 "Redefining the Genre" | 2008-05-05 |
| - Reviewed By tropicalwolf |
| This series has gone and blown away the mold of the police drama. Soars FAR above everything else that is currently out there. By the time Vic and the strike team are through, police shows will never be the same. This series is a must for anyone who is starving for unpredictable, unprecedented action/drama/excitement. It is never what it seems. The Shield comes at the viewer from so many different directions that it keeps the viewer guessing to the end of each and every episode. I can only give this series the HIGHEST possible recommendation! |
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| "This is a must!" | 2008-03-28 |
| - Reviewed By misellick |
| I bought all the seasons. This show moves quickly and is a great rewatch. You will NOT regret buying this awesome show. |
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| "Do you love him or hate him?" | 2008-03-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2Z0V30N2YW9MK |
The Shield is one of my favorite series, purely for the fact that the main character is neither the protagonist or the antagonist. He constantly battles himself and the world. And he usually wins.
A great series about crooked cops, and the amount of good, and bad they do on the streets. For anyone who likes cop dramas, great series. |
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| "Yikes, my morals." | 2007-07-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: ALOFNTZ6DEDFW |
| Ok, this show is good. None of us want to believe that law enforcment is this morally bankrupt, but something in me says these guys are out there somewhere. This show is gritty and the characters are those guys you love to hate. You never want to be them, but by the end of the season you are rooting for them. They are just good enough to keep you on their side. You will either love this show or hate it. I doubt there is any middle ground. I loved it! |
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| "One of the greatest TV dramas ever made!" | 2007-07-03 |
| - Reviewed By snaimpally |
| The Shield is without a doubt one of the best TV drama shows ever made. The ensemble cast is extraordinary. In addition, several superstars, such as Glenn Close and Forest Whittaker, were on for an entire season. The writing is excellent, with many plot twists and turns that makes for an engrossing storyline. The character development gives each member of the cast a very complex persona. There are very few television shows I am addicted to and The Shield is one of them. |
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| "Willing to portray cops as less than idealistic" | 2007-06-07 |
| - Reviewed By User: AEVS7RZ667VH4 |
This isn't Hill Street Blues, Law and Order, or any other program which show cops to simply be overworked yet loyal and dedicated to their job. We see corruption, strange alliances between cops and crooks, and a violent environment into which anything can and will go wrong. The center of this universe is Vic Mackey, a detective who is willing to not only bend the rules but break them in order to bring order to Farmington, and peace is not always achieved by bringing the bad guys to justice.
There are many out there that laud NYPD Blue as the premiere cop show of the last twenty years. I call shenanigans on that. Watching Sipowicz suffer through virtually every problem possible TWICE and the revolving door of partners only served to gradually dilute what was once an edgy show. When the only surprising event is whose butt is going to be bare next you know a show is no longer worth watching.
In contrast, The Shield in its six year history has kept up an environment where one is never sure exactly what is going to happen. People die unexpectedly, are raped, robbed, beaten: this is the real streets brought into your living room.
If you want a glimpse of what the thin blue line is really protecting you from, I suggest you take a look. After this series, I can never go back to Law and Order. |
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| "Remember, the Team comes First" | 2007-06-07 |
| - Reviewed By the_superstation |
In LA, Farmington creates a special kind of criminal. In addition to smaller gangs trying to cash in on the money and prestige to be had, there are the bigger gangs with bigger agendas and individuals with their own problems. This creates dilemmas of all kinds and calls for cops of all calibers to stem this proverbial tide of violence. Enter Vic Mackey, head of Farmington's elite Strike Force and a true force to be reckoned with. Far from the police units that operate within the clearly-divided blue lights of "justice," Mackey operates his force like a cold and calculating mob of his own. This means he has enemies on all sides of the law and that he creates a story that is really worth watching.
When it came to The Shield, I was initially hesitant because I really detest the overflow of "Cop drama" on television. I thought I had seen all the different types of dirty cops that the network minds had to offer and I wasn't in the mood for another slice of the shield-toting pie. Then I watched the pilot, saw just how far the strike team - Ronnie, Shane, Lem, and Vic - were willing to go, and reevaluated my priorities. As I continued watching the show I found that it worked on a lot of other levels as well, making me think about the motivations of every person involved and how tempting power like the type Mackey finds himself faced with could really be. A cop with a family, a child with a disability, and a job that doesn't really appreciate the things that are done in its name; that brings up the question of where does prevention end and crime really begin?
This isn't to say that the Strike Team is the whole of the tale; far from it in fact. The 13 episodes on the disc are really the story of a lot of people trying to maintain a fine line on a personal and professional level, following two main detectives and a drove of other police officers and showcasing progression as the series goes forward. I'm writing this at the conclusion of the 6th series, too, knowing how much these people start to mean and how many of them lose small things like dignity or larger things like life. Not wanting to spoil things I have to end it there, simply saying that the show will keep giving and that Mackey always has a method in some of most beautiful forms of madness I've watched play out.
Just watch the pilot and you'll understand what I mean.
About the Set: Full-Frame, Subtitles: English, Spanish
Episodes Included: 1- Pilot. 2- Our Gang. 3 - The Spread. 4 - Dawg Days. 5 - Blowback. 6 - Cherrypoppers. 7 - Pay in Pain. 8 - Cupid & Psycho. 9 - Throwaway. 10 - Dragonchasers. 11 - Carnivores. 12 - Two Days of Blood. 13 -Circles.
Also included: commentary, "behind the shield" featurette, a few deleted scenes |
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| "Action Packed - excellent show!" | 2007-06-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XYGS9BACL5XM |
| You'll never get bored. This one of the best shows out there. |
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| "One of the best shows ever!!" | 2007-05-30 |
| - Reviewed By User: APM7GS9OEPUXI |
The Shield and The Wire are my two favorite "cop" shows. They're really more than just cop shows though. If you take this entire series as a whole (5 seasons so far) it's like a snapshot of the world (specifically, America) we currently live in. Every human emotion I can think of gets screen time on The Shield. But this is by no means an emotional type "soap opera". It's as down and dirty as it gets and the characters are real. Every character in the show has problems, no matter what level of command they're at, or how tough (or weak) they are (or appear). That's probably the thing I like most about shows like The Shield and The Wire. The cops aren't 100% good, and the criminals aren't 100% bad (although, there's some bad mf's in here if you know what I mean). From an entertainment standpoint, these DVDs are as addictive as some of the drugs portrayed in it. I have a hard time not watching at least an entire disc every time I sit down to watch it. Owning TV shows like this is both a blessing and a curse because they definitely cut into potential sleep time (or whatever else you have going on).
From a technical standpoint, these DVDs are impressive. As you may have noticed, there is quite a bit of grain and "noise" in the video quality. At first I was disappointed and thought it was poor recording quality but have since come to find out that it's because the show was filmed with 16mm film. I am no authority on TV cameras or film, but apparently the type of film directly affects how the final DVD presentation appears. I have also come to appreciate the look and think it adds to the overall raw nature of the show. If it were too polished looking, it would probably be a downside. The Shield is gritty and rough, just how it looks. The sound is standard Dolby 2.0 and sounds great. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick.
In conclusion, if you want well written drama with a good dose of action, comedy, and suspense...look no further than The Shield. As mentioned earlier, I also recommend The Wire, which is equally as good. These types of shows are more than just good TV, they're art. The same type of talent goes into writing, acting, and producing this as it does for you're favorite musician or painter to create a masterpiece.
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| "Sheild Season 1" | 2007-05-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3VYTTZ7U1Z0DT |
Bought this as a Christmas present
for my daughter. She loves it! |
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Expedited Available
