The Shield
"The Shield" can also refer to the logo of the Warner Bros. movie studio.The Shield is an
American police drama television series shown on
FX Networks and other networks around the world. The show is notable for its controversial portrayal of corrupt police officers. The first season gained the most
Emmy nominations ever for a basic cable drama. The series was created by
Shawn Ryan and The Barn Productions for
20th Century Fox Television and
Sony Pictures Television (formerly
Columbia TriStar Television). In the United States,
The Shield airs Tues. at 10 p.m. In the
United Kingdom The Shield is screened at 11pm on
Five on Fridays.
The Shield is about an experimental
police division set up in the fictional Farmington neighborhood ("the Farm") of
Los Angeles, using a converted church ("the Barn") as their police station. Although
Michael Chiklis has top billing with his portrayal of Detective Vic Mackey, the show has an
ensemble cast that will normally run a number of separate story lines through each episode.
Detective Mackey is the leader of the Strike Team, a four-man anti-
gang unit based on the
LAPD's real-life
Rampart Division CRASH unit (
Rampart was seriously considered as the series name
). The Strike Team uses a variety of violent and extortive methods to maintain peace on the streets, while maintaining their own profits through drug protection schemes and robbery. The Strike Team isn't above planting drugs on and coercing confessions out of gang members. Attempts to give the team a fifth member have frequently led to near-catastrophe for the group.
The Shield has a variety of subplots specific to the main characters, notably David Aceveda's political aspirations and confrontation of a previous sexual assault (in which he was raped), Vic Mackey's struggle to cope with a failing marriage, and Julien Lowe's internal conflicts between his belief in the teachings of the
Bible and his
homosexuality.
Common themes are the citizens' distrust of
police, the social impact of drugs and gang warfare, and the conflict between ethics and political expediency. Most characters are portrayed as having both vice and virtue. For example, Vic's loving relationship with his children contrasts with his thuggish attitude towards police work.
The Shield has won much praise for its
realism, and one area in which this is particularly noticeable is its portrayal of
gang violence in Los Angeles. Although names of actual gangs are not used, the portrayals are based on real gangs
.
Latino gangs with names such as "Los Magnificos" (or "Los Mags") and the "Toros" are a constant thorn in the Strike Team's side in the early seasons of the show, whilst
African American gangs become more prominent in later episodes. In particular, a gang calling themselves the "One-Niners" are central to the plot of Season 4. Like the notorious real-life
Blood and
Crip gangs, the One-Niners identify themselves strongly with one color (in this case purple), wearing it on various forms of clothing. There are also a number of stories set in
Korean neighborhoods, as well as plots involving
Armenian gangsters.
Finally, to further its realistic mood, the show makes very little use of
background music.
There is some controversy around the show's depiction of
police corruption. The Strike Team members nearly always convincingly justify their illegal activities to each other, while various police and government authorities who try to bring them to justice or otherwise criticize them are clearly portrayed negatively. From one perspective, this technique presents the reality of police corruption and brutality, which are obviously wrong, and attempts to explain it intelligently, without demonizing. From another, the show is essentially a defense of police corruption and brutality, portraying effective police work as impossible without such tactics and presenting Vic Mackey in particular as a hero despite his abuse of power.
The first season introduces us to The Strike Team and the other characters of the Barn. Important plotlines are the aftermath of Vic's murder of Terry Crowley and Captain Aceveda's scheming to bring Vic and the Strike Team down, Dutch and Claudette tracking down a serial killer, Julian training under Danny and struggling with his homosexuality, and the corrupt actions of Ben Gilroy.
The second season premiered January 7, 2003. The season mostly revolves around a brutal new drug-lord who begins to take over the drug trade in Farmington. This season is also heavily concerned with the Strike Teams plan to rip off the money train of the Armenian Mob, which ends up going down in the season finale.
The third season premiered March 9, 2004. The season mainly revolves around the aftermath of the
Money Train Heist and its effects on the Strike Team, as the Armenian mob and also David Aceveda begin to suspect the Strike Team. In order to save the team, Lem destroys the majority of the money, ultimately leading to a confrontation which causes the Strike Team to split up in the season finale.
The fourth season premiered March 15th, 2005, with the addition of
Glenn Close as a full-time cast member, and ended on June 14th. The season dealt with the fallout from the Strike Team disbandment. Shane Vendrell with new partner Army enters into a dangerous situation with major drug lord Antwon Mitchell, and seemingly accepts an order to kill Vic Mackey. In the end, the team gets back together and manages to bring Antwon into jail. The season also deals with the controversial policies of the new police captain, Julien's opposition to these policies, and David Acedveda dealing with the psychological aftermath of his incident from the previous season.
