I recently got the urge to revisit "The Wire", but instead opted to start buying the seasons of "The Shield" on DVD. Best Buy's got all except the final season for $19.99, BTW.

I blew through Season 1 in a week and am in the middle off Season 3, having just watched the episode where Dutch kills the cat after his interview with the cuddler rapist.

The foreshadowing and foundation of the fraying relationships between Shane, Vic and Lem are all over the place. You can see the exact moment where Shane decides which side he's on between Vic and Mara (it happens in this episode) and also where Lem completely loses all respect and tolerance for Shane (also in this episode) that more or less sets up his ultimate fate.

I wondered how well this show would hold up on repeat viewings, and I'll go on record as saying that it's holding up pretty damn well so far. I'm looking at everything differently since I know how everyone ends up and all of their fates are pretty obvious now. This show might have just leapfrogged "The Sopranos" for me. But I haven't bought those DVDs yet cause that shit still costs way too much.

Anyway, Season 4 is the Glenn Close season and Season 5 and 6 are Cavanaugh. We'll see how that goes. If this post doesn't disappear, I might post reviews of each season as I complete them, meaning I'll have to catch up on Seasons 1-3.

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

I haven't revisited any of the seasons,
but I know 5 and 6 were the most disappointing at the time.

<----

Larry Otis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeM89CITvMc

and his free new singles, produced by Tough Junkie!
http://soundcloud.com/toughjunkie/sets/larry-otis-leaks

at best buy for $50 i am sure it will go down in a few months

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You had the fallout with the Money Train, Aceveda's sexual assault, Claudette's first brief run of the barn, the rival special crimes team. It had plenty of the type of episodes where The Shield was at its best: four different things happening simultaneously, all about to spin out of control, but never QUITE going all the rails.

About the only thing I didn't like about #3 was how they got rid of Tayvon early on. But with all the insanity involving the Money Train, I don't see how they could have kept him around.

I'd say the worst season was #4. They set up Antonie Mitchell as a monster heel in the first half, but then made him ineffective after that. By the time the made him responsible for the cop murders towards the end, it lacked any potency.

I'd have to go and rewatch the show to say whether #2 or #5 was the second best.

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Season 1:
Summary:
Meet the Strike Team and the rest of the gang in the Barn. Starts out with a literal bang with Vic killing Terry at the end of the very first episode. Terry was an informant into Vic's dirty deeds. Establishes Vic as the coldest character this side of Omar Little or Tony Soprano. The strike team does what it does, keeping the peace, making crazy money on the side and stretching the limits of sanity to the breaking point. Aceveda wins the democratic primary for City Council and the Barn deals with the fallout from the murders of two black women who called 911 and the cops didn't show, resulting in a minor riot and Vic almost getting busted for his dealings with assistant chief Gilroy, who was manipulating police dispatches to drive down property values to buy up land in Farmington. Vic skates and brings Gilroy in while escaping the net for the first time.

Highlights:
Vic pimping the shit out of Julian to cover up for Shane's fuckup (the first of many) and then later trying to buddy up to the poor guy.
Claudette and Dutch's interplay as characters. Dutch's hunt and capture of the hooker murderer. The interrogation scenes between the killer and Dutch are still the best on the show.
A couple of the Julian and Danny subplots, including the fat white girl who keeps jumping back and forth between the two black boyfriends

Lowlights:
All around strong season, but Aceveda came off as wishy washy in the beginning (maybe on purpose) and then the actor or the character hit their strides. Vic's homelife in the beginning was a little forced, but it turned out to be interesting, specifically with his son's autism and how Vic was tortured by that. It would have been nice if the Gilroy subplot was built up over the course of a few episodes instead of coming up on us all of a sudden.

Grade: A

Season 2:
Starts with Vic investigating, stalking, injuring and being outsmarted by Armadillo to the point of almost turning himself in. Ends with the planning and execution of the money train heist. Also introduces Tayvon and establishes Ronnie as the red jumpsuit character of the strike team, something that would be changed in the future. Also shows the first signs of the strained relationship between Vic and Shane. Julian becomes a more three dimensional character, but his inner conflict gets a little obnoxious at times. Julian gets a blanket party after he's forced out of the closet by his former boyfriend. And Danni runs into a string of bad luck of Dukie proportions. We also see the origin of the barn and the "just this one time" corner cutting from the strike team that we are now really familiar with.

