The Shield | A Groundbreaking Miracle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- (CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sexual assault, suicide, disturbing themes)
When discussing the shows of what is referred to as The Second Golden Age of television, cited with bringing an unprecedented level of quality to the small screen, there’s one show often left out of the mix. The Shield, which aired on FX from 2002-2008, takes place in the fictional Farmington District of LA, following the exploits of corrupt LAPD detective Vic Mackey who leads his Strike Team into the deepest depths of their crime ridden streets, resorting to any means necessary to bring about his own warped view of justice.
While it is easy to take for granted how revolutionary The Shield was, particularly in regard to how it pushed the boundaries of what was permissible on cable television, its impact cannot be understated and even 20 years later still towers above countless “edgy dramas” in terms of its audacity and storytelling bravado.
This video will serve as a full analysis of the series, beginning with a short discussion detailing the inception of the show, followed by a breakdown of all seven seasons, analyzing how it began with a brazen but bumpy start yet finished with one of the most astounding final runs in television history, and ending with a concise conclusion, giving a criminally underappreciated show it's just deserts.
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[00:00:00] - Intro/Shoutouts
[00:02:22] - Prologue: A Different Kind Of Cop Show
[00:06:39] - Season 1: ...With A Bang
[00:18:00] - Season 2: Upping The Ante
[00:28:52] - Season 3: Breakage
[00:38:43] - Season 4: Transition
[00:51:28] - Season 5: The Beginning Of The End
[01:04:31] - Season 6: Fallout
[01:17:02] - Season 7: Retribution
[01:35:14] - Epilogue: A Forgotten Legacy
[01:36:37] - Outro/Patrons
MUSIC
"Just Another Day (Remix)" by X-Ecutioners
"Take The Lead" by Kevin MacLeod - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Thanks for explaining the Armenian mob thread from season 6!
I gotchu
@@MacabreStorytelling The Kardashians make sense now
The Potente character was slated to return in S7 but there was a scheduling conflict and they could not make it happen.
Yeah, that shit was confusing.
To give context, Ryan was taking part in the writers strike at the time, the show was lacking control, hence those confusing bits I guess
Family Meeting is the greatest series finale I've ever seen. The Shield was a god-tier show and it's crazy it isn't talked about more.
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Watched the whole thing when it aired and have binged watched it several times since. Not a single bad season, this was/is a benchmark show that NYPD Blue could have been?
@@thoughtsonfitness3249 where can I stream this show?
@@sexylazercatwizard I have the original DVD’s, but it was on Amazon Prime to stream recently.
@@thoughtsonfitness3249 AGREED.I thought the Shield was one of the best tv shows ever created ( I also include the rebooted Battlestar Galactica )ever episode was unpredictable and intriguing,didn't want to miss an episode.
I’ve been saying Walton Goggins is underrated for years. He’s an incredibly diverse actor. Not only can he handle drama but his comedic acting chops are S-tier. The man simply doesn’t get enough recognition.
His performance on Justified is amazing
@@rickyray2794I think he was supposed to be a one off character on Justified originally.
@@felixjohnston3402 yep. So good they made him the main antagonist
@@rickyray2794 I also loved him in the hateful eight
@@rickyray2794 If it isn't Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens. Goggins was amazing!
Hell yes. It’s about time someone did something about this gem of a show.
Seriously! Such an underrated show and just does not receive nearly the amount of attention it deserves. Top tier tv. I see that the author of this video also covered The Leftovers, which was another under-looked gem. I'll be watching that video right after this one!
For real, this show has been in the shadow of stuff like the Sopranos and Breaking Bad, I would argue it’s just as good as them.
I gotchu
It is truly a gem
The Shield is one of the best shows ever made. The hardest hitting cop show ever.
Season 5 of The Shield is one of the best seasons of any show ever. Vic and Kavanaugh hounding each other, Lem getting himself in deeper and deeper sh*t, and the FINALE! Every episode of that season was full throttle and peak entertainment. The whole show was good too!
I’m about to start the Shield (which I’ve never before seen) but it’s on the same level as peak Breaking Bad or Fargo?
@jackpackage4278 yea I'd say it's up there with breaking bad
@@jackpackage4278blows breaking bad out of the water
The main reason I am always impressed with The Shield as a whole is because the very first episode ties into the very last episode and the continuity is extremely solid for a show spanning 6 long seasons! Vic confessing at the end is like a major gut shot to the viewer seeing Vic basically become a snitch. Great ending!
