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It was a horrible, horrible idea to re-watch The Shield

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G

gdt

Member
First bunch of season, its all fun and games. The Strike Team is doing badass shit, its funny, bad guys go down, Vic Macky is a boss eternal. Cool bad guys, Forest Whitaker doing super boss shit, and The Strike Team just barely getting out of jams, literally by the skin of their teeth.

Then its the end of S5. Okay, that was fuuuuucked up. But we still got it, the weekly adventures of Dutch and Billings are all good.

Then comes the second half of the final season, and its fucking harrowing. I forgot how this shit made me feel watching it live. Its worse when I know the end. All this shit is tough to watch. I'm having a particularly down day, so maybe it's amplifying it, but fuuuuuck man, this stuff is heartbreaking. Only got the last episode left, got through the "confessions" scene. Holy shit watching that live was jawdropping.

Diving into the last episode now, can't wait to be done with all this misery.
 
Z

zero_suit

Member
gdt said:
Only got the last episode left, got through the "confessions" scene. Holy shit watching that live was jawdropping.

Diving into the last episode now, can't wait to be done with all this misery.
Click to expand...

Excellent stuff, right there.
 
P

Puddles

Banned
Forest Whittaker was an insufferable a-hole on The Shield. I've never wanted a character to die quite so much as him.
 
C

CPS2

Member
I'm fully caught up on the shield and sons of anarchy and now i kinda want to watch the shield again to see how many references there are in SoA. I know the one-niners are in both, and heaps of actors are in both shows playing different characters...
 
C

CB3

intangibles, motherfucker
This needs a new title. It implies the shield isnt one of the top 5 tv series of all time
 
S

Stephen Colbert

Banned
I agree Shield is top 5.

Alongside Game of Thrones, The Wire, The West Wing and Firefly.


Feels wrong leaving off Breaking Bad, Arrested Development, Sopranos, Band of Brothers etc.
 
G

Gentleman Jack

Member
gdt said:
Only got the last episode left, got through the "confessions" scene. Holy shit watching that live was jawdropping.
Click to expand...

It's rare that a show is this goddamn good with such a simple setting to close out an entire series. Just a man in a room, tearing down everything. Everything.
 
K

~Kinggi~

Banned
Lol, oh shit, thanks for making this thread actually. Didnt realize it is the Amazon gold box deal of the day. 10$ per season.
 
G

gdt

Member
I love this show so much, I highly recommend it. Just commenting that its so fucking good I'm depressed right now.
 
F

faceless007

Member
Doing a rewatch now, on season 3. I'd forgotten how much of the earlier seasons were kind of comedic and absurd, and how more lighthearted and broad stories were used to balance out the dark.

I noticed that the final shot of the show mirrors
the final shot of season 1: Vic discovers Corrine has taken the kids and left, and after stewing about it for a while, grabs his jacket and heads for the door.
 
S

shadyspace

Banned
Yep, just took advantage of the amazon daily deal. Been my favorite tv show since I was 14 but the stars never aligned for me to own it. The single season sets have always been too expensive and the complete series collection is a piece of shit.
 
G

GQman2121

Banned
Puddles said:
Forest Whittaker was an insufferable a-hole on The Shield. I've never wanted a character to die quite so much as him.
Click to expand...

Yeah, all that upholding the law and shit. I'm like, damn, why you always trying to work?

original.gif



Until he does the opposite and becomes a criminal himself
 
C

Count of Monte Sawed-Off

un33dab@dpu$$y
Came in this thread expecting the worst, but gdt, you are the man.

The Shield can currently be bought for $9.99 a season from Amazon for new people. Really, it becomes one of the best shows ever as it goes along.

Gorillaz said:
Whaaat?
Click to expand...

It's a very valid opinion depending on what you want. For straight up realism, the Wire can't be beat. For drama, I think the Shield is better. I think season 4 of the Wire is the best season in any show ever, but as a whole the Shield gives the Wire a run for its money.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
the only show I might put in front of The Shield, for me, is Breaking Bad. It's so perfectly written and acted, it stands up there with the best of any medium, not just TV.
 