Highlights:
Mutha fuckin' Armadillo! If there was any way they could have made him a recurring bad guy for the next two seasons, I would have been ecstatic. That said, I loved the way they resolved the storyline. Perhaps one of the best resolutions in the series' run. Tayvon and Lem should have had their own dedicated episode. I bet these two could have cleaned up the streets on their own. Carl Weathers guest appearance as Vic's old partner showed our hero where he could end up. That role should have been recurring.
The money train heist could have been a mess, but the sheer balance of happiness vs. pure "what the fuck have we just done-ness" made it all worth it. By now, the show has hit its stride of taking the characters to the brink of disaster and pulling them back before it's too late. Ironically, you think they'll learn from their mistakes, but they don't.

Lowlights: Shane's racism comes and goes way too easily and it's kind of hard to believe his relationship with Vic, who won't ever be confused with the most liberal guy in the world, but is nowhere near the Shane redneckedness scale. Establishes Corrine as the whiniest character in the cast. You almost wish something bad would happen to her character just so we could escape her whining, and so you could see how Vic would react. Claudette comes off as a little too self righteous at times.
Overall grade: A-

Season 3:
Summary: Fallout from the money train starts to fray the strike team from the inside when it is revealed some of the money was marked by the feds. The decoy squad gives the strike team a run for its money. Aceveda is sexually assaulted by two gangbangers and gets revenge in a way only this show could come up with. Danni gets her job back and Claudette gets a boyfriend. Dutch goes up against the cuddler rapist, making the viewer wonder how many serial killers really live in southern California. Vic is also established of the biggest loverman on basic cable. Dude gets about 5 different pieces of random ass in this season, plus the women's shelter chick in season two and his on again/off again with Danni. Who knew women threw themselves at short, stocky bald white dudes that wear tight t-shirts?

Highlights: Nikki fuckin' Micheaux as Trish. Damn...just damn. Cat and mouse at its best with the strike team. Since I'm not finished re-watching this season, I'll have to add more stuff later.

Lowlights: Corrine Mackey, yet again. Vic's kids are also becoming old enough to become annoying. It's like his job is a vacation from the family. Seriously. Shane's racism, yet again, manifesting itself in the Tayvon situation. The introduction of Mara, who rivals Corrine as the worst character in the show's history. It's either a credit to the actress who played her that she is utterly unlikeable or the writers. I still can't figure out who. The decoy squad and Tayvon are established as formidable characters (Trish and Waylon, anyway) and then sent away just as we start to get to know them.
Grade: so far A-

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Lem burning the money train cash in the same episode where he and Vic convinced Tayvon that he was at fault in the fight between him and Shane and Shane's loyalty to the strike team being established as thinner than scotch tape sent chills up my spine. Gonna start season 4 next week.

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

The back-and-forth between Vic and Cavanaugh was the best of the series IMO. And Cavanaugh was the biggest threat to Vic IMO.

Antwon Mitchell and Armadillo were close but Cavanaugh was far more devious IMO. And Cavanaugh's leaning on Lem is what led to the series' climax and ushered in Seasons 6 and 7.
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It was THAT good imo. The storylines, the acting, the tension....I've never been as riveted or immersed in a show as I was that season.

---------------------------------
<--The drought is over

"have fun reveling in your pettiness tho" (C) Dula summing up 98% of OKS

"I didnt finish a damn thing...matter of fact I jerked off after she left."
-Kobe speaking to investigators

L D E A

one fucking amazing show, and one of the greatest of all-time.

V.

---
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DROkayplayerâ„¢

It took a while, but I finally wrapped up Season 4. Ironically, the season wasn't as strong as I remembered.