7 seasons.
Oh yeah… it’s all comin togerher
The very concept of the shield impresses me and I'm still disappointed I got into the show as late as I did. I remember seeing the classic "im a different kind of cop" promos for The Shield back in highschool and just assumed Vic was like a typical Martin Riggs type who had extreme methods for getting things done. I really want to go back and experience the "twist" of the pilot episode. The fact that the main character is a dirty cop who does such a deplorable act in the FIRST EPISODE and the whole series is them trying to cover that up is a brilliant premise. I always try to imagine a first time viewer who knows nothing about the shield and their reaction to the end if the pilot.
The Shield really showed that all actions have consequences (unlike shows where characters blow away a dozen people with nothing ever coming of it (Sons of Anarchy for example). Even minor mistakes keep coming back to haunt everyone.
@johnv3623 one of my favorite lines that encapsulates that is the finale when Ronnie asks what he's being arrested for and dutch says "the past three years"
I don’t think I ever wanted a character to die horribly more than I did Shane after season 5. But after the hell he goes through in the final season, I’m not sure I’ve ever pitied a character as much and just wanted it to be over. As batshit as the show often was, Shane’s arc is easily one of the greatest ever put to the small screen.
I hated Shane after what he did to tavon
I heard that Ryan was inspired by the Chris Benoit tragedy.
@@Supremmo Julien did some shit like that in real life minus the kid
Correct take.
@@tapset Michael Jace is still alive and surprisingly when it all happened they didn’t go to his former castmates for their thoughts.
My favoruite fact about this show is that the writers straight up admitted that after a while, it didn't make sense to keep Aceveda on the show, but they liked working with the actor so much that they kept coming up with increasingly convoluted reasons to keep him on board.
Plenty of actors made such a great impression they made whatever excuse to get them back.
Like the fencer Taylor...
Thats so cool
Nice piece of info. And they did a bang up job of keeping aceveda.
I didn't know this, yet his presence doesn't feel forced. Retrospectively, I think it was a good idea because it allows to emphasize the difference of trajectory between a corrupt cop and a corrupt politician, the first one at best saves his ass but ends up alone with nothing, at worst ends up dead or in prison ; the second one, while officially condemning the shortcuts and violent actions of some cops, silmutaneously uses them and takes credit for their successes (up to the very last episode) and ends up mayor.
The best part is they didn't wimp out with any attempt at a "redemptive" ending for Vic. No squeaking by on his crimes, no going out in a blaze of glory, he gets EXACTLY what he deserved, alone, no family or allies, reputation wrecked and stuck in an office job. Beautiful ending to a fantastic series.
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Vic should've died
That's why the ending was so great 👍
Shows always end it lamely but The Shield gave us an ending we all agree with that wasn't a "cop out".
This is what exactly what Breaking Bad failed to do.
@@indrayanray5132 Yeah, but in the first episode (If i remember correctly) he was told he only had a year to live so it made sense that he would die at the end of the show. And he did lose everything, he lost his meth empire he was so proud of and his family hates him and wanted him to die and he lived the last few months on the run in a little freezing cabin, sick from cancer and alone.
Ronnie's arrest was heartbreaking. In the context of who Vic was, he got exactly what he deserved - a fate worse than death.
TS Eliot's quote "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper” perfectly sums up Vic Mackey's fall.
I also prefer Vic ending this way because not only it's more gray/complex and fits his character better, but also because "bang" endings tend, intentionally or unintentionally, to glorify even the worst villain (the difference for example between Tony Montana's ending in Scarface and Henry's ending in Goodfellas)
This show made me see Anthony Anderson as an intimidating presence and for that alone it deserves all the Grammys
Emmys but yes lmao
he was really good in this... convincingly sinister. . shame what's become of him now.
Anthony Adams was terrifying in The Shield.
Comedians always want to do something much more serious. But I'm surprised that Anderson pulled through quite well.
The Shield is so damn underrated. I never hear it mentioned anymore but when it was on air everyone was talking about it.
Literally the first video I have ever seen on TH-cam about The Shield. CRIMINALLY underrated show. Thank you for giving it commentary at long last. The arc of Vic and Shane and how the show managed to flip it in its last season was truly game changing television. Absolutely phenomenal.
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I saw Skip Intro's videos first, which introduced me to the show. That one is primarily from the context of copaganda, and trying to analyse where The Shield supports copaganda and where it subverts it. This video has more detail about the show itself, even if it lacks the focused perspective of Skip Intro's work.
