The Shield..same level as Breaking Bad/The Wire etc?

[Theb]

At the time I thought the ending was dumb, but compared with the finales of some other great shows it was pretty good.

Lem

Spoiler! I know it's an old show, but this is a thread by someone asking if they should watch it.

 

[nageov3t]

Breaking Bad, The Wire, and The Sopranos are on a different level, but something like The Shield would be pretty close on the next tier down.

 

[ThinClient]

wow the guy is asking about if the shield is a good show to watch, and some assholes come and spoil MAJOR parts of the story. nice job assholes.

It should be illegal to bitch about spoilers for anything more than a year or two old. The Shield is ancient. Quit your bitchin.

 

[ThinClient]

Spoilers:

Shane kills Lem
They all lose anyway
Vader is Luke's father

 

[Platypus]

I think the ending was perfect. Vic still got screwed.

Vic's ending was fitting, the rest of the characters on the show got sloppy, rushed, bullshit conclusions to what were otherwise masterful character developments throughout years of the show.

 

[TwiceOver]

The Shield is definitely on par with Breaking Bad. It really was the original gritty TV drama and paved the way for all these other shows.

As for The Wire, I still don't get the appeal. In a list, I'd put several shows before The Wire, not even a top 10, maybe 20. But to each their own.

 

[purbeast0]

The Shield is definitely on par with Breaking Bad. It really was the original gritty TV drama and paved the way for all these other shows.

As for The Wire, I still don't get the appeal. In a list, I'd put several shows before The Wire, not even a top 10, maybe 20. But to each their own.

every person i know that has seen both the wire and the shield like the one that they watched first more than the other, myself included.

 

[nageov3t]

The Shield is definitely on par with Breaking Bad. It really was the original gritty TV drama and paved the way for all these other shows.

er... Sopranos?

 

[silverpig]

1) Breaking Bad
2) The Shield
3) The Wire

No way.

1. The Wire
1a. Breaking Bad
2b. The Shield

 

[TwiceOver]

er... Sopranos?

Sopranos wasn't a standard cable show. It didn't have the constraints of mainstream cable to deal with since it was on HBO. I'm sure it was a good show but it didn't have the scrutiny of basic cable confining it.

EDIT: I'm not saying "The Shield" was the starting point of gritty TV drama. I'm just saying that during and after there was certainly a lot more of it on FX/AMC that really pushed the limits of basic cable.

 

[Platypus]

No way.

1. The Wire
1a. Breaking Bad
2b. The Shield

This is the proper listing for my taste as well.

 

[bearxor]

The Shield better than The Wire?

 

[ThinClient]

No way.

1. The Wire
1a. Breaking Bad
2b. The Shield

The Wire is irritatingly slow and boring. It doesn't get very dark (I'm into the second season IIRC). It's like real police work. Too much blah blah and not enough bang zoom.

 

[Printer Bandit]

what year was the wire set in? some of the tech in the show looked old.

 

[bearxor]

The Wire is irritatingly slow and boring. It doesn't get very dark (I'm into the second season IIRC). It's like real police work. Too much blah blah and not enough bang zoom.

 

[Childs]

The Shield is definitely on par with Breaking Bad. It really was the original gritty TV drama and paved the way for all these other shows.

As for The Wire, I still don't get the appeal. In a list, I'd put several shows before The Wire, not even a top 10, maybe 20. But to each their own.

The Wire was great in the first three seasons, but once Idris Elba left the show it just wasn't as good. Last season in particular was a waste. The Omar/Marlo feud was the only redeeming thing, but then it was never resolved the way it should have. The Shield was pretty good throughout, and for the most part I liked how it ended. Its was a realistic ending, as no one should have had a happy ending after all the crap they did.

Personally, I think Breaking Bad is overrated. It was kinda interesting when he used chemistry to get out of jams, but then I just wanted someone to just kill him because he was such a pos. The only reason I kept watching was to see him get his just deserts, and that didn't even really happen.

 

[DaTT]

Vic's ending was fitting, the rest of the characters on the show got sloppy, rushed, bullshit conclusions to what were otherwise masterful character developments throughout years of the show.

The only REAL character development was Shane and Vic. Lem to some extent. Ronnie on the other hand didn't say 2 fucking words until season 4.

 

[SAWYER]

I just watched the first episode and was wondering about the scene were the guy(cop working undercover with the chief) was was shot in the head by the main guy on the raid. Are all the guys in on it or is it just the main guy and the dark headed one?

 

[xj0hnx]

I just watched the first episode and was wondering about the scene were the guy(cop working undercover with the chief) was was shot in the head by the main guy on the raid. Are all the guys in on it or is it just the main guy and the dark headed one?

The whole team, except ...Lem? Cuz he's the new guy to the squad if I remember correctly, it's been a while.

 

[DesiPower]

Finally started binge watching Shields over the holidays, almost done, and not disappointed at all. As many people stated here, its actually pretty close to Breaking bad. I was surprised to see how close Hank's character was to Vic's, will all the insulting the Hispanics and all that... Good show, a must watch.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

The Shield better than The Wire?

Gotta love Clay Davis! So many good characters in The Wire - Omar, Stringer, Clay Davis, Bunk... Easily my favorite cop series (although season 2 was no where as good as the other four seasons).

 

[phucheneh]

I haven't seen any of The Wire, but the bits of The Shield I've seen were fucking terrible.

The Thing's attempts at being gritty and intimidating...acting in general...were laughable, and the plots generally involved a bunch of dumbass stereotypes and cliches.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

I put the Shield right there in first place with BB, followed by The Wire. To me, the seasons in the Wire were hit and miss. The first is an all time great, with up and down from there. The shield, like Breaking Bad, just kept getting better and better and had a perfect ending.

Not to mention, it really paved the way for the non-pay cable shows we all love these days.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Spoiler

aceveda's bj still haunts me.

 

[SAWYER]

The Wire dumps all over The Shield. I am on Justified now, almost done with season 1