P

Puckmarin

Banned
blackflag said:
Yeah I'd agree with this.l The Wire is slightly better. BB slightly below but it could surpass.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with this as well. Nothing is ever going to beat The Wire, as far as I'm concerned unless it's another realistic cop drama set in Baltimore. :)

I'd say that the writing in The Shield is a bit more uneven than that in Breaking Bad but it's still better. Of course, we still haven't seen the end of Breaking Bad yet.
 
S

shadyspace

Banned
Puckmarin said:
I'd agree with this as well. Nothing is ever going to beat The Wire, as far as I'm concerned unless it's another realistic cop drama set in Baltimore. :)

I'd say that the writing in The Shield is a bit more uneven than that in Breaking Bad but it's still better. Of course, we still haven't seen the end of Breaking Bad yet.
Click to expand...

I disagree with people who say The Wire is superior to The Shield but completely respect that opinion. However, saying Breaking Bad's ridiculous slapstick, comic book plotting is more even than The Shield's is sort of insane.


alr1ght said:
I rank the Shield higher than the Wire because of the enjoyed more of the characters.
Click to expand...
Basically. The Shield is a wholly superior character piece to The Wire whereas The Wire beats The Shield in nuanced social commentary. Which you prefer really comes down to what you prefer in your fiction.
 
P

Puddles

Banned
Count of Monte Sawed-Off said:
It's a very valid opinion depending on what you want. For straight up realism, the Wire can't be beat. For drama, I think the Shield is better. I think season 4 of the Wire is the best season in any show ever, but as a whole the Shield gives the Wire a run for its money.
Click to expand...

Season 3 of The Wire is its best season, IMO.

For me, nothing beats Seasons 1 and 2 of Six Feet Under. It's the only show I can think of that touches on every single aspect of the human experience.
 
C

Count of Monte Sawed-Off

un33dab@dpu$$y
Puddles said:
Season 3 of The Wire is its best season, IMO.
Click to expand...

funny season 3 actually happens to be my second to least favorite season of the Wire, beat only by the 5th.

Not to make this post totally about the wire:

seasons 4 and 5 of the Shield are about perfect. And season 7 features the most perfect and heartbreaking series finale ever.
 
P

Puddles

Banned
alr1ght said:
I rank the Shield higher than the Wire because of the enjoyed more of the characters.
Click to expand...

Shane and Lem were such fantastic characters.

Count of Monte Sawed-Off said:
funny season 3 actually happens to be my second to least favorite season of the Wire, beat only by the 5th.
Click to expand...

I realize I'm in the minority on this. I just think that the Stringer/Avon interactions in Season 3 tower over everything else that the show ever did.
 
Emerson

Emerson

May contain jokes =>
Count of Monte Sawed-Off said:
funny season 3 actually happens to be my second to least favorite season of the Wire, beat only by the 5th.
Click to expand...

At least admit that the
Avon and Stringer dynamic falling apart
offered some of the greatest scenes in the entire series.

Anyway, I need to watch this. And naturally, when it's on sale and I finally decide to watch it, I'm living somewhere where I can't get mail.
 
I

iammeiam

Member
The Shield is one of my all-time favorites largely because pretty much the whole series feels important. Usually seven seasons means you have a few filler years that are just kind of the show spinning its wheels, but everything feels like a vital part of The Shield. Even the Glenn Close season, which is arguably the least focused, played an important part in the story of the strike team. I'm always somewhat amazed at how crucial the end of the pilot was at every point of the series. It was an active part of the story frequently, but even when it wasn't it informed characters actions and decisions. Very few shows manage to feel as complete, to me.

That said, I was doing a rewatch recently which mysteriously halted after the season four finale. What comes next is fantastic television, but not exactly fun.
 
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