There is one other one but only on Vic Mackey breakdown. The channel does deep dives on evil/ villains TV and movie characters.
As a massive Shield fan it's worth your time if your interested.
I STILL haven’t seen anything like Aceveda’s sexual assault portrayed on television. I remember seeing it for the first time and what I felt afterwards. That whole storyline is one massive gut punch.
I really feel like this show came out in the one brief moment in time where an edgy show might take on subject matter like that. Honestly, there's a lot of subject matter in this show that future shows won't touch.
Or when Shane nearly r*ped that woman as a form of interrogation. U would never see something like that (especially from a main character) on a show today.
EXACTLY i felt awful for the poor guy couldnt watch more episodes for a while after that
“Previously, on The Shield”
My dad liked The Shield but once he saw that scene, he said the show was to intense for him.
Vic's ending really was the antithesis of who he was, making it fate much worse than prison.
It was the perfect ending for that character and demonstrates how well the writers knew him.
So much more layered and nuanced than "And he got life in prison"
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totally, in the last episode the ICE office with all this white, these rules for everything including the thermostat, the coldness and the silence of the workplace, made me think of a kind of purgatory (I also heard Chiklis use this word in an interview) The ending, with Vic leaving the room with his gun and a determined face, is a good example of a great open ending (will he try to find his kids in his spare time? is he back in illegal business? will he try to run away because he has no intention of suffering this deal?)
The Vickey Mackey ended up in a cell of his own making (all all jails have bars).
Antwon Mitchellville could have been interesting but not as much insight would have been needed. Vic was always evolving, he could have gotten used to that and it was only 3 years
@@BossSimbaYou all missed the smile on his face upon picking up his gun.
THAT is what he lives for: the power of the gun and badge.
Everything else is secondary, and he's shown he can get around mean bosses and regulations.
Chances are Olivia will lose her job way before his 3 years are up...
The Shield was and remains my favorite show of all time. My brother turned me on to it, so glad he did.
Favorite line, "I've done worse".
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Do you know what you've done to me......
"Vic gets up and puts his black leather jacket on, looks back with before leaving"
_'__ ____ _____
"Gives her a final look of contempt for being dumb enough to trust him".
I can't remember another actor that made me feel for a character like Kenny Johnson made me feel for Lem. What a performance.
GOAT character
I haven't watched the video, so not sure if it's mentioned, but I think the Lem character got a bigger role because they loved Kenny Johnson's performance so much.
@@saadishsnake I can see why. Even from the first season he was the most likes me by far.
Lem had such a big heart...makes the tragedy of his fate all the more potent.
@@saadishsnake yea, Ronnie and Lem were originally going to be bit characters, but Ryan and team loved them so much, they became legit co-stars
I still think this show... taken as a whole over 6 seasons is the best television show of my lifetime. Forget about how revolutionary and groundbreaking it was. The shows plot, acting and characters stand on their own. The Shield also has the greatest finale and final season of any show ever imo. Nobody who has watched the entire series can get through that final couple episodes without feeling a certain kinda way.
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*7 seasons
The Shield is some of the best television I've ever seen. Incredible character development.
Correct tske
I always like to comment, my dad is a retired ICE agent, retired 2017, and worked in NYC arresting people for 23 years. He says The Shield is the most realistic cop show he's ever seen.
Nice
Well that’s terrifying.
In my opinion the shield is a scar on my memory in the best way possible. Vic takes us deep into a world of brutality and self preservation & he consistently blows off time he could be spending with his family just to be in the streets as much as possible, in the end it meant nothing, he made no difference. lost everything. Love this show.
❤
Walter goggins is one of those actors where you don’t see them very often but it’s always a good time when you do
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Walton
Family Meeting! 😊
Vic being on the cover of The Shield on streaming services and stuff is such a betrayal to the idea of the rug pull in the first episode holy shit
Good point lol
He's the main character, the show revolves around him. Nobody thought Reed Diamond was going to be the centerpiece, get serious.
@@JackMonroe lol, lmao.
I hate but I still the twist is effective as most ppl going into the show who are used to police procedural will be caught off guard
And that is why studios need to take chances on possibly-risky projects. How many excellent outside-of-the-box shows would FX have helped make if not for taking the risk on The Shield and seeing its success
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Ronnie was deliberately mysterious. We knew a lot about the other characters, but he was an enigma. That's why it was a jolt when he was good with what Vic did to Terry.
