was that pre-decline or post-decline?

Oz is another great show that had a terrible decline. And I agree Eklypse, Rescue Me was great, but it did get too morbid for me. It seemed like at least one of Tommy's loved ones would die every season. It got to be a bit too much after a while.

 

[jrmtz543]

I loved The Shield because it never treaded water. Every episode moved the plot forward in some way. There was never filler.

As previously stated, Nip/Tuck had a spectacular run at the beginning, but easily fell off toward the end of season 3. The Carver was a wonderful villian who gave victims a carved smile (this was before ledger's joker), but the villian became a joke when his identity was revealed.

 

[James]

Conversely, I absolutely love the ambigious ending in the diner, even though most people seem to hate it. It worked, because people are still debating it today.

I liked it a lot too, mostly because they had the courage to do it. When I first saw it years ago I didn't think one way or the other about it. After working my way through the entire series a few months back, I really liked it. The show ended, the story is over, what more do you want?

It'll be interesting to see how Breaking Bad ends on Sunday, because it'll be hard pressed to top The Shield's final episode.

 

[Maximus One]

I just watched Oz for the first time a few months ago and I thought it was absolutely stellar all the way through as well but it's another case of a show with no clear cut protagonist

 

[Maximus One]

And yea I used to hate The Sopranos ending but after I figure out what all was really going on there it's taken in a whole new light and I now see it for the true work of art it really is