The Shield - The Complete Second Season
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Description
Everything good about the first season of The Shield is intensified in the second. For detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his amoral strike team, these 13 episodes follow "the money train," a stockpile of Armenian mob money ripe for the taking. Mackey's team plots to steal this criminal fortune while under pressure from Capt. Aceveda (Benito Martinez), whose political campaign is threatened by a civilian auditor (Lucinda Jenney) assigned to uncover corruption in "the Barn." The uneasy alliance between Aceveda and Mackey provokes the suspicion of Wyms (CCH Pounder), whose by-the-book vigilance is rewarded while Dutch (Jay Karnes) endures a slump that worsens the Barn's sullied reputation. After being horribly disfigured by Mackey, a vile Mexican druglord (Daniel Pino) plots a territorial coup, prompting the strike team's finest police work while Mackey struggles to save his failing marriage. Post-9/11 tensions erupt when beat cop Danny (Catherine Dent) justifiably shoots an armed Arab civilian, and newlywed Julien (Michael Jace) copes with (literal) gay-bashing following his church-sponsored sexual reorientation. As always, The Shield supports these plotlines with gritty casework, including a brutal kidnapping, homicide, and gangland warfare. Every episode (shot in grainy 16mm) meets the series' high standard of excellence, but "Greenlit," "Homewrecker" (featuring the death of a recurring character), and "Dominoes Falling" are standouts, while the controversial "Co-Pilot" offers a retrospective look at the Barn's volatile origins. Writing and direction are consistently superb, and Pounder deserves honorable mention among the brilliant cast, striking a stoical balance of world-weary wisdom, procedural diligence, and righteous indignation. Bonus features comprise a virtual film school for anyone seeking a career in television. While the commentaries explore the nuts and bolts of series development, the "Directors' Roundtable" (with creator Shawn Ryan, Scott Brazil, Peter Horton, and Paris Barclay) is a revealing, frequently hilarious study of the rigors of fast-paced production; "Sound Surgery" presents a track-by-track analysis of sound, music, and dialogue; and "Wrap Day" is a celebratory tribute to the series' hard-working cast and crew. It's all good, and guaranteed to stoke anyone's appetite for Season Three. --Jeff Shannon
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Season one was just the beginning. Friday, April 22, 2005
If you're reading this review you've probably watched season one and are wondering if you should continue investing time and money into the second season.
The answer is a resounding "YES!". The Shield simply keeps on getting better and better as more light is shined on characters and relationships.
The underlying main plot involves a "mythical" Armenian mob money train and the Strike team's efforts to improve their retirement funds. Along the way a supremely vicious Mexican drug lord tries to muscle his way in and runs head on into Vic who is involved in a complex relationship with the increasingly hateful Aceveda.
Dutch Boy, Wyms, Dani and Julian also get their fair share of screen time but, as is the case with the best shows, it's not the situations these people are faced with that really hook you - it's the characters and the relationships that do it.
The Shield is simply the best show on TV (and this is coming from a guy who watches "Arrested Development", "Six Feet Under" and "Deadwood").
ADDICTIVE ENTERTAINMENTTuesday, April 05, 2005
OK, I admit it, I'm addicted to this show and watching one episode right after another is the way to enjoy it most. All of the subplots get full exposure this way. You don't have time to forget what happened in the week preceding because that was a couple of minutes ago.
What I like about the second season of discs over the first is the addition of scenes from previous episodes to refresh the memory. Very helpful and much appreciated. Of all of the episodes I felt CO-PILOT was the weakest. Though interesting it was a throw away. I liked seeing the origin of the Strike Team, but I did not feel it rang true to the very first episode. It implied that the malfeasance of the team only began a few days before the first episode, though the first episode implied their antics had been going on for quite some time.
Season two is more violent than season one and the Strike Team makes quite a few new enemies. Teasing us with the Money Train throughout left me salivating at the end in anticipation of the big heist. The more Mackey tries to start doing things right the more things get screwed up. I'm even warming to Shane.
Great, great show and a must see for cop show fanatics.
The Best Darn Show On Television Bar None!!Wednesday, March 23, 2005
After wacthing the first season of this groundbreaking, amazing show The Shield's second season in an explosive fashion with hard hitting storylines delivered by the finest group of actors i have ever seen on television & told with gritty realism and out right in your face style of acting never seen anywhere else. Michael Chilklis does an amazing job & desreves the numerous awards given to him as a member of an elite strike team who will make deal with drug dealers, kill to protect each other anything to get the job done. This show has too many amazing qualites to mention but it makes me watch every epidsode compulslvey that i cannot miss a single episode. Quite simply once you seen The Shield your'e hooked and there is no turning back that's how good this program really is. With it's plots, profanity ,humor and and amazing characters with so much internal conflict with themselves.From season 1-3 which i have seen all the episodes countless times i never really get tired of it. Can hardly wait to get season 4 on DVD.The Shield really is the best darn shown on televison.
Keeping Up with Season OneSaturday, March 05, 2005
A co-worker said to me, "That show's out of control!"
We've all been passing around THE SHIELD; first its first season, then its second. And it hasn't lost any steam. THE SHIELD still crashes and careens through the streets of L.A. like one of its wobbling-camera footchases, always managing to stun and electrify its audience.
Staying totally out of control.
I'll go as far as to say I think it's the best cop show on television.
I love the characters and I love the care the writers put into them. The actors are all superb. THE SHIELD is harsh, violent and sometimes very ugly, but it's also funny, sometimes touching, and always very smart.
(I'll get the third season as well and I can't wait for the upcoming fourth!).
TV's #1 DramaFriday, February 11, 2005
If you love drama this is the show for you. explosive action every second,Every episode leaves you wanting more. I Watched Season 1&2 and got hooked. Now I Can't Wait For Season 3 On Febuary 22, 2005. Season 4 Starts In march Check Your Local Listings The Premire date Should be March 15, 2005.