Don't know about you, but I kind of see a parallel between Ronnie's character and Robert Duvall as Tom in the Godfather. Both were major supporting roles throughout whose characters majorly supported the mains and contributed greatly but were terribly overlooked.
The Death of Shane's family is one of the craziest things I've experienced watching TV. I'd say the shield also has the best pilot episode of all time. I'm rarely caught of guard, but the ending of the first episode left my mouth agape.
Most brutal ending yet to be topped
The shield is underrated masterpiece
It’s a absolute crime more people don’t know about “The Shield “ . Try and find someone who has watched the series from beginning to end who doesn’t SWEAR by it . One day it will get the attention it deserves
about time people started talking about this masterpiece of a show. I watched it many times and bought the box set. simply AMAZING!
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I bought them one by one as they released each season back in the day. Still got um
Thank you for spreading content about "The Shield". More people need to watch it. I stumbled upon it six months ago. My friend advised me to watch. Ended the final season a few days ago and can't stop thinking about how good this Tv show. For people who dive deep in cinema language, script, storytelling "The Shield" is a miracle. In terms of how characters' arcs need to be ended, how the writers don't try just "to shock" viewer. Everything felt so real. What I like the most about the story you don't see heroes vs enemies conflict (for example Starks vs Lanisters in GoT), you see your favourite characters conflict. It hits hard. It really something unique. You don;t know who you want to win or lose you just watch and wait what will happen next. I think "The Shield" has the best story and ending in terms of characters. I've never expirienced something similar. Masterpiece.
You recounting the events of season 5 was giving me chills. A masterclass ratching tension and not letting characters off the hook.
No. F*cking. Notes.
Speaking of getting chills: Every time I hear “Disarm” by The Smashing Pumpkins, I think of the final two episodes of season 5. Easily two of the best episodes of television, and maybe the best use of licensed music in TV ever.
Maybe the greatest season of television ever.
@@lukewilliam3601the wire s4 but it’s up there
While I think The Sopranos is the most accomplished tv show of all time, The Shield is my favourite. There is nothing else like it. It is simply phenomenal.
I don't understand these comparisons to sopranos. In terms of pacing and action, the shield is another beast entirely. Sopranos feels like they turned godfather 3 into a tv series.
YESS, thank you! The shield needs so much more love, it's such an underrated show. One of the best crime dramas of all time. It's in the same league as the sopranos and breaking bad according to me.
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Not only that, it was a template for many shows that came after it.
@@williampowell3378 the truly groundbreaking series often get forgotten
THANK YOU
FINALLY someone who appreciates this show for the Masterpiece it is !!!
Also Captain Monica Rawling was THE BEST captain in the whole show
I can't believe this hasn't been a more popular show. It was so damn good. I watched Sons of Anarchy because it was made by the same guy
...and Taylor Sheridan (Sheriff Hale in "Sons of Anarchy") writes "Yellow Stone" and "Tulsa King" among other shows.
Actually Kurt was one of the writers from The Shield.
May check it out down the line.
Do you think he shield better than sons of anarchy? Because I wasn't a huge fan of soa. I need to watch a new TV show but I'm undecided.
@@EJD339 Both are pretty good, but I like SoA Just a little bit more than The Shield, love the John/Jax monologues
I watched it live, every episode, every week on FX. After each season I'd search out the DVD release of that season and watch it all again . I still have them.
When i got Hulu a couple years ago The Shield was available to stream and ive watched the series another 5 times or so, individual episodes maybe 10.
All told ive probably watched it 30 times start to finish over 20 years😊
The incredibly important thing about season four is Antwan Mitchel. He made it so going to prison wasn't an option, which they constantly brung up over the course of the show. Great video essay btw!
S5 was so awesome, Whitaker was great and the idea of corrupt IA vs corrupt cop is a unique idea.
He’s taking a piss!
He was great
I agree with you and that's why I have The Shield ahead of Breaking Bad. I felt like the finale of BB attempted to redeem WW while the finale of The Shield was really just him having everything he did come back at him
Honestly, WW getting some small bit of redemption at the end of his life made sense to me. Vic was a monster from the moment we first saw him and earned his suffering at the end. WW was more complex, going from a man just trying to keep his head above water to a ruthless and cold-blooded criminal to a fugitive on the run forced to come to terms with what his deeds had cost him.
F/X has put out some absurdly good yet overlooked and underrated shows like The Shield, Terriers and more recently Mr Inbetween.