The season starts with the Strike Team being broken up after Vic and Shane's fight at the end of season 3. Lem's working with juvenile offenders, Shane's in vice and Vic and Ronnie are still at the Barn working the garage sting. New captain Monica Rawlings shakes things up with a property seizure program and throws gasoline on the fire by putting Vic in charge. Amazingly, Vic plays it straight (for the most part), but gets mixed up in trying to keep an out-of-control Shane out of trouble. That proves almost impossible with Shane working for Farmington's Most Wanted drug lord, Antoine Mitchell. Mitchell almost buries Shane for good, but Vic, once again, saves his ass. Aceveda goes through his own shell shock of his sexual assault, and eventually has to cover his ass by offering Mitchell (who may or may not have had something to do with the deaths of two cops) up to the DEA, who will give him immunity.

Once again, an association with Vic burns everyone but Vic, but the Strike Team ends up back together by season's end, but a screw-up by Lem puts them in the Internal Affairs crosshairs.

Highlights: Anthony Anderson as Antoine Mitchell. Just like with Armadillo, the show has some of the best bad guys and then the stories end with a poof instead of a bang. Maybe that was meant to echo real life. Glenn Close as Monica Rawlings could have been a disaster and tapered off at the end, but I liked the performance. Dutch whooping Billings' ass also was pretty good stuff. Also, a lot less Corrine and Mara in this season. The writers set so much up for future episodes and seasons that you can catch in hindsight when watching the show for a second time.

Lowlights:
Shane, Shane and Shane. Dude was such a fuckup and Army was a pretty damn bad foil for him as well. This could be the writers spinning the character out of control, but Shane has always been too schizophrenic a character at times to be taken seriously. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Walton Goggins put in some good ass performances during the course of the show, but this had to be his weakest season. As a contrast, it was Kenneth Johnson's strongest as Lem. It makes Lem's fate even more tragic.

Overall grade: B

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Forrest Whitaker as Kavanaugh was the best foil for Vic over the course of the show's run. Knowing what's going to happen with this season, was similar to watching The Wire for the second time, knowing the deaths of characters you have grown to love, or at the very least care about are coming. The first time I saw the season, I had no idea what was going to happen, but at the same time didn't think it would be all nice and clean (having seen episodes of The Wire).
Anyway, here goes the review:

Highlights:
The game of cat and cat (neither actually was the mouse) between Vic and Kavanaugh, culminating in Vic banging Kavanaugh's ex, just because he could. This whole season kept you truly guessing the entire time what was going to happen next. It almost made you try and make a deal with yourself or your television that if this didn't happen, you'd be so grateful. It wasn't going to happen though.

Dutch and Claudette's tension because of her festering distrust of Dutch. The pure comedy of Billings running the Barn.

Lowlights:
Corrine finally had a good reason to be whiny and weak and it still didn't make me like or feel sorry for her any more. Not enough Gina Torres. If you have access to Gina Torres, you need to find a reason to have her on as much as possible. OR at least I would have.

Overall: A+

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

she came on, she had her pants + panties pulled down by a bald guy, n she left. lol.

sidenote: Gina Torres has an amazing ass. holy shit. and yknow, an amazing everything else.

V.

---
http://confessionsofacurlymind.com
https://soundcloud.com/confessionsofacurlymindredux
https://soundcloud.com/generic80sbadguy
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DROkayplayerâ„¢

I used to wonder too when I watched the first run eps, but whenever I catch repeats in syndication, I get pulled in. It really holds up well and you can really see all the pieces coming together.


>I wondered how well this show would hold up on repeat
>viewings, and I'll go on record as saying that it's holding up
>pretty damn well so far.

____________________________________
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Last 3 movies I saw:

Away We Go: B-
I Love You Man: B
Passing Strange: B+

5 is easily the best and probably the best season of any show I've ever seen. The finale of that season is also the best episode of television I've ever seen too.

7 is a close 2nd, followed closely by 1 and 2.

6 is easily the worst, and my only complaint is how its the one sandwiched between the strongest two.

All in all, each season is awesome though, and I have rewatched the entire series 3 times.

I'm still on Season 1 of The Wire, haven't started watching Sopranos, so I can't compare the 2 of them yet.

http://twitter.com/phenompyrus

Get Out the Room
http://getouttheroom.podomatic.com
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/get-out-the-room/id525657893

ever.

V.

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DROkayplayerâ„¢

though is the repetitiveness in terms of the Strike Team getting into a situation that seems intractable and Vic pulling a rabbit out of the hat at the last minute.