The fifth season premiered January 10th, 2006. The season revolved around Lt. John Kavanaugh's investigation into the strike team, representing one of the greatest threats the team has ever faced. The season concluded with Shane Vendrell murdering his friend and fellow team member Curtis "Lem" Lemansky.The sixth season will consist of ten episodes scheduled to begin filming in April 2006, for broadcast late 2006 or early 2007. Creator Shawn Ryan had stated that this may be the last season
[David Mamet and Shawn Ryan: 'The Unit' Audio interview from NPR, recorded March 14, 2006], but on June 5, 2006 FX announced it would bring The Shield back for a seventh and final season. Production of the 13-episode slate is scheduled to start in mid-2007 and is expected to air in late 2007 or early 2008.
[Hollywood Reporter story, June 5, 2006]Main article: List of characters from The Shield
Strike Team
*
Detective Vic Mackey (
Michael Chiklis): Leader of the Strike Team.
*
Detective Shane Vendrell (
Walton Goggins): Vic's friend and member of the Strike Team.
*
Detective Ronnie Gardocki (
David Rees Snell) : Member of the Strike Team.
*
Detective Kevin Hiatt (
Alex O'Loughlin): Member of the Strike Team. Replaces Curtis Lemansky.
Former members
*
Detective Terry Crowley (
Reed Diamond) (Season 1 episodes 1 - 2, Season 2 episode 22): An undercover detective working with David Aceveda and the Department of Justice, who was trying to get information on the illicit activities of the Strike Team. Was shot and killed by Vic Mackey in the pilot episode.
*
Detective Tavon Garris (
Brian White) (Season 2-3): A later addition to the Strike Team. Left the Strike Team after a fight with Shane Vendrell and a subsequent automobile accident.
*
Detective Armando "Army" Renta (
Michael Peña) (Season 4): Shane Vendrell's partner after he left the Strike Team at the end of season three. Was involved in Shane's illicit dealings with Antwon Mitchell, and later split from Shane in order to avoid a lie detector test related to that.
*
Detective Curtis "Lem" Lemansky (
Kenny Johnson) (Seasons 1-5): Member of the Strike Team who often served as the group's conscience. Also referred to as "Lemonhead." Was killed by Shane Vendrell in Season 5.
Administration
*
Councilman David Aceveda (
Benito Martinez): Politically ambitious former police captain, elected to the Los Angeles City Council between Seasons 3 and 4. Is one of Vic Mackey's main rivals, although often they have forged uneasy alliances for various reasons. Was raped at gunpoint in Season 3, which eventually drove him to arrange a deal with druglord Antwon Mitchell to kill his rapist in prison.
*
Assistant Chief of Police Ben Gilroy (
John Diehl) (Season 1 episodes 2, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13; Season 2 episodes 22, 23; Season 4 episode 43): Crooked cop and longtime friend of Vic Mackey. Was forced out of office after being arrested in a real estate scam; later turned state's evidence in order to obtain evidence to take down the Strike Team, but was forced into exile and eventually died in Mexico.
*
Assistant Chief of Police Roy Phillips (
Nigel Gibbs) (Season 3 episode 9; Season 4 episode 1; Season 5 episodes 1, 10): Replaced Ben Gilroy as Assistant Chief of Police. Apparently an acquaintance of Vic Mackey's, though their relationship has never been clarified.
*
Captain Monica Rawling (
Glenn Close) (Season 4): Succeeded David Aceveda as captain of the Barn. Responsible for a controversial asset-seizure program during her tenure; was eventually fired when she interfered with a DEA operation in Los Angeles at the end of Season 4.
*
Captain Claudette Wyms (
CCH Pounder): A veteran detective and on-again off-again partner of "Dutch" Wagenbach. Replaced Steve Billings as captain of the Barn in Season 5.
Police
*
Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach (
Jay Karnes): Claudette's former partner and a detective at the Barn.
*
Detective Steve Billings (
David Marciano) (Season 4-): Wishy-washy detective and former interim captain of the Barn after the departure of Monica Rawling. Paired with Dutch during Season 5 after losing his position as captain to Claudette.
*
Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer (
Catherine Dent): Patrol officer who aspires to become a detective. Served as Julien's training officer early in the series. Involved in an on-again-off-again affair with Vic Mackey. Mackey may be the father of her son, Lee, who was born in Season 5.
*
Officer Julien Lowe (
Michael Jace): Patrol officer. Many episodes involve subplots related to his suppressed homosexuality. Training officer of Tina Hanlon.
*
Officer Tina Hanlon (
Paula Garcés) (Season 5-): Julien's officer in training. An attractive young female Hispanic police officer, she is also being mentored by Dutch.