Sometimes the urge hits me and I'll go seek out that scene where Vic confesses to Olivia. It could almost be a one-act play, just by itself. It's not just WHAT he's confessing to, but HOW he's confessing to it, the way he seems to be reacting to it as he's describing it. I think you hit the nail on the head on that point.
The scene with Shane playing the piano while Mara plays with Jackson was so heartwarming and breaking at the same time . I thought they would eventually divorce maybe they would have anyway but there was potential for a good life there and Shane threw it away following Vic's example and getting in bed with the Armenian mob .
Bittersweet af
You thought they were going to divorce. How innocent you were back then…
I’m still crying years later at the demise of Shane’s family.
No TV show stuck the landing as well as The Shield. Greatest finale ever.
Six feet under had a better ending but the shields finale was obviously excellent
@@raymondsims7042 loved the Six Feet Under finale. Claire was a great character, back when Hollyweird still wrote great female roles
@@BlyGuy agreed she was a great character along with the rest of the cast
LOVED this show. So many episodes left me with my mouth wide open going WTF did I just watch???!!! This show ripped your heart out at times. It is truly one of the greats and deserves it's place right up there with The Sopranos, Breaking Bad/ Better Call Saul, etc... It's a Top 5 show for me. Mackey was just so brutal yet you found yourself pulling for him. You had to catch yourself and remind yourself what a true monster he really was. I also think this show had the absolute best series finale's ever. It was perfection! Amazing show!
And you had to wait a week to find out what happens
When people ask me for good tv recommendations, the first question I ask is if they've watched this show. I love how the tension just ramps up and up and the ending is just spectacular. Very few shows ever nail the landing but for my money The Shield, The Leftovers and Six Feet Under ( which Shield creator Shawn Ryan said the ending was perfect) do a great job of this. This show is criminally underrated and hope in time it gets the flowers it so rightfully deserves.
Just finished watching it for the first time and I’m blown away. During the first three seasons I was like « yeah, it’s well written, well acted… let’s watch another one » occasionally like once in two weeks. But holy shit after the middle of season 4 I just couldn’t turn it off. Amazing show !
My favorite series of all time. The writing (something Hollywood quit using) never let things get stale and the acting is top f'ing notch across the board.
Excellent recap. Truly a tough, gritty, original series. Never seen anything like it, before or since. The scene where Shane drops the grenade in Lem's lap is still very upsetting to watch. Thank you for putting this together.
I started writing a retrospective for the series a few months ago when I realized nobody had really given The Shield a proper once-over on here. I kinda figured somebody would finish theirs before mine. Can't wait to watch! It's such a landmark show. Breaking Bad, for instance, would've NEVER happened without The Shield. I highly recommend the blu-ray box set. It's completely remastered and has just about every special feature you could dream of. Definitely worth the (criminally low) price tag!
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Already reviewed the box set, it is great but I would watch from the old one, the new one reveals so many camera men in the large format. It is actually disaster.
@@MichaelChiklisCares I owned the DVD sets from back in the day but I have to respectfully disagree entirely here. While there are some shadows and obvious crew present every now and then, it still doesn't take away from the experience. I'm a very close watcher but even I had to have them pointed out to me. In fact, some might say it adds to the "fly on the wall" documentary style that the series did so well.
It's never looked or sounded better and I would never recommend returning to that format or master ever again lol the extras alone are more than worth the price of admission. For instance, the 2018 roundtable reunion is an incredible watch. You can see how much the actors and crew cared about this series. Different strokes though, you know?
This was the first time I truly could not miss an episode of a show. One of my all time favorites. Great writing intense af. Tragic. Vic got off too easy. What a dirtbag.
The shield wasnt only ground breaking it was one of the greatest shows of all time..The writing was phenominal..The cast was amazing and the show kept you hooked..It was the rawest show on tv before sons of anarchy and breaking bad came along and it still tops them..
No one does a better Claudette Wyms impression of 46:37 than Dennis Reynolds. It's magic.
I’m so glad someone is doing a long from analysis of this amazing show. It’s my favorite show of all time, beating out Breaking Bad by a hair.
God tier taste
This was a good video. I miss the days when writers just didn’t coddle their characters. I used to watch The Shield when I was younger never used to understand the plot lines but distinctively remember how good the acting was. I am glad that it holds up to this day.
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This show got me ready for "The Wire." Its finale, IMO, is the best finale in TV history. I don't know if it has been mentioned, but I read a couple of things in an article:
1)The Sopranos had just ended and Shawn Ryan hated the ending. He wanted to tie up as many arcs as possible.
