The Shield

The Shield
File:Theshield.jpg Promotional photo from Season One
Created by	Shawn Ryan
Starring	Michael Chiklis Walton Goggins Benito Martinez CCH Pounder Jay Karnes Catherine Dent Michael Jace Cathy Cahlin Ryan David Rees Snell
Opening theme	"Just Another Day" by Vivian Ann Romero, Ernesto J. Bautista & Rodney Alejandro
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	75 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	0:44 to 0:50
Original release
Network	FX Networks
Release	March 12, 2002 – present

The Shield is an American police-drama television series shown on FX Networks in the U.S. and other networks internationally. The show is known for its controversial portrayal of corrupt police officers. The first season gained the most Emmy nominations for a basic cable drama. The series was created by Shawn Ryan and The Barn Productions for Fox Television Studios and Sony Pictures Television (formerly Columbia TriStar Television).

The Shield has finished its 6th season. Although this season was supposed to be the last, The Shield has been renewed for its 7th and final season.

About the series

The Shield is about an experimental division (Similar to CRASH unit) of the Los Angeles Police Department set up in the fictional Farmington district ("the Farm") of Los Angeles, using a converted church ("the Barn") as their police station, and featuring a group of detectives called "The Strike Team", who will do anything to bring justice to the streets. Michael Chiklis has top billing with his portrayal of Strike Team leader Vic Mackey. The show has an ensemble cast that will normally run a number of separate story lines through each episode.

Detective Vic Mackey is the leader of the Strike Team, a four-man anti-gang unit based on the LAPD's real-life Rampart Division CRASH unit (Rampart was seriously considered as the series name and was even used in some early promotional ads for the series). The Strike Team uses a variety of illegal and unethical methods to maintain peace on the streets, while making a profit through illegal drug protection schemes and robbery. The Strike Team isn't above planting drugs on and coercing confessions out of gang members. Attempts to give the team a fifth member have frequently led to near-catastrophe for the group.

The Shield has a variety of subplots, notably David Aceveda's political aspirations and internal confrontation of a previous sexual assault; Vic Mackey's struggle to cope with a failing marriage; and Julien Lowe's internal conflicts between his belief in the teachings of the Bible and his homosexuality.

Common themes are the citizens' distrust of police, the social impact of drugs and gang warfare, and the conflict between ethics and political expediency. Most characters are portrayed as having both vice and virtue. For example, Vic's loving relationship with his children contrasts with his thuggish attitude towards police work; in addition, his brutality is generally directed at those who seem well deserving of such treatment — in Season 2, the Strike Team prepares to rob the "Armenian Money Train," a money laundering operation of the Armenian Mafia. Another episode had Mackey cornering a serial rapist, then letting him be attacked by a police dog before calling the dog off.

Season Overviews

Main article: List of The Shield episodes

Season 1

Season 1 premiered March 12, 2002. It gives an introduction to The Strike Team and the other characters of the Barn. Important plotlines are the aftermath of Vic's murder of Terry Crowley and Captain Aceveda's scheming to bring Vic and the Strike Team down; Dutch and Claudette's attempts at tracking down a serial killer; Julien's training under Danny and his struggle with homosexuality; as well as the corrupt actions of Ben Gilroy.

Season 2

Season 2 premiered January 7, 2003. The season mostly revolves around a brutal new drug-lord, Armadillo--a sadistic child rapist, who likes to set his rivals on fire using a tire necklace and gasoline--who begins to take over the drug trade in Farmington. Meanwhile, Officer Sofer is involved in a shooting of a Muslim man and has to deal with the fallout. This season is also heavily concerned with the Strike Teams plan to rip off the money train of the Armenian Mob, which ends up going down in the season finale.

Season 3

Season 3 premiered March 9, 2004. The season mainly revolves around the aftermath of the Money Train Heist and its effects on the Strike Team, as the Armenian mob and also David Aceveda begins to suspect the Strike Team. In order to save the team, Lem (Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky) burns a majority of the money, ultimately leading to a confrontation which causes the Strike Team to split up in the season finale.

