The Shield Review

I watched The Shield since its very first series and was a big fan. Sad to see it's finished now, but it was one hell of a ride. The cast were superb, especially Michael Chiklis who, in Vic Mackie, portrayed such an evil character that you do find yourself actually rooting for throughout, despite his wrongdoings. The script was brilliantly written, very snappy and most episodes could be watched in isolation as there is usually a case per episode, though with a meshwork of back stories and subplots going on in the background. It does make the whole show enjoyable if the series are watched from start to finish as there are many subplots from even the first season that are alluded to throughout and don't actually become resolved until the very end.

It is largely superseded in my mind now by The Wire as my favourite cop drama, but it gives it does give its Baltimore cousin a serious run for its money in the depth of character, and the LA setting with all that sunshine does give it a level of gloss the Wire doesn't have. That in a way makes it all the more interesting with the less dour setting making some of the horrendous crimes (perpetrated by both the criminal fraternity and the police) all the more shocking when they do occur.