The Shield : Season 5

I recently wrapped up watching the entire series, practically inhaling episodes at a rate of 4-5 per week, thanks to the easy access of Amazon Instant. I was amazed week in and week out by how consistently good the show stayed as the years went by, which was no small feat considering my condensed and accelerated viewing schedule. The Shield must have been a truly ground-breaking experience back when it first debuted in 2002. Diehard fans will have to forgive me for being late to the party, I was a pre-teen back then, what did I know? As I aforementioned, the series remains consistent in quality throughout its run, but if I were asked to picked one season that could stand as a shining example of its greatness, season 5 would be it, no question. It takes the characters and their struggles back to the very beginning, and from the roots is where the entire structure begins to decay. Vic Mackey and his strike team during this season are constantly and unrelentingly haunted by the shadow of all their crooked dealings, particularly the murder of a cop in season one. Nipping at their heels is internal affairs lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, played by the manically excellent Forest Whitaker, who uses an indiscretion made by Lewis "Lem" Lemansky in the previous season to force the latter to betray his team. It's a tense ride from there on. Playing at the edges of season 5's story are the other detectives and unis of The Barn. New characters are introduced, some familiar faces are given new purposes, and a couple favorites, one being officer Danny Sofer, is sidelined by a pregnancy story arc that wasn't particularly engaging. Claudette isn't given a while lot to do until a serial murder case from previous seasons gives her a heck of an episode, and Dutch fills his time inadvertently aiding Kavanaugh in hunting Vic and crew. Most of the prime players are woven into the main narrative in interesting ways, and it all comes together by the end in the most bitterly thrilling of ways. I have already given kudos to Forest Whitaker for his performance here, but as a viewer entering the series after seeing Whitaker in stuff like The Last King of Scotland, the moment I saw him in The Shield I knew he'd bring the goods. The surprise of the season was Kenneth Johnson stepping up and making Lem even more sympathetic than he's usually written. Lem has always been the bleeding heart of the series, and Johnson in season five is allowed to really show us what he and the character is capable of. It's a standout turn in a crowd of great performances by the ensemble cast. The series has always been raw and brutal, but season 5 is like a dagger to the heart by its conclusion. It really is the high point of the show, though of course it wouldn't be if the other seasons weren't as good as they are. For those who are just starting, you're in for a treat. An explosive one, maybe.

Love the series

Sometimes TV shows let you down after they've built up the tension, that is not the case here. Everything that came before in the Shield series built up to the events of this season. All the characters start to reap what they've sown for the past 4 years and it doesn't disappoint, although it will twist your heart. In real life, Forest Whitaker's Kavanaugh would be My Hero, because I know the Strike Team members deserve what's coming to them, but as a Shield and ST fan I mostly don't want them to get it now. One minute they're behind, the next minute ahead, but Kavanaugh is a pit bull who won't let go so the tug of war goes back and forth the whole season. The storylines for the rest of the cast weren't as meaty this year but still complemented the season and built on their history as well. The shoe was on the other foot for Julian who was training officer for bumbling newcomer Tina, while Billings is an inept acting Captain. Catherine Dent was pregnant so Danny was too, but you'll have to wait until the last show to meet the father. Terry's death haunts both Vic and Aceveda again, while Claudette finally gets her due. Ally Walker was a notable guest star in an episode that had her working with Jay Karnes' character Dutch which was kind of cute because Ally Walker starred as Samantha Waters for 3 seasons on "Profiler" and Dutch tries to be "the great serial killer profiler" as Claudette once put it. (Although Walker's character on The Shield was neither cop nor FBI agent.) Jay Karnes' Dutch did have an interesting twist when he decides to take a cue from a pimp in his approach towards newcomer Tina. His is one character who has many unexplored dimensions; he has the psyche of a serial killer who has chosen to be a good person instead, and if I could bend Ryan's ear I would do my best to get him to explore that more frequently. The line up of extras and commentaries looks pretty good on this set. It's disappointing when there are big plot points and there's either no commentary for that show or if there is one the key actors/writers involved in that show aren't involved in its commentary, such as the show "Cut Throat" during season 4 when Shane goes to Vic for help and Vic goes to meet him alone even though he knows Shane agreed to kill him for Antwon. Neither Chiklis nor Goggins was involved in the "Cut Throat" commentary. I see that Walt Goggins, Kenny Johnson, and Shawn Ryan are slated to do the commentary on the last show of the season: "Postpartum." Ryan is very good at leading the commentaries but it's too bad Adam Fierro isn't involved in it since he was that show's writer. Still, that one should be interesting, and personally I think it's the first thing I'll watch when I get this set. This show has been Emmy snubbed like you won't believe, although the Golden Globes have treated them a little better. Walt Goggins and Benito Martinez have each had several performances that deserved Emmy nominations, if not the award. Chiklis deserves more than one Emmy for his performance on this show while Glenn Close, who I consider to be a bench-mark actress, should have won for her role. Jay Karnes has had performances that should not only have been nominated but should have won the Emmy, not to mention Forest Whitaker's tremendous performance as Kavanaugh. My suspicion is that the show is a little hard core for the Emmy panels and that it's hard to accept a show that presents but doesn't automatically punish bad behavior, including racism. My only complaint with this show is the shortness of its seasons. I'll miss it when it's gone.

