Tuesday, May 8, 2007

New "Shield" tonight

Probably my 2nd favorite show, and at times it goes neck-to-neck with "24", is "The Shield" on FX. Currently in its sixth season, "The Shield" has only gotten better as it's gotten older, which is a rarity in television. "The Shield" is about a police precinct in the inner city of L.A. where some of the cops aren't above breaking the law or working against each other in the pursuit of their self-interests. In the end, it's something you really have to watch for yourself, so if you haven't, I'd suggest querying up on Netflix and adding them. Michael Chiklis is outstanding in the lead role, as are the rest of the actors. I think what stops it from getting the recognition it deserves is that it's not on network TV or on HBO, but on basic cable. It still gets a big audience anyway, and I'm sure that the show would have taken a drop on quality if it had aired on network television and probably wouldn't have grown the way it has.

When it first premired and I saw the commercials, I judged it as "NYPD Blue on steroids", which shows that I jump too fast to conclusions sometimes. In the last ten minutes of the pilot, it was obvious this was going to be like nothing we've seen before. To me, it's like watching a Shakespearen tragedy unfold before our eyes. It's certainly the best cop show ever, easily blowing NYPD Blue out of the water (it was always a vastly overrated show anyway, IMO). See a scene from "The Shield" to see exactly what I'm talking about. The quality and emotion of this scene defies description.



From the preview of tonight's episode, it looks like Vic will either discover that Shane killed Lem, or start to develop suspicions. The latter is more likely, as you're starting to see subtle hints, like Shane telling Vic to basically let it go. Anthony Anderson also makes a return tonight, who knows the part he will play in this.

I will try to post my thoughts and impressions of it later tonight.

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