"The Shield" (2002) More at IMDb Pro »TV series 2002-????

I don't know why some people hate this show, I think it's one of the best drama series out there and definitely my personal favorite. Granted it may not be everyone's cup of tea, there's a big difference between not being a fan and tearing it apart in a review, which goes to show just how much subjectivity is present in these comments.

The main complaint I read was about the way it's shot and edited. Now, as a film-maker myself, I noticed the crude filming techniques, the bad lighting (if any), the grainy footage and the choppy editing, but that never ruined it for me. Quite the contrary, I found myself much more involved within the little world of The Shield by not having crystal clear, color-corrected, perfectly-lit, masterfully-edited, HD scenes like most other shows. You have to understand, these are not amateurs, but professionals who do it on purpose to give a cinéma vérité sort of edge to it. It's exactly like those cartoons with really badly drawn characters, it doesn't mean the animators can't draw, it's just for the effect. And I think it works. It all works. I feel like I found some random tapes from the show COPS and am watching them.

But while pointing out its flaws (I wouldn't see them as flaws since they are intentional, but for literary purposes let's use this word), they never bothered to mention all the amazing parts of this show. The writing is just superb, the acting is probably some of the best I've seen on television, from Michael Chiklis' many layers as detective Vic Mackey, to the major guest stars like Forest Whitaker or Glenn Close.

Everything about this show is perfect, because it shows us the world as it is, far from being perfect. Nobody's a 100% saint. Nobody's a 100% sinner either. It's all about the moral gray area and the duality in people.

The fact that the show's calling it quits on a high note just goes to show that the people behind it know what they're doing. We're one week away from the finale (as I'm writing this) and my jaw has dropped since the very first episode of this final season. This is truly an intriguing, original show, don't let the negative reviews fool you, just give the pilot a go yourself.