The Shield
The Shield is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan, which aired on FX from March 12, 2002, to November 25, 2008, for seven seasons. It stars Michael Chiklis as Vic Mackey, the leader of a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department unit loosely based on the Rampart Division police scandal. The series also stars Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace, Kenny Johnson, Benito Martinez and CCH Pounder.
Several notable actors took extended roles on the show, including Glenn Close, who was the female lead during the fourth season; Michael Peña in season 4; Anthony Anderson in seasons 4, 5, and 6; Forest Whitaker, who guest-starred in seasons 5 and 6; Laura Harring in season 5; Franka Potente in season 6; and Laurie Holden in season 7.
The series has received critical acclaim and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. It was nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards over its run, with Michael Chiklis winning the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2002. The Shield won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 2003, with the series winning Best Television Series – Drama the same year.
Premise
The Shield follows the activities of an experimental division of the Los Angeles Police Department set up in the fictional Farmington district of Los Angeles, a district rife with gang-related violence, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Operating out of a converted church, they work to maintain the peace in the district and reduce crime.At the center of the division is the Strike Team, led by Detectives Vic Mackey, Shane Vendrell, Curtis Lemansky, and Ronnie Gardocki. Mackey and the Strike Team use criminal methods to coerce information and stage arrests and take a share of various drug busts. Although the Strike Team's questionably high success rate leaves the division's head, Captain David Aceveda, suspicious of their methods, he values their success as they help his political efforts to become mayor of Los Angeles.
Attempts to place a fifth member on the Strike Team not in Mackey's circle go astray. The pilot episode concludes with Mackey, suspicious of the loyalty of the latest Strike Team recruit, Terry Crowley, fatally shooting him during an arrest and framing their suspect. This sets in motion events that loom over the Strike Team and continue throughout the series.
The show has an ensemble cast featuring the other officers in the Farmington district. This includes detectives Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach, Steve Billings and Claudette Wyms, uniformed officers Sgt. Danielle "Danny" Sofer, Julien Lowe, and Tina Hanlon. The series has a variety of subplots, notably Aceveda's political aspirations and his suffering a sexual assault; Mackey's struggle to cope with a failing marriage, two autistic children, and rebellious eldest daughter; Danny becoming a mother; Vendrell's rocky, new marriage; Lemansky's growing fear for the safety of the Strike Team; Claudette's battle with illness and Lowe's internal conflicts between his Christian beliefs and his homosexuality.
The Shield and the Strike Team were inspired by the Rampart Division Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums unit within the Los Angeles Police Department. Rampart was seriously considered as the series' name and was even used in some early promotional ads for the series.
Characters are portrayed with vices and virtues; Vic's loving relationship with his children contrasts with his thuggish approach to police work. Two of the many examples of Mackey's criminal and sociopathic behavior include an attempt to rob the "Armenian Money Train", a money laundering operation of the Armenian Mafia in season 2 and having a police dog maul a rape suspect.
The timeline of the seven seasons of the show covers approximately three years.
Series overview
Season 1
Season 1 premiered on March 12, 2002, and concluded on June 4, 2002, consisting of 13 episodes. The season deals with Mackey and Vendrell covering up their shooting of Terry Crowley, a plant on the Strike Team placed by David Aceveda and the Department of Justice, who have been suspicious of the Strike Team's activities. Dutch believes a serial killer is targeting prostitutes. Lowe struggles with his sexual orientation and his Christian morals, making him a target for blackmail. Sofer, who is having an affair with Mackey, finds herself both concerned and frustrated while training Lowe. Acevada uses his investigation into Mackey to leverage himself in the community for his own political ambitions.Season 2
Season 2 premiered on January 7, 2003, and concluded on April 1, 2003, consisting of 13 episodes. The first half of the season deals with a new drug threat from Armadillo, a highly intelligent immigrant who has coerced opposing Hispanic gangs to unite under him, making it difficult for the Strike Team to charge him. The second half of the season deals with the Strike Team's discovery of the Armenian "money train" used to ship laundered money out of the United States. Mackey and the Strike Team successfully hijack the shipment, ending up with millions of dollars for themselves. Aceveda makes an agreement with Mackey to protect each other while Aceveda runs for city council. Claudette, whose own investigation into Armadillo is hampered by Mackey and Aceveda, is forced out of her passive role and prepares to take an active role as a moral leader. Dutch makes a major mistake in an investigation and begins second guessing himself. Lowe gets married but nearly gets outed to the department by a former lover. Sofer finds herself becoming a pawn in Barn politics and begins to question the Strike Team's ethics.Season 3