2)The finale was debuted at a theater in NY. It ended to silence and then a slow-building standing ovation.
100% underrated show, just recently picked it up again and thought I'll see what TH-cam has to say about this and to my surprise there is very little out there, so massive props for doing this.
This is one of the best television shows of all time! We used to have watch parties and wait weekly and seasonally for new shows… I’ve seen the aeries at least a dozen times through. Incredible.
Monica Rawlings was such a well written character, loved every minute she was on screen.
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Glenn Close knocked it out of the park, matching all the intensity and gravitas of Michael Chiklis.
The final shot is pretty great. His compulsion and obsession with being an authority figure drives him to make poor decisions to such a degree that even though he did it, he got away with everything and his only real punishment is a life of mediocrity, he's ready to throw himself back into the mix and ruin it all. He fought hard to get out of it, sold out his friends, murdered innocent people, and was protected by the system in a way only cops could be. He throws it away anyhow. He won't stop until he's dead or locked up forever. He simply refuses to change and that's a real tragedy. It was all for nothing.
Also notice how the S1 ending parallels the finale, the cycle keeps repeating. The show is very focused on the cycle of abuse and violence. Vic tortures Juan Lozano by shoving a bong down his throat, which plants the idea in his mind to rape Aceveda. Or how we see Joe Clarke perverted Vic in a similar way that he would go onto do with Shane, and then Shane would get with Army. Brilliant show.
Now that I think about it that could’ve possibly been the reason for the inclusion of Tina.
He gonna go on a war oath
I found this show this year and i watched it 5 times in 3 months. Still watching it now for a 6th time. It's just perfect. The writing, the acting, the delivery, the eratic cameras, the humor is crazy. It's just awesome. I turn it on and let it play without even watching sometimes. Just listening to it while I work and laugh because the dialouge is hilarious. Love it.
It gets better with every watch I've watched it at least 15 times
It's my favorite show too, but 5 times in a few months? That's insane. I'm on my fourth watch, but that's been since it originally aired.
I'm probably watched it 30 times in 20 years, live, DVD collection and streaming 😂
The erratic camera was a financial necessity. The hand held cinema verite style was necessary to keep costs down. The DP was a couple years ahead of me @ film school although we didn't work together. Those shots from a circular camera move save time & money from having to shoot from several setups... this show was done for a cost, which shows it doesn't take money to create a brilliant show
Interesting fact: the reason Ronnie was just kinda there for most of the series was that they didn’t have the budget for a larger speaking part but needed more bodies on the strike team and David Snell was a friend of Shawn Ryan’s.
As you said in the video the fact that they were able to spin that into one final gut punch is a testament to the brilliance of the writing.
Great video thank you.
I'll never forget the end of pilot ep. That the creators then used it to bookend the hollowness of Vic's 'family first' character arc was incredible to watch play out.
The Sopranoes, Wire and Breaking Bad get all this hype around them; it's definitely deserved. The Shield should be mentioned in the same breath.
edit: Noticed you brought up those 3
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Finally someone looks at this underrated show.
The last scene of this series was awesome. It showed what Vic truly was - a survivor. After everything he went through and lost, he hasn't really changed.
He’s just gonna keep pushing til he leads himself to ruin
@@MacabreStorytelling Oh, yeah, your shark analogy was on point.
Such a fantastic show! That confession scene is powerful. Not just for Vic, but for the audience that has cheered this man on for 7 seasons. It leaves absolutely no doubt that we were rooting for the bad guy. It made me feel awful for it too.
Preach
"how much memory has that thing got?"
It is same as breaking bad. First few episodes you like him, but then you realize how rotten he is.
Well said brother, that was very good break down of arguably one of the greatest shows of all time, I've been singing this shows praises for the last 20 years trying to get as many eyeballs as I could to watch it because it is simply that good, despite its flaws no one can deny the sheer acting talent on display in this criminally under rated show, I'll go one step further and say the very final moments of the show is just magic to watch a silent Michael chiklis deliver every range of emotion that character would be feeling without saying a single freaking word 😳 more people need to see this show
Hopefully it will receive the attention it deserves in the future
Just got one of my friends to finally start watching it after years of badgering him. After he watched episode 1, he sumply texted me, "HOLY SHIT!!! JUST WATCHED FURST EPISODE OF THE SHIELD!!!"
This show is so criminally underrated.
