Why The Shield is the best show on television...or, at least, the best show you're not watching

Starring: Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins, Kenneth Johnson, David Rees Snell, Jay Karnes, CCH Pounder, Benito Martinez, Michael Jace
Created by: Shawn Ryan
Running time: Approx. 45 minutes per episode



Please forgive the hyperbole of the title of this post, but I feel it's warranted. Is The Shield the best show on television? Well, I try to stay away from saying things like that because, frankly, I haven't seen a lot of television. Even if you watch a lot of shows, there's no way to catch up on ALL of them, and to make a declaration like that, that's what you would need to do.

So no, I can't quite say it is, for sure, the best show on television. I'd say it's up there, though. It's close. Really close. In fact, there have only been two shows I've ever seen that have surpassed it: The Simpsons (only through the first nine seasons or so) and the incredibly beautiful Six Feet Under (here's" my write-up on that, in case you missed it).

You'll notice I've only written about two shows in the two year history of this blog, this one being the second. There's a reason for that: there are very few shows that I'm as passionate about as these two. I wouldn't come on here and spend a considerable amount of time writing up this blog that only two or three people will read if I didn't feel it was justified.

The truth is, I know that there's a very good chance no one will listen to my recommendation on this (or anything else in this blog, for that matter). But I'm writing this for a reason: if I can get one person, one single person, to give this show a chance, then I've succeeded. And if you're that person- well, don't blame me when you become completely absorbed and addicted. Seriously. I take no responsibility for what happens next.

I admit that I'm not a particularly huge fan of cop dramas. I don't have anything against them, per se, but nothing about them really stands out to me. We've all seen it before, in different variations: The rogue cop who plays by his own rules; the police captain who is trying to reign him in; the murder of the week that neatly gets solved by the end of each episode; the morality play of sorts where good cops face off against bad, all while the hard environment of the street dictates life around them.





Now, I'll be honest here. Is The Shield going to fall into that category? You're absolutely right, it does. I can't argue that. What I can say is this: anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand anything generic. Can't stand it. Generic means bland and predictable, and that's the quickest way to turn me off to any TV show or movie. If I've seen it a hundred times before, I'm not interested in seeing it again.

And a lot of times, I hear people say, "Well, this one puts a fresh spin on it." And you know what? Most of the time, it isn't fresh enough.

So, I completely understand any skepticism one might have venturing into the first episode of The Shield. Almost immediately, you are bombarded by these clichés, and it's very easy to dismiss the show as just another cop show that you've seen a hundred times. And, of course, there's the promise that this one is different.

Well, I wouldn't be writing this blog right now if the show hadn't won me over.
Truly, if The Shield had fallen right into that generic trap and stayed there, I would have been done with it after only an episode or two. But you know what? Something happens at the end of the first episode- a twist that I didn't see coming at all- and I was hooked.

And from that point forward, The Shield officially took possesion of my soul. I'd burn through two or three episodes a night sometimes, unable to turn away. I just couldn't go to bed without finding out what happened next. This show was like nothing I had ever seen before.

What The Shield does is take the basic premise we've all seen before, and spin it in completely new directions. There are tons of twists and turns in the plot, yet none of it feels contrived. All of the plot points evolve organically and logically, so when something does seem to spring from left field, it actually does jolt you- and it's all the more shocking and exciting because it makes perfect sense within the context of the story.

The creators hardly ever resort to cheap tricks, like the dreaded deux ex machina. I'm not saying that it never happens, because there have been a few (emphasis on the word few) very small instances where they relied on something that felt a bit too contrived for its own good. But those moments are so few and far between, and the writing is so good, that you can easily forgive and forget almost immediately when they do spring up.

The show itself is written brilliantly. Characters that could have easily turned into two-dimensional walking clichés are instead fully fleshed out, so they feel like real people. So as the story goes on, and the stakes begin to raise higher and higher, they've got you hooked the whole way: you're emotionally connected to every single main character on the show, which isn't an easy task considering there are eight of them (off the top of my head).

It is because of this that they can hit you with that sledgehammer later on: when something bad happens to one of the characters, you are so connected to them that it feels like a physical punch to the gut. It takes some seriously good writing to be able to pull that of well, but the folks behind The Shield pull it off perfectly.

Let's get into those characters a little bit. The first is our main character, Vic Mackey, played with grit and real emotional depth by Michael Chickliss (whom you may remember as The Thing from the Fantastic Four movies).

Vic is, like a lot of people, a very morally complex person. On the one hand, he does have a good heart, and you get the feeling that he became a cop to try and do good in the world. On the other hand, he's not above being greedy, and resorting to breaking the law and acts of abhorrent violence to either progess his own agenda or because he feels it a necessary evil to get the bad guys off the streets.