You've got a point with that, but the fact is that even when they do escape those seemingly inescapable situations, there's been some sort of damage done that is revealed later on in the series' run. That's what makes it so interesting. Plus, ultimately, Vic's efforts to control everything and everyone close to him blow up in his face and while he "gets away" with everything he's done, the life he ends up with would hardly seem worth everything he put himself and his loved ones through.

and it's really not something you notice until you rewatch the whole series all the way through.

he may continually pull a rabbit out of the hat to save his ass, but it still ruins his life more and more each time... lems death, losing his family, and of course eventually, losing EVERYTHING, even though he avoided jail

The second half of season five and all of Season six began the showcase of Walton Goggins' pure skill as Shane. There was a documentary that went with Season 5 that explained Shane as a character and how he was a mirror image of Vic, who was a coward in his own right, but had the courage to make hard decisions that would come back to bite him, Shane thought he was like Vic, but was ultimately out for himself. He also lacked the stomach to do the things that truly needed to be done until season seven, but he was too much of a fuckup to be able to truly pull it off and cover his ass. However, Goggins' performance stands right up there with the best dramatic performances I've ever seen on television and definitely one of, if not the best overall performance on the show. And with that said, here's the review of Season Six:

Summary:
Vic and the team spend the season hunting Lem's killer, who they believe is Guardo, but is actually Shane. Shane's guilt over the murder leads him to become increasingly paranoid and self destructive, illustrated in his affair with the barely legal squeeze of the new head of the 1-9ers that ends up with him getting his ass beat and in the hospital at the end of his rope. Meanwhile, Vic executes a scheme to lure Guardo out of hiding, only to discover (after he's tortured and killed the poor guy) that he had nothing to do with Lem's death. All the while, Claudette moves to keep Vic quiet while his replacement, Hiatt is getting his feet wet with the team and boning Tina, Dutch's crush.

When Shane admits he killed Lem and why, Vic issues an ultimatum that leads Shane to compile a "confession" of Strike Team "sins" as leverage to save his own ass from Vic's wrath. Vic eventually uses his newfound connection with Cruz Pezuela to leverage himself into keeping his job. Problem is Aceveda is also wrapped up with Pezuela, who is supporting his campaign for mayor. Pezuela gives Vic a copy of the long thought destroyed pic of Aceveda's sexual assault, which Vic gives to Aceveda in exchange for his trust and leads that give Vic possession of a box of intel Pezuela has gathered to secure his power in Farmington...

I'm tired just writing all that. For the shortest season of the show (only 10 episodes), they sure managed to cram a ton of storylines into it.

Highlights:
The planting of the seeds that would lead to the ultimate fate of Vic, Shane, Ronnie and their families...well Vic and Shane's anyway. The contempt/respect relationship between Dutch and Billings. Another web of intrigue that keeps you guessing until the end of the season, and then gets you excited for what's to follow. Paula Garces' expanded role as Tina, which upped the sexy quotient in the show, but still couldn't come close to the pure crazysexiness of Gina Torres in two damn episodes. Oh well, they tried. I think this is the only season of the show where Vic wasn't getting laid every five minutes. I guess he finally got too busy to get some. This is the same guy who successfully took down an Armenian hitman that couldn't be tracked by the federal government and still found time to screw two different women in the span of a few days. And that ain't even counting Danny. Less Corrine this season made me very happy.

Lowlights:
I guess Kavanaugh's desperation was evident at the end of season five, but with everything we knew about the guy, it just seems like he'd be more apt to shoot Vic himself than try and frame him. Then again, the way the situation was resolved was satisfactorily enough. The season was too short. A couple more episodes dealing with Shane's desperation and guilt might have made it more powerful. Everything came to a head with that a little too quickly. Mara began coming to the forefront. I've written about this before, but I genuinely hate that character.

Overall grade: A
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Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Is if Vic would have popped one in Shane's shoulder and whupped his ass once he confessed to killing Lem. I also think teh way Kavanaugh ended up was more a cop out, considering how integral he was in S5. Still, a very good season.

Sadly, I still need to watch S7. I've had it on my DVR for over a year now...