Thank you so much for this. I have been waiting years for some acknowledgement of not only the brilliance of the entire show, but for the ending which was hands down the finest fate ever meted out in a TV show. I still remember watching the last episode thinking "well, it's either jail or death" as the only two possibilities left to Vic, only to be literally stunned by the poetic justice in the last few minutes, when the horror of a self-created hell becomes Vic's lot. Bravo, sir.
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You should continue with Justified.. Walton Goggins shines even more there.. and it's kinda the same time of series.. it starts as the "villain of the week" episodic cop show but evolves in something amazing
Nah, Shane is definitely Walton’s best role although he’s great as Boyd Crowder too IMO. And I wouldn’t really say it’s the same, Justified S1 is actual basic cable network episodic shit, The Shield was more episodic in the beginning but not fully episodic and developed a lot of stuff for the future. Each season built upon the last and expanded on the show with a properly planned endgame, while Justified was more of a show that did whatever each season and didn’t fully have a plan. Which is crazy cause the final season is amazing, it’s a great show, but it wasn’t that good at the start and not nearly as great as The Shield IMO.
Justified was ok but it pales in comparison to The Shield
"Justified" series finale has the best last line in the history of tv...! ^^
It’s on the docket!
I usually rewatch this show every year or so. Love it. Funny thing is I remember watching The Commish. It was Michael Chiklis with hair and a nice guy cop. When The Shield came out I thought it was funny how he played a different kinda cop.
He was ferocious.
Finally someone doing an extensive review for a show that deserves all the praise it gets. It’s a top 5 show of all time and it has the greatest pilot episodes I’ve ever seen. I’ll never forget being floored when Vic shoots Terry. Hope more people start doing reviews like this and even reactions to watching it because it deserves that praise.
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One of my favorite binge watch series. I've rewatched The Shield alot over the last 20 years.
my sister in law's Montana cabin where my husband and I spent our honeymoon had the first 2 seasons of the shield on DVD, which we watched for the first time - we both really liked it and I think it helped me develop appreciation for similar shows like the wire.
You two choose crazy honeymoon spots.... was Ted Kazinski a neighbor 😅?
This was the last show I can think of that was appointment viewing. Also, the best ending/last episode by far of any series I can think of as well. I’m also surprised that a prequel or sequel to it was never attempted, which could be easily done, as long as the writing was up to par.
One of most underrated shows of all time, along with Rescue Me.
Ooo may have to add that one to the list!
100%. Two of my favorites as well.
Grew up near Walton Goggins [Marietta GA here with Walton in nearby Lithia Springs].
A friend got us watching Fallout last week and I’d mentioned Walton’s former The Shield performances - BRILLIANT work; great to hear and see it here so eloquently presented as appreciated.
I mean he was SO great in The Shield, as were all the other actors and producers and directors who empowered them to deliver their amazingly delivered scenes.
AMAZING series - used to race home to watch it live after working around police, courts and legal system types as a former news reporter myself and already in that The Shield frame of mind.
TOTAL fanboy deluxe!
GREAT review and reminisce here of The Shield.
personally I think the flashback episode in season 2 was welcome, also because it briefly show how the members initially wanted to play by the rules but started taking shortcuts, allowing themselves to take the first one due to the huge pressure to make a big arrest during their very first day in order to keep their jobs in the strike team. By the end of the episode, Vic and Shane were genuinely surprised at how easy it was for them to do so, implying it was their first time. They may not have needed to do it so often in the future, and have done it for personal gain or by facility, but in other episodes we see more and more the unreachable demand "always more results, more quickly with always less money" imposed by the police chiefs (because imposed by the city, by the state...) and how it leads to more pressure, firings, and temptation (or need) to cut corners to keep up
This is hands down the best and most comprehensive documentary I've seen covering the greatest TV show ever made. Kudos to you and your hard work.
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So nice to come across this as I've been a huge fan of the show since the beginning, but it never seemed to get the same amount of love as The Sopranos, The Wire, or Breaking Bad.
It also had one of the best series finale in TV.
Correct take
The entire series was pretty much flawless. It was always rooted in its original, terrible premise that bad people are essential to deal with the scum of the earth. Great characters. Brilliant dialogue. Plenty of humorous moments.
Easily a top 5 TV series.
OT: It was kind of funny seeing so many stars of The Shield turning up later in the quite awful Sons of Anarchy !
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Same Executive Producer/ Writer.
Sons of Anarchy isn't a bad show. It's just a different type of show with different goals and just isn't any where near the same Quality. No one would argue that.