Season 4

Season 4 premiered March 15, 2005, with the addition of Glenn Close taking over the role as Farmington's Captain. The season dealt with the fallout from the Strike Team disbandment. Shane Vendrell, with new partner Army, enters into a dangerous situation with major drug lord Antwon Mitchell (Anthony Anderson), and seemingly accepts an order to kill Vic Mackey. The police were outraged after two officers were kidnapped and subsequently found murdered. In the end, the team gets back together and manages to bring Antwon into jail. The season also deals with the controversial asset forfeiture policies of the new captain; Julien's opposition to these policies; and David Aceveda dealing with the psychological aftermath of his sexual assault incident from the previous season. The season concludes with Captain Rawlings (Glenn Close) losing her job over a dispute with the DEA. This plot twist reflected a real-life need for her to return to New York. One of the secondary plots involves Claudette and Dutch being continually put on the sidelines because of Claudette's refusal to apologize to the DA for reopening the cases of an ADA who was discovered to be high during many of her trials. Besides being an embarrassment to the DA's office, many of the convictions in question were overturned. This cost Claudette her shot at being the Farmington Captain and Dutch as her partner suffered being marginalized in the barn.

Season 5

Season 5 premiered January 10, 2006. The season revolved around Internal Affairs Department Lt. Jon Kavanaugh's (played by Forest Whitaker) investigation into the Strike Team, representing one of the greatest threats the team has ever faced. Claudette finally gets her shot as the captain of the Barn which she reluctantly accepts. The season concluded with Shane Vendrell murdering his friend and fellow team member Lem with a hand grenade.

"Wins and Losses"

The producers of The Shield produced a 15-minute "promosode", which premiered on Google on February 15, 2007, for Bud.TV to bridge the gap between Seasons 5 and 6. The episode focuses on the aftermath of Lem's death, including his funeral and flashbacks as co-workers reflect upon Det. Lemansky's life. The episode was said to have cost between $500,000 and $1 million to produce and was on Bud.TV for a 4 week period and later released to AOL and other media outlets. The "promosode" is also one of the special features included on the Season 5 DVD set.

Season 6

Season 6 premiered on FX on April 3, 2007. Continuing directly after season 5, Vic and the Strike Team are distraught over Lem's death. Shane has been overcome by guilt and becomes reckless and suicidal. Kavanaugh refuses to let the case die and resorts to planting evidence and coercing witnesses to lie about the Strike Team. Dutch and Claudette begin to suspect his integrity. Vic learns from Claudette that the Chief plans to force him into early retirement — and vows to wreak bloody vengeance on Lem's killer before losing his badge. Claudette learns that the Barn could be shut down if no improvements are made by the time quarterly crime statistics are released.

On French television, Season 6 premiered on Canal + on April 5, 2007, with a release of two episodes a week. The next episodes will be aired on French TV weeks before their release on FX. The season finale was aired on Canal + on May 10, 2007 and in the US on June 5, 2007 on FX.

Season 6 was originally intended to be aired as the second half of Season 5 (in the same way that HBO split up the last season of The Sopranos. However, FX decided instead to refer to the final ten episodes as "Season 6."

Season 7

Season 7 will be released in late 2007 or early 2008 and will consist of 13 one hour episodes. This will be the final season according to its creator and the network.

Characters

Main article: List of characters from The Shield

Strike Team

• Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) Mackey is a corrupt but effective police officer; he steals drugs from drug dealers, beats and tortures suspects, and has committed murder more than once. Mackey sees his tactics as a means to an end. Despite his misdeeds, he is a devoted father, a loyal partner to other officers on his team, and will readily protect those he sees as innocent victims. He is the former leader of the Strike Team.

