The Shield: Complete Seasons 1-7 [DVD] [2011]

This review is of the Blu-Ray 7-season collection, bought from amazon.com and shipped to me from the USA.The core performance by Michael Chiklis is astonishing, closely followed by CCH Pounder, Jay Karnes, Walton Goggins, Kenny Johnson, Catherine Dent, and, of course, Glenn Close for 1 season. Over 7 seasons so many other contributing actors helped make the series intensely compelling and credible, not to mention the brilliance of the various writers, including Kurt Sutter who went on to write Sons of Anarchy. Forest Whitaker's character in seasons 5 & 6 was perhaps acted too well, not to mention over-zealously and unrealistically written - his character's slimy unpleasantness detracted from the atmosphere of the show and should have been toned-down, or perhaps even re-cast.Technically, a bad sound snafu on season 7, disc 2, title 1 (S7 e6, 'Animal Control') is very distracting - the ambient sounds are all 'phased'; it sounds like there's a hard delay between left and right channels of ambient sounds and a sound engineer has inadvertently summed them into mono, so the atmospherics sound like they're playing through a tube. Shame - none of the other 87 episodes has this unpleasant fault.Part of our engagement with the characters includes their lives outside 'The Barn'; Vic Mackie's own stressful family situation was well-portrayed, but I was extremely dismayed to see that the 'fake news' regarding children's vaccinations allegedly causing autism was presented unchallenged. This dangerous but groundless rumour-mongering was extremely irresponsible of the writers and should have been sanctioned.From a technical point of view, the series was originally made for 'low-definition' 720p TV, which was infinitely more forgiving of camera focus; it's true that viewed on on blu-ray there are more than a few examples of un-focussed scenes, but I never found it detracted from my enjoyment of the show - in fact, I found these moments charmingly consistent with the atmosphere of early 2000's drama! I'd go so far as to say that from a programme-making perspective, this is lesson of how what may be regarded as 'flaws' don't detract from appeal, but add to atmosphere - the whole is so much more than the parts, warts and all, and will long remain a fine example of how to make a top-notch action drama series.Having watched the series when it first aired on UK TV, it was great to rediscover the intensity and action on blu-ray. I have a Region A Blu-Ray player just for US imports, but even though this series is marked as 'Region A' it all played perfectly on my (4K upscaling) Region B player, so UK audiences can also enjoy this US import collection.Highly recommended - there's so much to enjoy and admire, I'll be re-watching and re-bingeing again and again!

There are cop shows, and then there is The Shield; a tense and nailbiting 7 seasons of one of the most enthralling TV shows ever written. To sum up for potential first time viewers, The Shield covers the exploits of the Strike Team, a tough-as-nails unit of police detectives in the fictional Farmington division of LA. What separates the Strike Team from other cops is this; The Strike Team will go to any lengths and do absolutely anything to keep their citizens safe. Drug lords and gang rivalries engulf the streets of Farmington, but the Strike Team have their own methods for dealing with criminals. Ethics go out the window in this riveting drama, as 'questionable' interrogation techniques, blackmail and deception deliver far more results than the standard by-the-book approach adopted by the rest of the department. The team is led by the ambitious Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), who is the driving force behind the violence and corruption within the team. Mackey is a law unto himself, and as he struggles to deal with the everyday pressures of being a father, husband and a police detective in the most dangerous division of Los Angeles, the viewer finds himself rooting for the Strike Team as they serve their own brand of justice to the criminals of this world.Outside of the Strike Team, The Shield follows the work of detectives Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) and Holland 'Dutch' Wagenbach (Jay Karnes), whose cases often tie-in with the Strike Teams agenda, and the more they work together, the more the detectives realise just how corrupt and unjust the Strike Team really are. Watching the Strike Team on their tightrope walk above the pit of a prison sentence is the equally ambitious police captain David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) who faces his own dilemmas. He is aware of the actions of the Strike Team and is desperate to stamp out police brutality and corruption in an effort to further his own political agenda, but Mackey's techniques are keeping his citizens safe and pleasing the powers-that-be, making it difficult for Aceveda to get rid of his most troublesome unit.The Shield is a masterclass of brilliantly written storylines intertwined with real moral dilemmas that will have even the most law abiding of citizens questioning their own ethical code. All 7 seaons are packed into an attractive box set, and with added bonus features on all discs, this boxset is a must-buy for die-hard Shield fans and new viewers who are wanting to be blown away!!

This is a great series - all-action but with intelligent storylines and some really great acting. So why is the packing so substandard? The outside box is thin cardboard, it is difficult to get the CDs in and out of the plastic trays, and the CDs aren't always marked clearly e.g. the CDs for series 5 aren't marked 'Series 5'. Also, every one of the CDs starts with an anti CD piracy film which can't be fast forwarded over, and which seems pretty redundant in a box set of about 30 CDs, especially seeing as I have payed cash money for them.Also there is the issue of the editing of the feature length episodes on discs 5 & 6. Who thought this was a good idea??