This creates an interesting moral juxtaposition that I found myself struggling with: on the one hand, part of me was rooting for him to go down, at least at first. On the other hand, part of my sympathized with his character (call it the Tony Soprano syndrome) and was actually in his corner, hoping he slipped by the ever-closing circle of authority that wanted him to go down.

At least that's what happened initially. But much like the aforementioned mobster protagonist, eventually my sympathy won out, and while I certainly can't defend many of Macky's actions, I did come around to being almost completely on his side. It kind of makes the show more enjoyabe to be able to root for the "good guy."

Of course, your mileage may vary, and that's the beauty of the show: many of the characterrs, including out main character, aren't exclusively good. These aren't cowboys in white or black hats, drawn in broad strokes and two dimensions. These are complex characters who flirt with both good and evil, and the show leaves it up to you to decide exactly how to feel about that.





Of course, as it did with me, Mackey's better qualities may eventually win you over. Watching the good that he does accomplish certainly helps to offset some of his worse traits.

And that's another moral question posed to the audience- how far is too far? And is it sometimes ok to go there? Is it ok to take matters into your own hands, sometimes bypassing the strict moral code of the law if it means getting, say, a child molester off the street? Is anyone really going to be upset if said molester has his civil rights violated, or if he gets roughed up a bit? It's an interesting question that lies just beneath the surface of everything Vic Mackey and his team do.

Mackey is the head of the Strike Team, whose responsibility is to clean up the streets of the fictional Farmington district of Los Angeles and deal with the overwhelming gang and drug problem.

The team is filled out by three other guys: Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins), Vic's right-hand-man who crosses the line almost more than Vic does; Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky (Kenny Johnson), the conscience of the Strike Team, and oftentimes the only voice of moral reason; and Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell), considered by many fans to be "the quiet one," yet is another vital part of the team's formula.

The captain of The Barn (the name of the police station) is David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), whose top priority, it seems, is to bring down Vic, who he is sure is completely corrupt. On the other hand, Aceveda knows that Vic's tactics work, and he frequently contradicts his own ambitions of seeing Vic brought to justice by looking the other way when Vic's tactics are the most efficient way to resolve a situation.

Julien Lowe (Michael Jace) is the rookie of the squad, and the exact antithesis of Vic: deeply religious and morally resolved, Julien struggles to adjust to the world of The Barn, specifically when dealing with the corruption he sees all around him.

Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) is a seasoned detective whose main focus is homicide investigation. She, too, is pretty by the book, and doesn't like the corruption she shes boiling just under the surface all around her.

Finally, there is Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach (Jay Karnes), the main homicide detective who works alongside Claudette. Dutch is one of my absolute favorite characters from the show. Beneath his quiet and socially awkward demeanor lies a complex and multilayered personality. He is oftentimes the laughing-stock of the Barn, especially due to his ongoing uneasy relationship with Vic.

But Dutch is very smart and perceptive, and can solve murder cases like no one else at the Barn. It's fascinating to watch him delve into these investigations and especially the interrogations that follow, as he slowly winds his way through a suspect's psychology to get to the truth. He's the exact opposite of Vic: while Vic certainly does use his smarts as well, he relies on brute force to get the information he needs. Dutch has a stricter moral code than that, and doesn't need it anyway. He's a genius at figuring out the way people tick, and using it to his advantage.





I can honestly say that The Shield is one of the most suspenseful things I have ever seen. That goes for movies or television. The writers build and build the tension, and just when you think something has to break, that they've built it up enough, they figure out a way to build it more. And the best part is, the payoff is always worth it. I can't say that for every television show I've seen (*cough*The Sopranos*cough) but I can most definitely say it for this show.

I can't stress enough that the show really does step outside of the normal cop-show boundaries, even if the basic premise itself isn't exactly groundbreaking. They take the basic idea that we've seen a hundred times, and really breathe new life into it. The storylines are rich, intriguing and surprisingly complex: I find myself oftentimes a bit lost in the plot, because there are so many different storylines going on at one time, many of them soaked in detail, that I can't keep up.

I know I'm being repetitive here, but I can't stress this enough: this is, without a doubt, one of the most suspenseful pieces of entertainment I have ever seen. That goes for movies, too. I am kind of amazed sometimes at the quality of writing on this show, and the fact that they can make things so tense, and create twists so shocking, yet keep it grounded in enough reality that it doesn't lose you.

Bottom line is, The Shield is an absolutely amazing show, and well worth the time and effort. The first six seasons are out on DVD already, and the seventh and final season will probably be out relatively soon.

I know this is probably the most obvious statement in the world, but this really is a show that you're going to want to watch from the beginning. And you'll be hooked.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: trust me on this one.