Not going to address specific story lines - others have already. The entire 'Shield' series is a juxtaposition of hating yourself for loving these characters... How can you 'cheer' someone you know is doing bad things - and not always with the best intentions? It is a serious tribute to the Writers, Directors, Cast and Crew - that this show is so well done it enables one to do it. Season Five propels the show into 'uncharted territory' - where the action is intense, the storylines are 'tight' and 'Murphy's Law' is provoked ["anything that can go wrong - will go wrong"]. Every character faces demons from their past and their future - just when one thought it could not get any worse - it does, and just when one thought there was no hope or redemption - there is (kind of). The gritty life in these cops' world provokes one to passion: - anger, disgust, pity, pain and compassion. How can a TV show evoke so much? This is probably the most well done series on television. Season five is the best of the seasons on DVD. It stands alone - if one has never seen the previous seasons, one could watch this and be as caught up in the `love/hate' relationship the rest of us are... However, if this is one's `introduction' to "Farmington" and `The Shield' - be prepared to go back and get Seasons 1-4. While very entertaining - it is not for the queasy or faint of heart - this series and this season will wrench your emotions to the core... One last bit of advice - when you do buy it - don't try and watch it as a marathon - you'll be `rode hard and put away wet', wrung out, and drained if you do.

Après la démission du Capitaine Rawling (regrettée Glenn Close) à la fin de l'excellente saison 4 , les producteurs ont fait appel à Forest Whitaker ( Ghost Dog , Le dernier roi d'Ecosse ) comme nouvelle guest star afin de maintenir le souffle que la série avait atteint. La bonne idée est que là où Glenn Close était un capitaine solide, qu'on avait envie de suivre et qui soutenait Mackey quand elle pouvait, le Kavanaugh de Whitaker est un flic impitoyable et retors de l'IGS qui devient de plus en plus obsédé par l'idée de faire tomber Mackey. Il succède avec brio à Antwon Mitchell (saison 4) comme menace principale, mais cette fois non mafieuse. Kavanaugh est un personnage brillamment écrit et tellement insupportable qu'on reste rivé à son siège en ayant beaucoup (mais alors BEAUCOUP) de mal à ne pas enchaîner les épisodes les uns après les autres. Soyez cependant prévenus, la fin de cet arc narratif nécessite de regarder les deux (voire trois) premiers épisodes de la saison 6 . Ayez donc celle-ci à portée de main quand vous visionnez la 5...