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

I found myself wishing more and more for Shane and Mara to die violently throughout Season 7. The way it ultimately ended was pretty breathtaking though, I've got to admit. Even though I've seen it, I'm waiting until I finish my re-watch before I post any more.

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Yeah....
get on that.

<----

Larry Otis!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeM89CITvMc

and his free new singles, produced by Tough Junkie!
http://soundcloud.com/toughjunkie/sets/larry-otis-leaks

First season, he's trying to stay in the closet, which doesn't work. Second season, he's born again, in the church, married and taking care of her kid. Next time around, no mention of the wife and he's trying to hit the streets. I mean, pick a story and roll with it, damn! I know his struggle with his sexuality was hinted at in a few later episodes, but the way it swung wildly between his stance and then pretty much dropped it annoyed me. It would have made for an interesting storyline in a series already full of them...

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

The show was supposed to take place over three years, right? So he starts off as wide-eyed, repressed homosexual rookie, than he turns into a rip-and-run, beat-a-suspect's-ass bad cop by Season 4. A season later, and he's the streetwise seasoned vet, in charge of mentoring a rookie cop, and ends up as Lem's replacement on the Strike Team. Nah, man, I ain't buying. No one goes through those type of personality changes that quickly.

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Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

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It was like they started out with one thing, thought about the angry backlash they'd get of having the black cast member be gay, switched gears the next season, realized that wasn't going to work, then just said 'fuck it, let's let him kick some ass and pair him beside Tina's hot ass, since he's obviously not going to get any from her...'

That was one glaring flaw that I just couldn't accept for the entire series. Although Vic's "sweet butta" line almost makes me forget it...

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

You know, I completely spaced on the weakness of Julian's storyline over the course of the show.

However, by being able to hang around, Julian was a seasoned veteran by the end of Season 3 because of the budget cuts that eliminated a lot of the uni positions. I think by season 5, Julian, Asher and Danny were the longest tenured Unis.

His homosexuality did pop up every now and then, but exploring his homelife would have been way more interesting than the Danny/Vic/Corrine/baby storyline over the last two years. I guess the only explanation would be that since Julian no longer directly impacted Vic's life, his storyline was done. It would have been a good-ass subplot or stand alone episode though.


<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Finished watching Season 7 last week and it's a lot better than I remember it being the first time. And that's funny, because I really enjoyed it the first time. Oh well. This show is officially second in my eyes to The Wire in cable programming. It leapfrogged The Sopranos halfway through its run and has stayed there so far. I just started re-watching The Sopranos yesterday, so we'll see how it goes.

Highlights:
The culmination of all of Vic's dirty deeds and how it would ultimately affect Vic and everyone who remained standing after the previous seasons.
Michael Chiklis cemented himself as one of the best and underused actors I've every seen. I still can't get over the fact that this guy isn't on a show right now, as we speak. I don't know if the guy can do accents or not, but if he can, he should be the next villain on "24". If not, he should be the next Curtis on 24.

Same for Walton Goggins. The man played Shane as tone of the least sympathetic, but at the same time pathetic characters I've ever seen on any show. I never liked Shane as a person, but Goggins made his ruthlessness, cowardliness and genuine love and affection for his loved ones so clear. I remember being anxious for Shane and Mara to get either arrested or killed the first time I watched the finale. This time, knowing what was coming, I really felt sorry for the guy.

Shane tried to be like Vic, but he lacked one thing Vic was able to demand--respect. No matter how wrong or crooked Vic was, even if the people he double and triple-crossed hated his guts or didn't trust him, they respected him. No one respected or feared Shane. From the time Two-Man gave him up to Dutch and Billings to the time when Shane himself realized he and Mara had no one was going to help them get out of trouble, Goggins made you believe all of the chaos Shane had created and wasn't able to escape from. I'd put that performance up next to Andre Braugher on Homicide, Andre Royo as Bubs on The Wire and Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer on the all time greats of television list.

CCH Pounder vs. Michael Chiklis in the interrogation room in the finale. Chiklis didn't have a line and Pounder did all of the talking, but this scene summed up the entire series to a tee. Claudette was able to let Vic know that he might have had immunity, but everyone knew everything he had done and even though he was officially off the hook legally, he'd have to live with the fact that he lost the respect he held so dearly.