Season 3 premiered on March 9, 2004, and concluded on June 15, 2004, consisting of 15 episodes. The season deals with fallout from the money train robbery. Mackey learns that a portion of the money was marked by the Treasury Department, and the Strike Team figures out ways of diverting any federal attention to their activities. However, the tension of having the money gets to Lemansky, and in an off-the-cuff decision, burns most of the money before the others can stop him. This leads to the dissolution of the Strike Team. Dutch struggles to find balance while looking into both the money train robbery and a serial rapist. Claudette begins administrative duties in preparation to take over as captain but her qualms over a potentially incompetent defense attorney put her career in jeopardy. After the fallout of nearly being outed in the previous season, Lowe starts taking on a tougher demeanor, making Claudette question his future.Season 4
Season 4 premiered on March 15, 2005, and concluded on June 14, 2005, consisting of 13 episodes. During this season, the members of the Strike Team become involved with the affairs of Antwon Mitchell, a highly respected drug lord who ends up blackmailing Vendrell to coerce his help. Mackey, with the help of the new Barn Captain, Monica Rawling, manages to help Vendrell out of his situation, reunites the Strike Team, and eventually ends up with sufficient evidence to send Mitchell to jail. However, Rawling finds herself dismissed as captain due to her approach of seizing any assets tied to drug money. Claudette and Dutch continue to be shut out of meaningful cases by the DA's office, forcing Dutch to make a backroom deal to save his and Claudette's careers. A rift forms between Lowe and Sofer over the seizures policy. Aceveda uses the seizures policy to get more power on the city council and ultimately push his own agenda.Season 5
Season 5 premiered on January 10, 2006, and concluded on March 21, 2006, consisting of 11 episodes. The LAPD's Internal Affairs Division opens an investigation led by Lt. Jon Kavanaugh against Lemansky, purportedly for not reporting a stash of drugs he had taken, but in actuality to find evidence of the Strike Team's misdeeds. Mackey learns of Kavanaugh's true intent, and tries to humiliate Kavanaugh to show the investigation is personal. Enraged, Kavanaugh puts on more pressure and charges Lemansky. The Strike Team attempts to smuggle Lemansky out of the country, but Vendrell, fearing Lemansky will talk, kills him with a grenade, ending the investigation. Lowe trains Tina Hanlon but quickly believes she may not be cut out for the job. Dutch and Claudette focus on the serial killer they have no evidence against while it becomes clear Claudette's health is deteriorating. Billings' weak management, coupled with Kavanaugh's strong-arm tactics, forces the LAPD chief to name a stronger and more independent captain to the Barn, Claudette."Wins and Losses"
The producers of The Shield produced a 15-minute "promosode", which premiered on Google Video on February 15, 2007, to bridge the gap between seasons 5 and 6. The episode focuses on the aftermath of Lemanksky's death, including his funeral and flashbacks as co-workers reflect upon his life. The episode was said to have cost between $500,000 and $1 million to produce. It was on bud.tv for four weeks and later released to AOL and other media outlets. The "promosode" is also one of the special features included on the season 5 DVD set.Season 6
Season 6 premiered on April 3, 2007, and concluded on June 5, 2007, consisting of 10 episodes. The Strike Team struggles with Lemansky's death, and suspect one of the gangs committed it, while Vendrell remains quiet regarding his role. Kavanaugh continues his investigation outside of Internal Affairs, but is eventually forced to admit to planting evidence and is arrested. Mackey learns he is being forced into early retirement and tries to fight back by proving his value. Tensions on the Strike Team led Vendrell to admit to killing Lemansky, and knowing that Mackey will likely kill him, he turns to the Armenian mob for protection, only to expose the team's role in the money-train heist, putting their families at risk. Vendrell writes up all their crimes and mails duplicates to use as blackmail against Mackey. Claudette fights to keep the Barn from being shut down. Dutch tries to adjust to his new partnership with Billings and his crush on Hanlon. Sofer, recently promoted to sergeant, tries to find balance being a working single mother. Lowe joins the Strike Team, now under the command of Kevin Hiatt. Aceveda finds a strong financial backer who may be too good to be true.Season 6 was originally intended to be aired as the second half of season 5, but FX decided to refer to these 10 episodes as season 6 instead.