• Detective Curtis Lemansky (Kenny Johnson) is a cop with a conscience. He is an original member of the Strike team. He was also Vic's best friend.

• Detective Kevin Hiatt (Alex O'Loughlin) is an experienced former Homeland Security Agent, who used to work the borders of Mexico. He is brought in as Vic's replacement when Vic is forced into retirement. He is also supposed to keep tabs on the strike team. Although Hiatt is the leader of the Strike Team, it seems that Vic is still more hands-on. In the final episode of season six, "Spanish Practices," Hiatt is removed from the department by Captain Wyms, presumably ending his time on the show.

• Detective Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins) was Vic Mackey's best friend. His racist, reckless attitude and questionable decisions often got him into trouble, after which Vic typically bailed him out. He has a wife, Mara, as well as a young son, Jackson. Shane requested a transfer from the strike team after he confessed to Vic that he killed fellow Strike Team member Curtis Lemansky and Vic threatened to kill him the if he saw him again. He later canceled his request to transfer to his old spot in vice due to the fact that Vic was going to be forced into retirement.

• Detective Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell) is the Strike Team's surveillance and electronics expert. Though little is known about Ronnie, he has proven more and more in recent times to be the most solid, well-rounded member of the Strike Team and has remained fiercely loyal to Vic through thick and thin. The burn scars present on his face after he shaved his beard in Season 6 (given to him by Armadillo in Season 2) are proof of his loyalty to the team.

• Officer Julien Lowe (Michael Jace) is an officer assigned to the Strike Team, who never took the Detectives Exam. During the formation of a new Strike Team, Claudette offered Julien to Kevin Hiatt as a possible addition to the team. Claudette made the offer to Julien, who was hesitant, mainly because of the thought of being partnered with Vic on a daily basis. After being assured that Mackey was going to be moved out of the team, Julien accepted the promotion, and is now an official member of the Strike Team.

Administration and police

• Councilman David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) is a politically ambitious former police captain, elected to the Los Angeles City Council. He is one of Vic Mackey's main rivals, although often they have forged uneasy alliances for various reasons. He was orally raped at gunpoint, which eventually drove him to arrange a deal with druglord Antwon Mitchell to kill his rapist in prison.

• Captain Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) is a veteran detective. Claudette is the self-appointed voice of morality at the Barn and often butts heads with Vic over his tactics. Claudette is a black woman who appears to have somewhat of a chip on her shoulder and this often causes her to clash with others, particularly authority figures. Claudette revealed to Dutch that she has had lupus for fifteen years. In season 5, she is appointed Captain after several attempts in previous years.

• Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach (Jay Karnes) is characterized by many as a socially inept nerd even though he is a successful police detective. Assigned to the Farmington District of Los Angeles, he is often the first called to investigate violent crimes due to his specialization in criminal profiling and serial killers. Along with his partner, Detective Claudette Wyms, Dutch is widely considered to be the moral center of the show due to his willingness to do the right thing in spite of the temptation to engage in illegal police activities. Dutch struggles at times with his tendency to assume the innocence of suspects because they are good-looking or from the middle- or upper classes.

• Sergeant Danielle "Danny" Sofer (Catherine Dent) is a patrol officer who aspires to become a detective. She has an on-again, off-again sexual relationship with Vic, and a complicated history with Dutch. She is assigned desk duty as a result of her pregnancy and takes maternity leave after the birth of her baby. The identity of the father was initially unknown, although it was heavily implied to be Vic's. Then, in the Sixth season episode "Chasing Ghosts," Vic was finally revealed as the baby's father. Shortly afterwards she returned early from maternity leave so that she could take the position of Sergeant at the Barn.