I would argue that even more fundamental than any social commentary is the absolute essential of drama, which is that actions have consequences. the shield is ultimately about something that is spoken by one of its own characters "you cannot protect those you love from the choices that you make".
I suppose if you were to summarize the entire show in a single sentence it would be something like: _A man does a bad thing but still think he is a good person, he gets away with it and loses everything._
Sons of Anarchy tries to do The Shield “again”, but falls flat on it’s face.
It's so meta to watch you do a deep dive into The Shield because it's a show that moves at a break neck speed with a character that the creator calls a 'shark', it's so fitting that your own content on TH-cam is made with a very charged, propulsive pace. Even setting aside the virtues of The Shield, it makes sense that you of all people would be enthralled by that show if for no other reason than both you and the show seem to run on the same wavelength. Bravo on this video!
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I've been watching TV avidly for almost 60 years. For me, The Shield is the greatest American crime series. Each season is better than the previous. Homicide, Hill Street Blues, Oz, Fargo, although good, never managed this.
Family Meeting! 😊
The Shield has everything. Drama, thrilling, comedy and quality writing. There has never been a tv show like this and likely never will. It has a special place in my heart because of the edgy writing and the dark aspects of the politics of police work. It will always stand out to me as the best crime/cop show ever made
Thanks for giving this show it's due. Great storytelling and acting all around. Though I haven't seen it in years it has left an indelible imprint on my psyche. I love how the show just ramps up the tension season after season. Great long-form essay my man. Subbed.
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This show is incredible. I've often heard Sons of Anarchy is basically a watered down The Shield on two Wheels...and I have to agree. Every season of this show was so great.
SOA should have ended in season 5. Family Meeting! 😊
@@laverdadescatolica5 what a finale that was!
It's truly nice to see his show get it's due here. I consider The Shield to be criminally underrated.
Very sincerely, thank you for this. I have always felt like not many people appreciated this show as much as I do, at least in my own social circle. I've heard very few people give this show high praise, and I immediately clicked into this video upon seeing it!
Thank you homes
This is my all-time favorite series!!! Amazing job!!!!
BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME. The finale was inspired by the Chris Benoit tragedy. GREATEST FINALE IN HISTORY.
This show and Rescue Me were the big push that turned FX into the producer of prestige content it is today, and neither gets talked about anymore. It honestly speaks to how earth-shattering the rise of AMC"s shows was, like it just eclipsed an already amazing generation of shows
The Shield is my second favorite TV show of all time, right behind 24 (two shows starring anti-heroes). To me, The Shield is just an incredible storytelling show that started about close friends sticking together no matter what to the foundation of that friendship ruining them and breaking them apart. It’s been maybe five years since I’ve seen the show from beginning to end, and your video makes me want to rewatch it badly again. This show’s series finale is still my favorite of all time, nothing tops it. Thank you for this video, so we’ll done!
God. We just don't get shows like these anymore
When I was about 9 years old I was watching the episode where Shane and Vic argue about Shane killing Lem under the bridge in that spot and it stuck in my memory till the pandemic lockdowns and I watched this whole series. It was wild having flashbacks to when I was 9 in my top bunk trying to make sense of these two men yelling at each other in Shakespearean fashion. THIS ONE! Sorry I just love synchronicity, I made this comment like ten minutes into your video, and now I'm almost an hour in and you mention "Shakespearean" to describe Season 5, that's TRIPPY AND COOL!!!!
GOAT scene
I've found so many great channels over the Christmas period. I never watched the Shield but have loved every second of your recap. I follow a few creators who do breakdowns and analyses on shows like House, The Americans, Breaking Bad and so on. Some shows I never saw, some I liked but didn't love enough to stick with and some I followed till the end. I really appreciate how well constructed and narrated this and videos like these can be. It clearly takes a lot of time to edit the visuals to fit your structure, some have interesting moments from the show to give you a feel for it, but this was going the extra mile. Fantastic.
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Structured, well told videos like these is my favorite way to relax (and learn). Looking forward to the next one!
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I finished this show a few weeks ago, and this is the first thing I've seen from your channel. This was a great video and I love the content mate. Time to see what else you've got!
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Want to say that during Shane’s suicide, I instantly knew where it was going and knew it was inspired by Chris Benoit, whose legacy is unfortunately similar to his death. It seriously broke me as a wrestling fan.
Chris Benoit died around the same time. I heard when Walt Goggins got that script and read it, he cried at the ending.
I had no idea when I first saw it that that was the inspiration. Horrifying it actually happened irl.