Why does nobody I know watch the FX original series “The Shield”? It's probably my third favorite show of all-time, and has won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Television Series (Drama) in 2003, and Micheal Chiklis took home an Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Television Series in 2002, and a Golden Globe for the same thing 2003. It had seven successful seasons, and a very well received series finale, but no one watches it. It makes no sense. It offers a lot more than most “cop dramas”, and should appeal to most television viewers. Yet, when someone asks me to suggest something for them to watch, they immediately shoot down “The Shield” as if its trash.
I've been thinking about this as I'm almost finished watching the entire series for the third time. There aren't many things that make me look away, or cringe in anticipation, but the Season Five finale, the Series Finale, and most of the episodes leading right up to it fill me with a strange sense of anticipation and dread, because the drama and betrayal is so thick and real that you feel like you're the one losing team members or friends. The characters are, for the most part, well done and diverse, and they play off each other so well as the show goes on and we grow with them. I don't know, I don't wanna give a series recap because that would just take way too long, but the whole tragic series is highly underrated by anyone who's never seen it, and to anyone who reads this that has time to kill, I'd suggest watching it.
Huh, well IMDb gave it an 8.8. I've actually never even heard of The Shield before, but you've piqued my curiosity. Maybe I'll give it a shot when I have the time.
ReplyDeleteI watched the Shield a few times, but for me, became redundant if not unrealistic. But then again, I am hooked on Criminal Minds which although relatively realistic, repeats week after week...Cops smart, criminal dumb, catch them at the last minute, heavy sigh of relief. I think the fascination is that the story line is driven by the creativity of the criminal. The bad guy directs the action and everything the cops do is reactionary.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch it, and part of what I liked was the kind of antihero the main characters was, or, at least the way he didn't fit the stereotypical cop look. I'm curious as to what would make you watch entire series all over again. Do you get more out of it the second time?
ReplyDeleteI watched FX years ago, and ignored many of the promotions of The Shield. I was too busy watching MASH. Maybe I'm a bad person.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely get more out of it the second time. The actual police duties are completely irrelevant to me now, it's the relationships between the characters. The entire Strike Team is one big tragedy, and the relationships Vic has with people like Aceveda, Claudette, and his family are what really drives the show. Not to mention the absolutely dynamite chemistry between certain characters, like between Chiklis and Walton Goggins, or between CCH Pounder and Jay Karnes. It's not really a show where you can tune in one week out of the blue, you need to know the characters. That's what makes the series finale so intense, seeing Vic finally reap the consequences of his actions.
ReplyDeleteI can't watch the shield because I can't see Michael Chiklis (sic?) as anyone but the thing now. I used to see advertisements for that show and was just wondering when he would become a big orange monster, haha.
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