"The Shield" is one of the few programmes that have gone from strength to strength in terms of writing and tension over the last few years. While fantastic television such as "The Wire" and "The Sopranos" will place the viewer at distance and let you watch the action unfold, "The Shield" refuses to let the viewer have this comfort. Instead you are thrust head-first into the gangland style action that downtown LA is widely known for. In terms of narrative you will not find anything tighter in TV or cinema. "The Shield" follows the Farmington Strike Team, an experimental gang enforcement squad who use unconventional methods (such as: drug dealing, murder, and evidence tampering) to get the dangers of society off the street. In the last four seasons the Strike Team have been the hunters in the streets of Farmington taking down all the gangs by whatever means necessary, however this time they have become the hunted (this review will not give a detailed plot synopsis). The always excellent Forest Whitaker plays an obsessive Internal Affairs agent who will stop at nothing to destroy the Strike Team and place them behind bars. As Whitaker's character manipulates the Strike Team, they begin to question their loyalties among each other, which eventually climaxes in what can only be described as purely Shakespearean. As with every season of "The Shield", season 5 delivers what this groundbreaking show has become known for: tight writing, break-neck pace, fantastic characters that you can sink your teeth into, and asks the viewers intelligent questions such as: what can be categorised as justice and how far does one go to deliver it? While other shows such as "24" fill the season with sub-plots that barely relate to the main story, "The Shield" refuses to sidetrack from the main narrative and delivers in what can only be described as 11 hours of heart-pumping tension filled drama!

One of the best American TV Shows of all time, filled with top notch acting from Michael Chiklis and especially Walton Goggins (Who imo steals the show and delivers his best acting ever) and near perfect writing. From the story, to the dialogue, to the main characters, to the editing, to the acting, to the cinematography, to the side characters, this is TV at its best. One of the best crime shows of all time, one of the best Cop shows of all time and one of the best shows of all time in general, a true Titan in American Television! I don't want to spoil the ins and outs of this show because everything about it is just perfect, so just go buy this great show ASAP and get ready to be glued to your television and hooked for hours and days on end! I wasn't expecting this show to be half as good as it was, but boy oh boy does it deliver. This is also the start of Kurt Sutters career to as he comes on and does some of the shows best writing early in his career. Up there with The Wire, Foyles War and Endeavour as my favorite crime/detective shows ever and well worth the time to check out. Did I mention Goggins is fantastic in this? He just lives and breathes his Shane character, you will hate him, love him, then hate him again. All while being blow away by the character and method acting this guy pulled off, it is one of the best performance not only in Television history but in Cinematic history, movies included. If you liked him in a bunch of movies or liked him in the recent Fallout tv show, PLEASE get this show asap and watch it all the way through, it is truly once in a lifetime entertainment! The depth this show has is just crazy, its not just about cops and bad guys, there is SO MUCH under everything going on, just like The Wire, its alot more than it seems at first. While it is slightly more fast paced than The Wire, it is equally as good and just as well made for me. Top notch stuff here, I cannot say it enough, BUY ALL THE SEASON'S ASAP! **Lastly, thanks to amazon for sending me another set for one of the seasons when it arrived it had two copies of one of the discs and was missing another, instead of just sending one disc they sent a whole new complete set to me within a few days, TOP NOTCH customer service. Didn't ask anything about it just sent a new set of DVD's and we got it before we even got to the disc that was missing**

I have loved the Shield since I first caught an episode on TV in the Uk and have bought every box set...after series 2 having them sent over from the States. What I love about it is that it really just draws you in to the point where you forget that they are all actors playing a role and you just imagine yourself in the thick of the action with them. This can be a good thing but not in the case of season 5 where I have literally been severely traumatised by the finale....why why why??? I don't want to spoil it too much but I knew from reviews what was going to happen with Lem but I still wasn't prepared for it. He was my favourite character (largely to do with the naked locker room scene and the time he man-handled Tigre on the kitchen table!). He was the good guy, the reliable one and just so missed. When I finally finished the season I had to go back to another episode to when times are happier. Yes, I know its sad to be so invested in a TV show but that's where this one is so great. I literally bricked it when Kavanaugh was going crazy and yelled with glee when Vic told him what had gone on with his ex-wife (in my opinion one of the best TV moments in years!). When we're living in a world of generic mytery shows (CSI, Bones, House etc etc) its so refreshing to enjoy something so unaffected containing real issues. I will be debating about season 6 because truly it won't be the same for me without Kenny Johnson but whatever he goes on to do, i will keep watching (as long as the shirt keeps coming off that is!)

Works like it should