Anyone ever watch The Shield?

[guy]

Just finished it. Awesome show that I never hear anyone talk about. It was a cop show on FX that coincidentally played from 2002-2008, same time as the Wire. Probably not as good as the Wire, but definitely not far off IMO. Anyone who hasn't watched it, I'd recommend you do. Anyone that has, please feel free to discuss with spoilers :cheers:

[InspiredLebowski]

Everybody says it's great, but I watched the first 6 or 7 episodes and thought it sucked. The acting, production, all of it really, just felt really amateur. People say it gets better by the season but I'm not investing that much time in a show that starts shitty.

[ZenMaster]

One of the best shows ever on TV.

[sunsfan1357]

It almost lost me on the very first episode, but then the way the first episode ended just forced me to watch more. It was a little boring after that, but cop shows are my favorite types of shows so I stuck it through. There were some really great parts to it that are up there with some of my favorite TV moments of all-time. There are also some things that I thought could have been better. It's something I'd recommend to people no doubt.

[ndPac]

The Shield used to be my favorite show back when it aired.. for something that has to be edited since it's on cable tv and not a pay channel I think it's probably as good as it gets.=== SPOILER=== I still remember thinking how insane it was when Shane dropped that grenade on Lemm lol.

I never have HBO back then so I didn't know anything about The Wire until a couple of years ago, I think Shield is good no doubt. But I've watched the entire Wire series 5x now and think it is easily the best tv show that's ever been made and nothing will be close to it.

[guy]

Vick Mackey might be my favorite character ever, definitely one of them. It was hard not to root for him despite how f*cked up he was.

[ndPac]

Spoiler alert ndPac

whoops my bad

[ndPac]

Vick Mackey might be my favorite character ever, definitely one of them. It was hard not to root for him despite how f*cked up he was.

I liked him a lot as well but eventually it seemed like he was doing way too much stuff that would be unrealistic in the real world so it got a little lame to me

[johndeeregreen]

Spoiler alert ndPac


Anyone that has, please feel free to discuss with spoilers

...

[daily]

Do we really need spoiler alerts for a show that's been off the air for 5 years?

The grenade in the lap was the best. Total shocker you knew then and there it was every man for himself

[guy]

I liked him a lot as well but eventually it seemed like he was doing way too much stuff that would be unrealistic in the real world so it got a little lame to me

I didn't really think so. From an aggregate point of view, yes its highly unlikely that he would get away every time but thats how all shows are. Not much different then Omar walking around the streets all day every day with a shotgun. There wasn't any instance though where he got away and it wasn't believable. The only thing I would say is the whole immunity thing. Can someone seriously get immunity even from killing a cop?

[guy]

Do we really need spoiler alerts for a show that's been off the air for 5 years?

The grenade in the lap was the best. Total shocker you knew then and there it was every man for himself


When Shane was the only not getting tailed, I had a pretty good feeling that he was going to kill Lem. He was by far IMO the most selfish one of them all. Still shocking though.

Shane killing himself and his whole family was pretty shocking. Maybe Shane killing himself wasn't that crazy, but killing his family was completely unnecessary and selfish, especially killing his son. All just so the kid isn't put in foster homes? ****ed up.

I was extremely surprised that Vick wasn't loyal to Ronnie to the very end. I understood taking the deal to save his family, and while I understood how he felt the need to finally confess all of his sins to someone, I would've never thought he would've done that if it meant screwing over Ronnie. I would've thought he would've lied or leave Ronnie's name out of it.

[johndeeregreen]

Shane killing himself and his whole family was pretty shocking. Maybe Shane killing himself wasn't that crazy, but killing his family was completely unnecessary and selfish, especially killing his son. All just so the kid isn't put in foster homes? ****ed up.
The phone call from Vic put him over the edge.


I was extremely surprised that Vick wasn't loyal to Ronnie to the very end. I understood taking the deal to save his family, and while I understood how he felt the need to finally confess all of his sins to someone, I would've never thought he would've done that if it meant screwing over Ronnie. I would've thought he would've lied or leave Ronnie's name out of it.
I obviously am over analyzing, but I don't think it's necessarily a death sentence for Ronnie. There is NO way any police department would ever publicize that kind of corruption, especially when it comes to light that the main orchestrator not only got off scot free, but got a promotion. I don't see a trial or him going to prison. Dismissed quietly is my guess.

