The Shield (2002)

Watchseries; The Shield in my opinion as it is in most people's view, is probably regarded as second to The Wire as one of the greatest shows on television. The Shield is not just a cop show either, just like The Wire. With The Shield, you see politics, family issues, sexuality, and many other hard hitting topics that The Wire covers also but in two separate environments; Baltimore and Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to have bought the entire season 1 - 7 of The Shield on DVD at a good price, and slowly made my way through the vice and darkness that surrounds the show and its characters.

All I can really say is The Wire has only barely just topped The Shield in my opinion as a hard hitting gritty show. Both are almost fully fair in greatness, if not for The Wire beating the other by an inch. Through The Shield, you are tagging along on a journey with Vic Mackey and his Strike Team, through some harrowing and disturbing stories to the finale of this amazing show. Just as the The Wire is considered to be an analysis of society, I believe The Shield is too more so through the police but you still see both sides of the same argument from the political and criminal side too.

No one is innocent, and no one can pretend to be either as they all hide secrets. Through The shield you will see some harrowing scenes, some gritty cliffhangers to the seasons and some life-changing decisions being made in the show by its cast. Its harrowing, disturbing, gritty, hard hitting, and so down in the dirt realistic you know this happens almost everywhere. If not to watch for the crime side to it, watch The Shield to see an analysis of family life, ones own battle with their sexuality, the ever-running struggle against the corrupt institutions. Its a study of policing in an urban environment torn by strife, violence, racism and definitely the class system.

As each season passes and new ones open, we are left with many questions, awaiting answers. We await retribution, vengeance, and just deserves but we keep watching as it it so addictive. The Shield barely scrapes the top of the world of policing, especially in a city like Los Angeles, but it does a good job and comes close to the scale The Wire takes on. Tear jerking acting, top-notch plots and directing. The Shield to me and many others is right up there next to The Wire.

The Shield in my opinion as it is in most people's view, is probably regarded as second to The Wire as one of the greatest shows on television. The Shield is not just a cop show either, just like The Wire. With The Shield, you see politics, family issues, sexuality, and many other hard hitting topics that The Wire covers also but in two separate environments; Baltimore and Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to have bought the entire season 1 - 7 of The Shield on DVD at a good price, and slowly made my way through the vice and darkness that surrounds the show and its characters.

All I can really say is The Wire has only barely just topped The Shield in my opinion as a hard hitting gritty show. Both are almost fully fair in greatness, if not for The Wire beating the other by an inch. Through The Shield, you are tagging along on a journey with Vic Mackey and his Strike Team, through some harrowing and disturbing stories to the finale of this amazing show. Just as the The Wire is considered to be an analysis of society, I believe The Shield is too more so through the police but you still see both sides of the same argument from the political and criminal side too.

No one is innocent, and no one can pretend to be either as they all hide secrets. Through The shield you will see some harrowing scenes, some gritty cliffhangers to the seasons and some life-changing decisions being made in the show by its cast. Its harrowing, disturbing, gritty, hard hitting, and so down in the dirt realistic you know this happens almost everywhere. If not to watch for the crime side to it, watch The Shield to see an analysis of family life, ones own battle with their sexuality, the ever-running struggle against the corrupt institutions. Its a study of policing in an urban environment torn by strife, violence, racism and definitely the class system.

As each season passes and new ones open, we are left with many questions, awaiting answers. We await retribution, vengeance, and just deserves but we keep watching as it it so addictive. The Shield barely scrapes the top of the world of policing, especially in a city like Los Angeles, but it does a good job and comes close to the scale The Wire takes on. Tear jerking acting, top-notch plots and directing. The Shield to me and many others is right up there next to The Wire.

The Shield watchseries. The Shield is revolutionary. It completely redefined the TV genre by having bad cops the main characters for a whopping total of 89 episodes. It is the reason why many shows look like they look today. It took huge responsibilities and they definitely proved to be the right ones. I love this show. It is my favourite drama ever, if not my favourite TV show hands down! It immediately grabs you in and with every step the Strike Team takes into oblivion you go with them. You just can't look away. From start to finish it told a story so gripping, so outstanding that you have no other choice but to stay and look. Wonderful.

