The Shield

By Kevin Kelly Vic Mackey isn't the first hardass cop to come down the line and smack miscreants into place, but he's definitely one of the most effective and most memorable. If you haven't had the pleasure of watching Michael Chiklis in The Shield, then this has your name all over it. If you have ... well, your n...

By Danny Gallagher But unlike shows like The Shield or The Sopranos where most of the luck pushing is done by the main character, the people behind Dexter like to spread the carelessness around. Just about everyone in this twisted tale has some skeletons in their closets, both figurative and possibly litera...

By Steven Rubio I suppose I could just repeat myself: Hugh Laurie is to House as Tim Roth is to Lie to Me. Both are decent shows made especially watchable by the stars. There is reason to think Lie to Me will be even better this season … Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield, has taken over as show runner. The big proble...

By Danny Gallagher The question actually sparked an interesting and light-hearted war of friendly curses between the cast and Sons of Anarchy star Ron Perlman who was also on the dais to grub for Emmy nods. Walter Goggins, the actor who brilliantly played the daft and overly cocky Shane Vendrell, uttered "T...

 WA As Bale's mysterious nemesis, John Sharian looks like a cross between Brando in Apocalypse Now and Michael Chiklis in The Shield. I wish the solution to the mystery of Reznik's identity were as good as everything that leads up to it. It is a bit pat, ...

 CA While the series can be watched on a casual, "mission of the week" basis, show co-creators David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) and Shawn Ryan (The Shield) have worked in various overarching storylines over the past four seasons. This week's season finale ...

By Tempo Grain of salt time: In the EW story, creator David Shore also says that Cameron and Chase will finally become actual characters on the show again "in a really cool way." I don't know, the producers have teased this sort of thing -- and pimped the upcoming House-Cuddy hookup -- so often that I c...

Kenny Johnson has been in a ton of movies and TV shows over the last couple decades but he's currently best known for his roles as Detective Curtis 'Lemonhead' Lemansky in FX's "The Shield" and as Detective ...

FX's Damages created quite the conundrum in its first season. It was another high-gloss series with a big-name star - Glenn Close - airing on FX, a network known for creating edgy basic cable series such as The Shield and Rescue Me. But it was perplexing to see some fans of quality dramas - The W...

By noreply@blogger.com (Mindy) I don't know who to pity the most when it ended --- Shane, Ronnie or Vic. But hooray for Claudette and Dutch! Though I found Claudette a bit self-righteous even from the beginning, it just fits how these two very clever and highly capable detectives were crucial to the fall of the Strike Team.

By Tempo Did Vic Mackey get away with his many sins? And for Vic Mackey, isn’t that a fate worse than death? After the screening last month, “Shield” creator Shawn Ryan spoke with a group of journalists. I asked him if Vic endured a fate worse than death.

FX's The Shield comes to an end at 10 p.m. tomorrow in a 90-minute finale that promises to wrap up the stories of crooked cop Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his colleagues. Recent episodes have seen the noose tightening around Vic, his partner in crime Ronnie (David Rees Snell), and his form...

By asepinwall@starledger.com (Alan Sepinwall) Spoilers for the penultimate episode (ever!) of "The Shield" coming up just as soon as I even myself out... Oh. My. God. • Because the Vic/Shane stuff is so epic, the return of Lloyd and his mom almost got lost in the shuffle, but it's great to see Frances Fisher again.

By Matt Roush Matt Roush: With only two episodes remaining, what better time to salute The Shield, which I've always considered one of TV's best dramas and which is ... Matt Roush: With only two episodes remaining, what better time to salute The Shield, which I've always considered one of TV's best dramas...

By Steven Rubio The Shield is about the inner city, and it's about police, and it's about the corrupt but fascinating cop at its center. It is a great show. But no one would suggest that it covers as much ground as, say, The Wire, which was about all of the above and much, much more. If The Shield tells the story of V...

By Brian LeTendre Topics covered In This Issue: Movies / TV: Wanted director making Moby Dick; Mass Effect movie in the works; I am Legend prequel coming; Megan Fox in Fathom movie; Depp signs on for Jack and Tonto Boob Tube/Big Screen Blitzkrieg: The Shield; The Office; Z-Rock; How I Met Your Mother; Speed...

By Mike2GuysTalking Having the Time You Have for Your Kids: Vic is one of the most dynamic characters I think there’s ever been on television.  Whether it’s this last season, the first season or anything in between, Michael Chiklis continues to provide his audiences with just simply magical moments that help...