Reception

The Shield has won critical praise for its realism, particularly in its portrayal of gang violence in Los Angeles. Although names of actual gangs are not used, the portrayals are based on real gangs. Latino gangs with names such as "Los Magnificos" (or "Los Mags"), the "Byz-Lats" and the "Toros" are a constant thorn in the Strike Team's side in the early seasons of the show, whilst African American gangs become more prominent in later episodes. In particular, a gang calling themselves the "One-Niners" are central to the plot of Season 4. Like the notorious real-life Blood and Crip gangs, the One-Niners identify themselves strongly with one color (in this case purple), wearing it on various forms of clothing. There are also a number of stories set in Korean neighborhoods, as well as plots involving Armenian gangsters. To enhance its realism, the show makes very little use of background music.

There is some controversy around the show's depiction of police corruption. The Strike Team's illegal activities are often backed up with convincing rationalizations by its members, while various police and government authorities who try to bring them to justice or otherwise criticize them are often portrayed negatively. Some argue that this technique presents the reality of police corruption and brutality and attempts to explain it intelligently without demonizing it. Others argue that the show is essentially a defense of police corruption and brutality, portraying effective police work as impossible without such tactics and presenting Vic Mackey in particular as a hero despite his extensive corruption.

Other media

Soundtrack

On September 5, 2005, The Shield: Music from the Streets was released by Lakeshore Entertainment. The soundtrack features 19 tracks, including two versions of the theme song and tracks ranging from artists such as Black Label Society to Kelis.

Video games

After a rocky development cycle, The Shield, the video game, was released for the Playstation 2 on January 9, 2007 and for the PC on January 22, 2007. It's a third person shooter that bridges the gap between the 3rd and 4th seasons by exploring the gang war between the Biz-Lats and the One-Niners. It received generally negative reviews, receiving a 3.9 out of 10 from GameSpot.com.

DVD

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases The Shield on DVD in Region 1 and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases it elsewhere.

DVD title	Date released
	Region 1	Region 2
The Complete First Season	January 7, 2003	July 21, 2003
The Complete Second Season	January 6, 2004	August 9, 2004
The Complete Third Season	February 22, 2005	May 28, 2007
The Complete Fourth Season	December 26, 2005	July 2, 2007
The Complete Fifth Season	March 27, 2007

Production

• Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackey) often makes references to a "UC Northridge". The university in Northridge belongs to the Cal State system, not the University of California system. See CSUN.
• Cathy Cahlin Ryan (Corrine Mackey) is in real life married to series creator Shawn Ryan and is friends with Michael Chiklis' wife Michelle. The Ryans' infant son was cast as Connie's son, Brian, in seasons one and two.
• Autumn Chiklis (Cassidy Mackey) is the real-life daughter of Michael Chiklis, and plays his daughter on the series. However, Chiklis says he does not let her watch the show.
• The badges worn by officers in the show differ from their real-life counterparts in both design and their position on the uniform. This was done to distance the show from the actual LAPD, who objected to their portrayal as corrupt.
• The characters of Detectives Ronnie Gardocki and Curtis "Lem" Lemansky were not part of the original series pitch. The character of Detective Lemansky was created especially for actor Kenny Johnson after he auditioned for the role of Terry Crowley. Meanwhile David Rees Snell, a friend of show creator Shawn Ryan, was offered a part as an extra as a member of the Strike Team in the pilot episode. When FX greenlit the series, he was signed on to the show as the enigmatic Detective Ronnie Gardocki.
• Walton Goggins and Kenneth Johnson are best friends in real life.[1]
• The show's theme song is "Just Another Day" by Vivian Ann Romero, Ernesto J. Bautista and Rodney Alejandro, according to The Shield - Music From The Streets, the official soundtrack.
• The character of Claudette Wyms was originally written in the script to be a male, named Charles Wyms. CCH Pounder, who plays Claudette on the show, read the script and suggested to the writers that the character could be female, and they agreed.

External links

• Official Site from Sony Pictures Television
• Official FX website
• The Shield at IMDb
• The Shield Forum
• Template:Tv.com show
• The Shield Lexicon
• The Shield Episode guides and 1000 pictures