The hilarity of Dutch and Billings. If there was any way to keep the show going focusing on these two, I'd be all for it.

There were no major dislikes in this season. The schizophrenia of Cassidy (and Cassidy in general) was annoying, but she's a teenager, so it's to be expected. Even Corrine's whiny ass shined in this season, maybe because she actually had a reason to be whiny.

A+

It may take a while, but I'll get around to a Sopranos post when I finish the first season.



<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

> I'd put that performance up
>next to Andre Braugher on Homicide, Andre Royo as Bubs on The
>Wire and Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer on the all time
>greats of television list.

I gotta really think about that one. Andre, IMO is the GOAT cop on the GOAT cop show (and I'm not even going to do Homicide vs The Wire vs The Shield because that's another post entirely). Nobody could fuck with Pembleton in the box. And after he had the stroke? Sheeeiiit... Braugher turned in a performance that has not, and I don't know if it will, be topped.

Not to say Goggins didn't do the damn thing. He made Shane's role perfectly believable as the guy you love to hate, but kinda feel sorry for, at least up until he took Lem out. IMO his acting was second only to Chicklis in that series, and only by a slim margin. But you;re talking some rarefied air with Braugher, and I"m not sure he goes that high.

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

I didn't say it was better, but it's up there with Braugher. I agree with you on Braugher. The man is incapable of turning in a bad performance, even if the movie or show is shitty.
If I had to rank performances, I'd put Braugher at 1, hands down, but Goggins would be in the top 10, and maybe top 5.

Maybe, MAYBE top 5, but I'd have to decide after watching a lot of material and havinga lot to drink. But bottom line, there's Andre, and there's everybody else, and whoever is second isn't even close to him.

That would make an interesting post...

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

...I don't think they did a very good job with the peripheral characters, which I think was a shame as they were all pretty interesting (Danny, Julian...even Dutch)

I think they could have woven those guys into the strike team storyline a little more effectively

Also thought the Gleen Close season was a bit of a snooze (from what I remember)

That's a weakness of the show. The supporting characters were only relevant if they were involved in the Strike Team storylines. It would have been good to have some stand alone episodes with characters like Danny, Julian, Tina or even a story or two on Lem and Ronnie when Vic and Shane were on vacation or something.

I recommend you watch it again because you can see little nuances and hints of things to come the second or third time around because you're not focusing as much on what's going on in the primary storylines.

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/

Which makes the show great, but not the greatest.

Take 2 shows that always come in discussion for the GOAT cop show: The Wire and Homicide. With The Wire, the main focus of the series was the drug trade, and how it affected everyone in the city from different angles: the dealers, users, cops, polititions, etc. With Homicide, the main focus was on the daily life of a homicide cop in Baltimore: on duty, off duty, interaction with each other and superiors, family members, etc.

With The Shield, the main focus was Vic: how he did what he needed to do to stay one step ahead of everyone else, be it actually fighting crime or covering over his (and his crew's) crime. Almost every major story or character ended up being connected to Vic: Armadillo, Aceveda, the Armenians, Antwan Mitchell (who the writers tried SO hard to make another Luther Mahoney but didn't get close), Kavanaugh, etc. The side stories and interactions were just enough to remind you that there was other shit going on in Farmington when Vic wasn't splitting wigs or fucking somebody's wife. So the side stories were given some time for a few episodes, maybe a season, then dropped if it didn't relate to Vic.

I don't think it was a fatal flaw per se, as the show was still extremely well done. However, by chosing to focus so much on Vic I think the opportunity to be so much more.

<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up...
__________________________

Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect.
Game: Like Gladys Knight.
Jay: Aretha Franklin.
Game: Word, I like her too.
Jay: Nigga...

You're absolutely right. The fact that the storylines centered completely around Vic left a lot of great characters and potential stories on the sidelines. In hindsight, if they had done that, they probably could have dragged the show out another couple of seasons with stand alone episodes and the exploration of other characters in the grand scheme of the overall arc, but that's one gripe for a mostly A or A+ show.

<----My debut album cover


Finally...The Blog of the Sith: http://shef1556.blogspot.com/