The Shield - Season 1 [2002]

The series invites viewers to form their own judgments regarding Mackey's volatile behaviour, which includes killing an undercover cop in the electrifying pilot episode. While each episode stands alone, the arc of the series incorporates Aceveda's campaign to end Mackey's career, the self-loathing of a homosexual rookie (Michael Jace) whose partner (Catherine Dent) is Mackey's occasional mistress, a straight-laced detective (Jay Karnes) yearning for respect, Mackey's compassionate attempt to rehabilitate a crack whore (Jamie Brown, giving the season's finest guest performance), the autism of Mackey's young son and the recklessness of his closest partner (Walton Goggins) and the vigilant stoicism of Det. Wyms (CCH Pounder), who's as sensibly upright as Mackey is corrupted. The Shield is excellent TV for those who can grasp its complexities; all others beware. --Jeff Shannon

I wasn't disappointed. The big wad of 'previously on' at the start was a good sign that this wasn't a cop show which liked to wrap everything up in 60 minutes a la CSI. In fact, at times it seems to go out of its way not to wrap everything up.

Anyway, back to the DVD. It contains all 13 episodes of season 1, which is a very good season. I can't really highlight any 'key' episodes because they're all of pretty much the same quality, and almost all contain character development. Obviously because of the nature of the show Vic Mackey is the central character, gets the most time on screen and is probably concentrated on in articles and reviews, but him being a 'bad cop' isn't what makes this show good. What makes this show good is the writing - all the characters are deep and fairly complex. For instance, Vic Mackey isn't a 'bad cop'. He breaks the rules and he does bad things, but it is all wrought from the desire to do good (and make money on top of that). Which is why Mackey's battle with Captain David Aceveda is so interesting throughout season one. Vic Mackey is doing the wrong things for the right reasons, while David Aceveda is doing the right things for the wrong reasons. He doesn't want to nail Mackey because he believes Mackey is a bad cop and wants him off the street, he wants to nail Mackey because it will help his political career. I really find the moral undertones of the show interesting - it doesn't judge anybody, instead leaving the viewer to analyze the situation. Perhaps the best character of the bunch is 'Dutch', a homicide detective who yearns for the respect of others. He is a very cerebral detective, using psychology to catch and interrogate criminals. In an early episode, he picks up on an attack on a prostitute and tries to prove that the attack was part of a serial killer on the loose. Flash forward a couple of episodes and it turns out he was right. Stories and guest characters are frequently brought back throughout the season.

The boxset really is very impressive. While elsewhere people might just be content to stick the episodes on DVD with a few extras, The Shield includes a commentary on every episode and plenty of deleted scenes. The commentaries are fairly varied, ranging from humourous banter to more in-depth discussion. The Shield's creator, Shawn Ryan, commentates on most of the episode and is usually joined by at least three other members of the crew. It really seems as though they got anyone who ever worked on the show to do a commentary - one of the episodes is commentated on by the cameramen and director of filmography, while another is commentated on purely by the team of writers. The cast members also put in their fair share of commentary.

At the risk of sounding like some cop show addict (yes, my two favourite shows of the moment are both cop dramas), this comes highly reccommended if you're a fan of the show.


The Most Gripping TV Drama Ever   May 18, 2006
R. Mullaney (Leeds, UK)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

I bought season 1 of The Shield based purely on the rave reviews I read online. I'm so glad I gave it a chance as it is probably the best drama to ever come out of the US. The Shield is set in the crime ridden streets of Farmington, Los Angeles from the point of view of cops working out of a satellite police station called 'the barn'. The main character, Vic Mackey is the head of an anti-gang unit, The Strike Team. Vic and his teams corrupt, amoral behaviour is contrasted niceley by Dutch and Claudette, two experienced detectives who prefer to go by the book. The whole Barn is under the command of Captain David Aceveda who has his own political agenda to worry about.

The Shield really absorbs the viewer as Vic and his team murder, steal and broker drug deals as a means to try and remove the scumbags from the streets of Farmington. Although Vics actions are shocking you still find yourself rooting for him as he juggles supporting a family he loves with avoiding being taken down by Aceveda and trying to stay alive on the streets.

The Shield has strong scripts, good direction and great characters and you will not be dissapointed after paying less than 15 for so much entertainment.


The best cop show ever   February 22, 2005
Simon (Cambridge UK)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

The Shield is quite simply the best cop show I have ever seen. It is action packed, the characters have depth, it deals with countless different issues, there are great twists and shocks in each episode and amazingly amongst all this it also has humour. The main protagonist is Vic Mackey and because of his lack of integrity he is a man you know that you should hate but you cannot help but like. Sit back and enjoy the ride its great.


Fantastic DVD set to go with fantastic tv series.   April 24, 2005
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

One word pretty much sums this show up, wow. It keeps you interested and gripped from the very first scene and takes you on a rollercoaster ride of both action and emotion from there. It was a very brave risk of the writers to take the kind of anti-heroes and make them into not only credable but very likeable characters yet it paid off, something which has not really beeen successfully pulled off since The Sopranos first appeared on our screens.

The commentaries on all 13 episodes give you a greater insight into the show and the minds of both the actors and the writers and creator. Another aspect of the show which I love is the ambivilence of it, meaning that it can work on so many levels and that you can view it as simply a cop show yet you can also view it as a way of showing the very fine line which many of us walk every day and how different people deal with it.

If you enjoyed the gritiness of films such as The French Connection then you will love The Shield. In short I greatly encourage you to buy this DVD set; as well as the following two seasons.


Once it gets going - outstanding!   July 10, 2007
Mr P (UK)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

I recently moved house and was looking for something to entertain me whilst without tv coverage (long story). I have already quite a few tv series (including The Wire, Sopranos, 24, Firefly) and so was not too hopeful of finding something else as entertaining, thinking I'd already seen the good stuff.

I had read a lot of the reviews here, saying how great The Shield is, but I was under the impression that this was more of a CSI type show with one episode storylines, rather than a 'proper' series like The Wire, where the story advances through each episode. I am a big fan of The Wire by the way.

I was wrong to dismiss The Shield..

It is true that each episode deals with a different sub plot, eg a murder, but each episode also advances the overall story arc, and will go back to earlier stories and give further developments. Perhaps more importantly each episode also fleshes out the characters in the show.

In amongst all the action and gritty violence and dodgy dealings and stress and heroism that goes on in this cop show, you really start to learn about the characters, and care about them, to a degree that really surprised me. This is proper drama, with action. You won't get bored.....apart from perhaps in the first couple of episodes which seemed slow to me as they basically just set up the series.

Once it gets going, you won't want to stop watching. I have had a fair few late nights staying up..just to watch one more episode...and then another...

The end of the Series is great.

I am now into Series 2 and can attest to it being brilliant also, since I stayed up after midnight last night watching it!