Shows Worth Watching #2

Simply Amazing. That's all I can say about this show. It's as close to the perfect cop show as your going to get.

Completely independent from network cop dramas, THE SHIELD is just a different animal. The cops are just as crooked and twisted (if not more so) than the criminals they go after. And despite the fact that the characters are essentially villains in their own right, you can't help but root for them. At times, I found myself wondering if we don't all have that type of person inside of us, we just haven't been pushed far enough or been in deep enough to justify such actions.

It's shot with a voyeuristic, almost documentary style of cinematography that almost becomes a character unto itself.

And the acting... above anything in recent memory. Even secondary characters are so engaging, you can't help but care about them. To give you insight into the quality, how else can you explain Academy Award Winner Forrest Whittaker and Glenn Close giving their talents for entire seasons. Not just a one shot guest appearance... an entire season.

The character Vic Mackey sums it up nicely in the pilot: "Good cop and bad cop have left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop."

In a year when television seems to be lacking (I'm looking at you HEROES) it's a shame that the series just ended last week. But still, to say it went out with a bang would be like calling the Grand Canyon a little hole.

I could go on and on but I like to keep these short. If anything, give the pilot episode a shot. The last five minutes are better than most shows could ever hope to be.

You can pick up Season 1 pretty cheap here.

9.5/10