Anyway, I liked the series for most of its run but (not coincidentally) like Sons of Anarchy, it just got too ridiculous. The characters became totally unsympathetic.

[RoseCity07]

Agree with people saying it's one of the best shows ever. I remember when they kidnap that Laker player and bet on the game. I swear that player was suppose to be like Andre Bynum or something. This show really gets insane when with the grenade scene happens. Everyone that has watched the whole series knows what I'm talking about. You get really sucked in after that.

[guy]

The phone call from Vic put him over the edge.


I could see that. I still don't think it made sense to kill the kid.



I obviously am over analyzing, but I don't think it's necessarily a death sentence for Ronnie. There is NO way any police department would ever publicize that kind of corruption, especially when it comes to light that the main orchestrator not only got off scot free, but got a promotion. I don't see a trial or him going to prison. Dismissed quietly is my guess.

Well we don't know and the only assumption we can make is that he went to jail given how it went down.



Anyway, I liked the series for most of its run but (not coincidentally) like Sons of Anarchy, it just got too ridiculous. The characters became totally unsympathetic.

I don't really think it was ridiculous. Thats just me though.

I totally disagree with the characters becoming unsympathetic. I thought Shane and his wife were unsympathetic until about the end when they died and then Claudette read his letter.

And I did feel sympathetic towards Mackey. He deserved everything he got and probably more, but I still felt for him, which is part of what made this so great to me. Dude was dirty as shit but in many ways he was still very likeable and someone you could relate to so it was hard not to be sympathetic toward him.

[ndPac]

I didn't really think so. From an aggregate point of view, yes its highly unlikely that he would get away every time but thats how all shows are. Not much different then Omar walking around the streets all day every day with a shotgun. There wasn't any instance though where he got away and it wasn't believable. The only thing I would say is the whole immunity thing. Can someone seriously get immunity even from killing a cop?


True that makes sense... Just when Vic would do stuff like locking those two drug dealers in that dumpster over night and having them fight it out to the death for turf just seemed like something that would never happen.. and the whole robbing the Armenias like that what cop would be able to do that and get a group of cops to do it too and not get caught..

True not much different from Omar though. I often thought in those scenes where he would rob the stash house and he would turn he back to the door and the guys inside would open the window and drop the stash out of it for me.. made no sense he wasn't even looking they could have easily shot and killed him right there. i always hated that scene because it just seemed so dumb

[johndeeregreen]

I could see that. I still don't think it made sense to kill the kid.

He killed his kid because he couldn't stand the thought of Vic seeing his kid while he was in jail. They made that pretty obvious.

[Bladers]

Southland is the best cop show out there.

Better than all the shows out there combined!

[El Kabong]

Southland is the best cop show out there.

Better than all the shows out there combined!
I like Southland, and last season with Lucy Liu was fantastic, but it's still not as good as The Shield.

[Legend of Josh]

I've heard about this show but never took the time to really watch it. If I watch anything on regular television (excluding premiums sites such as HBO, etc) I typically watch History Channel, Discovery, National Geo, and of course ESPN, some MSNBC here and there, Fox News when I want to have a good laugh or two. You know, the normal shit. I've never been into cable sitcoms though. I heard Breaking Bad and Walking Dead (just throwing two examples out there) is some of the best stuff since on television in decades, but I just haven't been convinced enough to invest myself into them.

Am I missing out? What else is currently on the tube that the common everyday viewer should be watching but might be missing out on ?

[Legend of Josh]

Why is it called "The Shield" ? ... LOL, IDK, 100% of the time when I hear the word shield being used I think of a rubber to protect me from that HIV shit, because frankly, shields haven't technically or physically been used since what, the King Author-ish era? **** a shield, and **** a condom. Me and my soon to be wife about 11 months ago decided to leave the shield off of my "shining armor" for the night, and the result was a magical conception. On January 3rd of 2013 my soon to be spouse an I had a son. His name is Legend. When the time comes, we'll have that birds and the bees conversation, and I'll educate the boy on "the shield" and it sure as **** won't be about some POS television show.

:lol

[niko]

Why is it called "The Shield" ? ... LOL, IDK, 100% of the time when I hear the word shield being used I think of a rubber to protect me from that HIV shit, because frankly, shields haven't technically or physically been used since what, the King Author-ish era? **** a shield, and **** a condom. Me and my soon to be wife about 11 months ago decided to leave the shield off of my "shining armor" for the night, and the result was a magical conception. On January 3rd of 2013 my soon to be spouse an I had a son. His name is Legend. When the time comes, we'll have that birds and the bees conversation, and I'll educate the boy on "the shield" and it sure as **** won't be about some POS television show.

