Thirith on 11/11/2008 at 12:07
I've heard a lot lately about The Shield, and since I'm rapidly approaching the end of The Wire (my favourite police-themed series) I was wondering whether the former might be a good follow-up. At the same time, much of what I've heard does sound a bit like The Shield may be the sort of reactionary series that hides of moral ambiguity, where you really cheer for the corrupt, maverick cop who gets his hands dirty and gets the job done while the by-the-book crowd looks ineffectual and stupid.
Is that the case or should I give The Shield a chance?
Fingernail on 11/11/2008 at 12:31
From what little I've seen, it seems pretty enjoyable if nothing like as comprehensive or detailed as the Wire (but then, pretty much else nothing is that rich). I'd give it a go. My friend suggests that it takes a few episodes until you actually begin to like Mackie (the central cop), and perhaps after a while it becomes rather formulaic (each episode is a new case/mess that needs to be sorted).
Morte on 11/11/2008 at 14:26
Judging by the first season, The Shield is great pulpy entertainment, but it's no The Wire. It's still bound by the crime of the week formula, and doesn't have time to develop the criminals in any meaningful way. Think of it as LA Confidential set in the modern day and your expectations should be set about right.
(Things might change later in the series, mind. This is strictly going by the first season.)
pavlovscat on 11/11/2008 at 18:27
I have the first five seasons on DVD (and hoping to get 6 for Christmas!) and have watched them over & over. I love the series. They can be watched as individual episodes which are, as Morte says, the crime of the week formula. But, if you want to enjoy the full depth of the story, you should watch the entire series from the beginning because you will see past indiscretions and old familiar criminals come back, often in a later season. Everything ties together, but you may not see how until much later.
As far as the by-the-book-crowd, there really isn't one. Everyone does things for their own personal gain, not just Mackey. Almost everyone's hands are dirty. I ended up liking Mackey because, even in his corrupt world, he has a sense of honor, twisted to be sure, but he does stand by his buddies.
It may not The Wire, but then what is? The Shield has lots of action and interesting characters. I recommend it as a highly enjoyable series.
The_Raven on 11/11/2008 at 18:49
Count me in as a fan of The Shield as well. I have never seen an episode of The Wire, though. I've missed a bunch of episodes from seasons 4, 5, and 6; but I've seen enough of them to be able to follow what's been going on in the episodes of season 7 that I'm watching at the moment. I'm really curious as to how this show is going to end with the current conflict of two former best friends trying to kill one another at every opportunity.
EDIT: I was trying to be as vague as possible, so as to not drop major spoilers in this thread and to sidestep the need for the spoiler tag; however, as the following poster has mentioned, it should really be obscured regardless. I sincerely apologize for any damage done.
Turtle on 11/11/2008 at 20:14
So you thought that you'd come into a thread where someone is saying, "Hey, I haven't seen this show. Should I watch it?", and drop some major spoilers from the end of the series?
Nice.
S'Cool.
doctorfrog on 12/11/2008 at 00:29
I enjoyed the Shield, though I've only seen the first four seasons or so, and I was a big fan of The Wire...
...but tell me, have you seen all seven seasons of Homicide, yet? The same creators spawned Homicide, and many of the actors from Homicide turn up here and there on The Wire. In many ways, The Wire is the 'true' realization of what they wanted Homicide to be, but an episode Homicide is a better 3-act playhouse of drama, IMO.