Its longtime standby drama, "The Shield," began its final season recently, and the network also debuted another gritty new drama named "Sons of Anarchy," that it clearly hopes can take its place.

By Mike2GuysTalking Cementing the Rezian Deal: If there had to be an episode that showcased the “mechanics of what I love about Vic Mackey”, this would be the one of the many that are perfect samples of what this show is all about.  The literal mechanics that both Shane and Vic give you in this episode are hallmark...

By noreply@blogger.com (Alan Sepinwall) Spoilers for "The Shield" season seven, episode three, coming up just as soon as I take a midterm... • After the experience with the money train cash and other shenanigans with the "retirement fund," how could Vic have not anticipated Aceveda snatching up the blackmail box at the first oppor...

By Mike2GuysTalking Shane’s Power of Persuasion: Masterful delivery from one of my favorite actors of all time, Walton Goggins as Detective Shane Vendrell, putting on the hard-core Mackey-flava’ when confronting a witness who is about to roll-over on the mastermind Armenian, Razian.  With just a few word...

By noreply@blogger.com (Alan Sepinwall) In particular, I loved seeing Claudette tear into one of the junior Spook Streeters over his embrace of the worst aspects of the stereotypical gang culture. It didn't make a dent at all -- and wound up giving Claudette, who already isn't feeling well, another headache to deal with -- but sto...

By Mike2GuysTalking Ronnie Turning the Moral Corner: It might be that the cloak of impropriety has always been draped around Ronnie’s neck over the last 6 years, but never before has his interaction with characters become as bold as outright murder.  We see him take on the final responsibility that often defi...

By Jason the TVaholic Show: The Shield (FX) As always, Michael Chiklis, as Det. Mackey, is outstanding. Mackey’s world is seemingly falling apart, yet he still looks to be a step ahead. And, the rest of the cast is great, as there doesn’t seem to be a weak spot in the bunch.

Not so long ago, basic cable was a peaceful medium, filled with old movies, network reruns and kiddie shows. Then FX’s “The Shield,” starring Michael Chiklis, kicked in the door and changed all that. FX, an upstart network, gambled that producing the kind of high-quality, grown-up progra...

Michael Chiklis is pleased with the way FX’s “The Shield” is coming to an end—with a bang, not a whimper. “I feel like we really finished it in an incredibly strong way,” said the series’ Emmy Award-winning lead actor. “Especially the last seven episodes, it becomes like a moving freight tra...

By noreply@blogger.com (Alan Sepinwall) All I will say about them is that, as Shawn Ryan has promised, they are very much in keeping with the tone and spirit of "The Shield," and they feature the return of a number of figures from seasons past, from those I remembered well (Tavon!) to those I can't believe I almost forgot (Bottom Bit...

By Tempo For one thing, Detective Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell) is put in charge of the Strike Team early in Season 7. Photos: Benito Martinez and Michael Chiklis as David Aceveda and Vic Mackey; David Rees Snell as Ronnie Gardocki (though he's shown here without a beard, the beard returns in S...

By Patrick Walsh I think Vic Mackey is a phenomenal character, and I love Chiklis' portrayal -- at times he is so intense it looks like he's going to pop a testicle. I would totally see a Vic Mackey movie ("This Christmas...Vic Mackey is Back - ey!"), but as a big fan of the show, I'd want to see all the other terrific...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal Dutch and Steve investigate the murder of Miracle Joe, a well-known and beloved Farmington homeless person, and they uncover a guy who extorts money from the homeless, a begging tax. But it seems he watched Joe get hit by a bus and get up and walk away, so he left him alone. Poor Dutch is the laug...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal Shane is going “deeper into the Armenian beast than [he] ever intended.” He brings in his Armenian Gang Princess to pose as a bookkeeper for a bakery to implicate rival Mafia families. Great line alert: when Shane brings in the Princess posing as an accountant, Claudette says, “I don’t want...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal Hiatt seems to be studying at the Vic Mackie School of Strike Team Management. He is going around Claudette and breaking rules as needed. He tells Vic that Claudette’s been playing him from day one, that he will still be forced to retire, and Vic doesn’t seem concerned (could be his politicia...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal Ronnie lures Shane with the pretense of a meeting of the two of them with Vic. But Vic confronts Shane alone. Watching Shane squirm as he begins to realize where it was going was so much fun. And — drum roll please — he finally admits to Vic that he killed Lem. Then they both cry. Luckily, not for long. T...