:lol

That was the worst attempt at humor ever. That could be the opening paragraph in a book entitled "how not to be funny but instead come off as a douche".

[Legend of Josh]

That was the worst attempt at humor ever. That could be the opening paragraph in a book entitled "how not to be funny but instead come off as a douche".

LOL, Jesus man, lighten up. Far too often posters like you, instead of just ignoring something stupid like my post(s) you have to pretend like you have a stick up your ass or being on your period responding with a typical ":blah" remark. It's just a message board, man. It's not as serious a place as you'd like to believe it is. Relax bro, relax.

ummmmm, k?

:lol

I mean, I could make some fruitless post/comment about how a poster with almost 25k posts over countless years has never once posted anything slightly humorous, clever, or even remotely intelligent, but that would be the equivalent of raking leaves on a windy day. No point. But, if it makes you feel better pointing out the obvious, then by all means, feel free to waste your time.

[tmacattack33]

The Wire wasn't just a cop show...it was also told from the point of view of the drug dealers, port city dudes, and middle school kids. And those were my favorite scenes. The cop scenes weren't as interesting to me.

Is The Shield like that? Or is it it always about the cops?

[RoseCity07]

Why is it called "The Shield" ?


It's referring to the badge that cops wear. The title is symbolic in a way because that badge allows them to get away with their crimes. This squad harasses low level thugs, extorts drug dealers and gangsters, and pulls a ton of shit because they have power. Everyone else has to play by the rules but they are shielded from them.

[johndeeregreen]

The Wire wasn't just a cop show...it was also told from the point of view of the drug dealers, port city dudes, and middle school kids. And those were my favorite scenes. The cop scenes weren't as interesting to me.

Is The Shield like that? Or is it it always about the cops?
No, the Shield absolutely doesn't have the scale/realism of the Wire. Not comparable shows at all. The Shield is a TV show, whereas the Wire feels like someone just had an all-access pass to something that was actually happening.

[niko]

LOL, Jesus man, lighten up. Far too often posters like you, instead of just ignoring something stupid like my post(s) you have to pretend like you have a stick up your ass or being on your period responding with a typical ":blah" remark. It's just a message board, man. It's not as serious a place as you'd like to believe it is. Relax bro, relax.

ummmmm, k?

:lol

I mean, I could make some fruitless post/comment about how a poster with almost 25k posts over countless years has never once posted anything slightly humorous, clever, or even remotely intelligent, but that would be the equivalent of raking leaves on a windy day. No point. But, if it makes you feel better pointing out the obvious, then by all means, feel free to waste your time.
I didn't ask you to be serious I asked you to be funny. That wasn't funny. I like funny. That was Terrible.

[nightprowler10]

I liked The Shield, a lot. JDG is right in that there's no comparison with The Wire though. At the end of the day Shield was still a TV show and acted like one, Wire was something else completely.

I've heard a lot of people complain about Shield, and I think the reason is that the story isn't always great until the shocking moments happen. I think the biggest reason I liked it was that the character development was excellent to watch. I'd say very few recent shows managed it better.

[guy]

By the way, Forest Whitaker, Glen Close, and Anthony Anderson have some great roles in this show.

To anyone thats watched this show, I'd say these are the top 5 most shocking moments of the show (SPOILERS):

1. Shane killing Lem
2. Aceveda forced to suck a dick
3. Shane killing himself and his family
4. Vick killing Terry
5. Vick confessing to everything and screwing over Ronnie in the process

Anything I'm missing?

[highwhey]

I tried getting into the show but i was a no go.

[qrich]

By the way, Forest Whitaker, Glen Close, and Anthony Anderson have some great roles in this show.

To anyone thats watched this show, I'd say these are the top 5 most shocking moments of the show (SPOILERS):

1. Shane killing Lem
2. Aceveda forced to suck a dick
3. Shane killing himself and his family
4. Vick killing Terry
5. Vick confessing to everything and screwing over Ronnie in the process

Anything I'm missing?

Shane telling Mara the truth tripped me out more than 4 & 5. I was shocked it took Vic so long to screw Ronnie over. Vic having second doubts of taking Shane out was :wtf: as well.

The dude with the jizz fridge though :roll:

[Bless Mathews]

Goat show


How it was filmed - GOAT