*
Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh (
Forest Whitaker) (Season 5-): Internal Affairs officer investigating the Strike Team.
*
Officer Ray Carlson (
Matt Corboy) (Seasons 1-3): Homophobic patrol officer. Led assault on Julien Lowe after Lowe was exposed as a homosexual. Lowe returned for revenge, leading to Carlson's departure early in Season 3.
*
Joe Clark (
Carl Weathers) (Season 2): Vic's former partner and training officer. Forced into early retirement for brutality.
Criminals
*
Antwon Mitchell (
Anthony Anderson) (Season 4-): Leader of the One-Niners gang, drug dealer and general criminal kingpin, and Shane's former 'employer' during his split from the Strike Team. Due to his knowledge of what Shane did and how he was treated, he is one of the Strike Team's most powerful enemies. Currently serving a sentence in Lompoc Prison for murder.
*
Margos Dezerian (
Kurt Sutter) (Season 1 episode 5, Season 3 episodes 40-41): High-ranking member of the Armenian Mafia in Los Angeles. Was killed by Vic Mackey at the end of Season 3.
*
Armando "Armadillo" Quintero (
Daniel Pino) (Season 2 episodes 14-15, 18, and 21): Ruthless Mexican gang leader that Shane and Lem arranged to have killed while in police custody before he could reveal that Vic had scarred him.
*
Kleavon Gardner (
Ray Campbell) (Season 4 episodes 6, Season 5 episode 6 & 7): A serial killer that proved very challenging for Dutch and Claudette to break.
*
Tomas Motyashik (
Brent Roam) (Seasons 1-2): Was briefly Julien's lover and small-time crook. Disappeared after season 3 following Julien's marriage.
Gangs
* The
Armenian Might
* Farmington One-Niners
* Los Magnificos (or "Los Mags")
* Los Toros
* Los Profetas
* El Salvadorans
* The Torrucos - a unification of the Los Mags and Toros formed by Armadillo Quintero
* The Byz Lats
* Spookstreet Souljahs
*
K-Town Killers
* The Horde (
biker gang)
Other
*
Corrine Mackey (
Cathy Cahlin Ryan): Vic's ex-wife.
*
Cassidy Mackey (
Autumn Chiklis): Vic's older daughter.
*
Becca Doyle (
Laura Harring) (Season 5): Defense attorney for the Strike Team during Kavanaugh's investigation.
*
Emolia Melendez (
Onahoua Rodriguez) (Season 4, Episodes 10, 11 & 13, Season 5, Episodes 1, 2, 5, 8, 11): An informant for the Strike Team and a secret witness for Kavanaugh.
*Cathy Cahlin Ryan (Corrine Mackey), is in real life married to series creator Shawn Ryan and is very good friends with Michael Chiklis's wife Michelle. Cathy & Shawn's infant son was also cast as Connie's son, Brian in seasons one and two.
*Autumn Chiklis (Cassidy Mackey), is the real-life daughter of Michael Chiklis, and likewise plays his daughter on the series. However, Chiklis does not let her watch the show.
*The badges worn by officers in the show differ from their real-life counterparts in both design and their position on the uniform. This was done to distance the show from the actual LAPD, who objected to their portrayal as corrupt.
*The characters of Detectives Ronnie Gardocki and Curtis "Lem" Lemansky were not part of the original series pitch. The character of Detective Lemansky was created especially for actor Kenny Johnson after he auditioned for the role of Terry Crowley. Meanwhile David Rees Snell, a friend of show creator Shawn Ryan, was offered a part as an extra as a member of the Strike Team in the pilot episode. When FX greenlighted the series, he was signed on to the show as the enigmatic Detective Ronnie Gardocki.
*The alcoholic beverages
Corona and
Southern Comfort are often the beverages of choice when the Strike Team are seen celebrating, or advertised in bars they visit throughout several seasons. Vic Mackey keeps
Red Stripe in his place.
*The average episode takes only 7 days to film.
Video game
On March 3, 2004, Sammy Studios announced a video game version of
The Shield for
Xbox and
PlayStation 2. The game was to be a 3rd person action game developed by Point of View. On March 7, 2005, Sammy Studios Inc. completed a management buyout from parent company Sammy Corporation of Tokyo, Japan and was thus renamed High Moon Studios, Inc. The game's development was cancelled in the summer of 2004 following the Sammy/Sega merger.
Region 1 releases were handled by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Region 2 Releases: Season 1 and Season 2 were released in 2003 and 2004 respectively. However,
Sony (the successor to Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment) have since decided not to release any further series of The Shield in Region 2.
*
Official website*
*
ShieldForum.com, a popular fan forum
