Television cop shows follow the pattern of those who set the bar. In the 1960s, Dragnet defined the procedural drama. In the 1970s, The Streets of San Francisco opened the door for action adventure police work that would be very popular in the late seventies and early eights. Steven Bachcco redefined the genre twice by humanizing cops on Hill Street Blues in the 1980s, and portraying a realism never seen before with explicit language stories and nudity on NYPD Blue. While Blue embraced its’ hero as tragically flawed, it was a basic cable series that dared to push the bar in a direction it has never been before.Tonight, FX closes the books on the drama series that put the cable network on the map. Since it’s inception in 1994, FX struggled to produce original programming that received high ratings and critical acclaim. In 2001, the brass at the Fox subsidiary took a risk on The Shield, gritty, in your face, detective series where the main character is as crooked as the criminals he arrests. Every aspect of the series is cutting edge. From the camera work, art decoration, storylines and performances, the cast and crew of The Shield make the viewer feel like they are watching a documentary. The Shield falls in the category of one of those shows that never had a bad season, and never compromised the essence or integrity of the plot by resorting to cheap gimmicks. Even when big guest stars such as Glenn Close or Forrest Whitaker joined the cast, their characters always seemed right at home instead of being forced down our throats. Creator Shawn Ryan had a definite vision, and built on the characters he created for seven seasons. It is amazing to me that Shawn Ryan was not sure how many seasons the series was going to have because leading into the series finale, everything has appeared to come full circle with the perfect build and story arcs exploding in the last ninety minutes. The Shield is a rarity in television. Despite falling off the pop culture radar as of late, this cult favorite will go down in history as the series that redefined a classic genre.
Awesome "The Shield" tribute
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