There is not - IS NOT- one dull episode. Every week it delivers BIG. Last season didn't fizzle. 9.6 rating for the finally, so you will not be disappointed with the ending. Chikliss, Goggins, Pounder Know their craft. It's 3rd best cop series behind 1) BANSHEE 2) The Wire.

There seems to be a glut of quite extreme 1-star reviews on here, all echoing a couple of very specific points which make me think they're not genuine. They focus on 1) the camera being shaky, and 2) the 'reaction shots' being cut away from too quickly. Very strange. So in response:

1) Yes, this is deliberate. It gives a subtle sense of realism and makes you feel like you're an observer of a real life situation rather than a glossy film or by the numbers drama. I noticed it for about half an episode and then didn't think about it for the next 7 seasons, given the overall quality of the shield. 2) I didn't notice this for one second. There are reaction shots, and they serve their purpose. Who watches a series thinking about the fact that the reaction shots are not quite long enough? Very strange, and it makes me think someone out there has a real agenda.

Anyway, The Shield was in my opinion one of the best shows I've watched. I got absolutely lost in it for 7 seasons. There wasn't a slack episode, or a slow moment.

There are no weak or cardboard cutout characters in this show - each one has depth and humanity, and the performances are superb. It manages to take you from the gritty street level crime of urban LA through the overarching political manoeuvring of the key players, and brilliantly blurs the lines between the criminal leaders and the leaders on the supposed 'right side' of the law, in the same way that the Wire did so well, all of them power hungry, and ruthless.

Some shows struggle to make individual episodes gripping while keeping hold of the long-term storylines - others can make a relatively good but incongruous individual episode, while having no idea where the show is going overall (Lost, The Walking Dead, take a bow). The shield achieves that rare thing of making each episode individually great, while never losing sight of the long-term view. I would say only a handful of other shows have achieved this. The finale, when it comes, brings in threads of storyline from the very first episode, and does it with brilliance and humanity. I'm still thinking about it a week later, such is the complex web weaved by the writers and performances of this fantastic show.

I only heard of The Shield a few weeks ago. I had only just finished watching a previous TV show from start to finish, and was after a new one to pass the time. I typed in "The Best TV Shows Ever", or something similar, on Google, and I noticed that this was on a few lists. I'd never heard of it, but after checking to see that it was given a very respectable 8.7 rating on IMDb, I decided to check it out.

When I started, I was not unimpressed, but at the same time, I didn't really get the immediately-hooked feeling like I did at the start of other TV shows like Prison Break, Dexter and Breaking Bad, amongst others.

However, unlike most TV dramas, The Shield got progressively better throughout its series. The characters were very complex and I can't think of a single main character who I had both rooted for at times, yet wanted to see their downfall in others.

As I said, the series got progressively better, but in no way was I expecting the finale to be as good as it was. I've seen a fair few TV series in my time, but no series finale that I've seen has even come close to matching this one. An absolutely incredible finale of a quality that any series would have been proud of.

I'd definitely recommend this show. For me personally, it was a steady 7/10 for the first couple seasons, 8//10 and 9/10 for the next few, but 10/10 for its final season. To give the actual finale a rating out of ten would do it injustice as I'm sceptical that I'll ever see one as good as that.

I know im late to the party but i just wanted to add my two cents. I have seen a lot of shows in my life from the Wire , breaking bad , sons of anarchy , downtown abbey to GOT and everything in between ( of-course not but definitely all the ones worth watching ) but The Shield has a special place in my heart. First it saw me through the corona virus lockdown and had me baited hook line and sinker like i have never been . I almost cried when it ended because i didn't want it to but also had me enthralled to the point that i couldn't wait to see what the next episode would bring .

I think i cannot offer any compliments and praises that haven't been offered already . All i will say is it is like The Wire in treatment but with its own unique flavour. The writing is crisp , the hand held shooting gritty with each character addng a different dimension to the storyline. Each season brought with it a different commentary on all kinds of issues be it politics , family life, friendship, duty in the line of fire etc

Give it a go and be prepared for one heck of a ride