Note: I have only ever watched the first four seasons all the way through, as far as I can remember.

In 2003 or thereabouts, I found The Shield, as well as Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood and some other of what we might call “the new TV.” I was as enraptured by The Shield as any of these programs and I saw in them all a chance for TV to actually eclipse many movies not just in terms of production values but in terms of cultural value. Serial dramas can tell continuing stories that can become even more central (or meaningful) to our lives than great films. (As an aside: I still think there is great potential here to adapt some of the great classics of literature into the serial drama form.) Having just watched the first four seasons of the shield in less than four weeks I must say that I have drastically changed my position.

I am a great believer that, on the whole, people who make good things will usually make good things and people who make bad things will usually make bad things. I have tested this theory many times and continually test it with filmmakers I don’t know. With ones we do: we are always shocked if someone like Joel Schumacher pulls something even remotely decent out of his ass. Whereas, when Scorsese makes a good or great film it is expected. But if Schumacher makes yet another piece of shit, we are not shocked whereas if Scorsese does, we are disappointed. Shawn Ryan made The Unit. I didn’t know this before but now it explains a lot. One thing it explains is why a show like The Shield was always riddled with problems. Problems I couldn’t see when I was like “swearing and violence on TV?!?! Sweet.”

In retrospect, The Shield just pales in comparison to its contemporaries. From the very start, Mackey is more corrupt than possibly any police officer in North America. (This despite the fact that the show is based on a real scandal. Those guys got caught.)  That is a serious problem for suspension of disbelief. The fact that their actions get more and more unbelievable throughout the first three seasons – and then again to some extent in the second half of the fourth season – doesn’t help the attempt at suspending the disbelief. The origins episode halfway through the first season is almost laughable as it has the Strike Team basically sit down and decide to become corrupt. That happens? Really?

Further, almost all behaviour in the show appears rooted completely in character. Unlike The Wire or Deadwood, there is relatively little acknowledgement of the role of circumstances in these people’s jobs; there is far greater acknowledgement of it on The Shield than other TV, but it is sporadic and only used when it furthers the plot.

The acting and direction are far superior to your average show or cop drama. The problem is inherently in the script: the anti-heroes are too corrupt and get away with too much, everyone is too tense too much of the time – when do these people rest? – the few redeemable characters are hated by virtually the entire rest of the station, etc.

Ryan has nailed a number of authenticities about police but he has missed so many more about people that it makes the show far less successful than it could have been.

6/10