By Tempo But when the show, which began a typically stellar sixth season April 3, wraps up its seventh and final season some time next year, the character I may miss most is Holland “Dutch” Wagenbach, a dogged detective played by Jay Karnes. But Claudette has been put in charge of the Barn, which may s...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal Keeping Salvadorian drug king pin Guardo’s girlfriend hostage, Mackey lures him in, determined to exact revenge for Lem’s murder. We’ve watched Shane squirm with guilt over the last three episodes, and it has been starting to get on my nerves. I thought that tonight he would finally fes...

By Ann Hagman Cardinal And then there’s David Aceveda. I’m sorry, Councilman David Aceveda. Shudder. Now, I can’t tell you how happy I am that there is a prominent Latino character in this impressive ensemble, and I adore the actor, Benito Martinez, but Aceveda’s smarmy police captain turned politician makes my...

By Blake Matthews Last night my favorite FX series finally had its season premiere. That’s right folks The Shield is back for its sixth season, and just in time for the premiere is the DVD release of The Shield – The Complete Fifth Season.  Throughout this season, the strike team attempts to defuse racial tens...

By Jonathan Toomey Picking up just about a week after Shane killed Lem, the late Det. Lemansky has been buried minus the pomp of a proper police funeral. Turns out that Aceveda and his new political cronies made sure that the city knew Lem was "dirty." Naturally, Vic is not thrilled with that and along with Shane a...

The Shield Pre-Season Six Web-Only Episode Now Available To The Masses  PA - The in-between season five-to-six, online-only episode of FX’s cop drama The Shield is now available to everyone; not just those registered to Bud.tv (as it ...

By Tempo In the early 1990s, Shawn Ryan played basketball three times a week at the Hollywood YMCA. He had the time to spare. This was long before he created the critically acclaimed FX drama “The Shield,” and more than a decade before he helped create the successful CBS military series “The...

By Jonathan Toomey It's lengthy too. At almost a minute long and set to a very cool song ("This Night" by Black Lab according to this message board), the promo takes you through the skies of LA before it settles on Vic and Shane standing in front of Lem's grave. Sends chills down my spine. With Dirt premiering in Jan...

By Jonathan Toomey This is actually old news, but I don't remember reading anything about it. So it's new to me and hopefully to most of you other Shield fans. Alex O'Loughlin joined the cast of The Shield a few months ago when the second half of season five began filming and according to this IGN interview, he's b...

By Jonathan Toomey Anyone else been watching F/X lately? During the past few episodes of Nip/Tuck, there have been nothing but advertisements for the new Courtney Cox-Arquette drama Dirt. The show premieres this coming January but what about The Shield? Ever since it's mid-season finale last March, ther...

By terry In an exclusive interview with actor Jay Karnes, who plays comic relief Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach on FX's "The Shield," he revealed a spin-off for the character has been bandied about. If it were to happen, it would be beyond the seventh -- and final -- season, coming in 2008. The n...

Forest Whitaker played jazz musician Charlie Parker in Bird, a British soldier kidnapped by the IRA in The Crying Game, a mafia hit man who models himself after a Samurai warrior in Ghost Dog, and an internal-affairs detective on the FOX TV show The Shield. In his latest film, The Last King o...

By Lindsay Soll The Armenian Mob has been taking over the tube lately with guest-starring-criminal roles on three of our favorite shows: in a trial of a Mob boss on TNT’s The Closer; in a money-train robbery on FX’s The Shield; and now in Showtime’s comedy Weeds they're muscling in on the grow house of weed...

By Jonathan Toomey Detective Curtis Lemansky Born July 14, 1963 Died March 21, 2006 Cause of Death Then it flashes through a quick montage of all the characters. It ends on Shane. Whew, still sends chills down my spine. It wraps with what I'm assuming is the tagline for the rest of the season: "No One Rests in Peac...

By Richard Keller The actors are what make the show. Each character on The Shield is unique; Vic Mackey is the veteran cop who would do anything for his friends and family, even if it meant being a little dirty; Councilman Aceveda was (and is) out for power and bringing down Mackey; IAD Lieutenant Kavanaugh wa...

By Keith McDuffee Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Cable, OpEd, The Shield Tonight, the look on Vic's face when he saw that Kavanaugh's ex-wife wanted him was perfect. It clearly said, "Oh, this is too good to be true." What I didn't see coming (snicker) was the ex-wife admitting to it in such graphic detail.

By Keith McDuffee Filed under: Drama, Cable, The ShieldTonight's episode continued to show the influence the Strike Team has on the scum around The Farm, even when they have to go so far as to shovel it off for someone else to pick up. Not a whole lot of action this time around, but the beginning of Vic's race for...