The Shield - Season 4 ongoing thread (merged) (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Shane is real deep now. Real, real deep.

I think that Dutch made the right choice. He and Claudette were being wasted instead of catching criminals. You could definitely argue that it wasn't his choice to make but as he pointed out, they're stopping killers now because he 'worked' for the D.A.

It was good to hear that the old dude selling pot isn't going to lose his house.

If seeing Dutch sing 'Hungry Like The Wolf' wasn't the funniest thing I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

"It must be hardwired into my northern European DNA."

 

[WillG]

Well, things are certainly starting to get interesting now. Shane really is really in deep now. Aceveda was pretty creepy in that opening scene as well.

"Just attack it like you're hungry...you know..like the wolf"

 

[Michael Reuben]

OK, does anyone still think, after last night's episode, that the show has "lost steam"?

My respect for Anthony Anderson just shot up. Antwon is turning out to be the most imposing villain they've seen since Armadillo in season 2. Smart, ruthless and twisted. Shane was outmatched from the get-go.

M.

 

[Duane R]

I'll echo Mr. Reuben's sentiments about AA. Until last night, he seemed like an average thug, but he's definitely planned out his moves. I know Shane will wind up having Vic bail him out--but the how will be the interesting part. The Dutch/Claudette thing came to a head (and a nasty one at that), and it was pretty cool to see how Rawlins came to an agreement with the assistant DA.

 

[Quentin]

Great episode! I'm gonna watch again tonight.

 

[Rhett_Y]

Shane is in it now.... It will be interesting to see how Vic bails him out..... Aceveda is getting a little power hunger, especially around women... Man O Man I see that story coming to a head soon...and a big one at that.....

Good episode and I agree the season is really starting to pick up some serious steam!!!

Did anybody else kinda go "OH MY GOD" when they showed the previews for next weeks episode and the church... EEEKKK almost couldn't look....



R~

 

[Michael Reuben]

I don't take it as a given that Vic will "bail out" Shane. He may be past bailing out. And he's quickly reaching the point where he's a liability to his former partners that they can't afford to have around.

M.

 

[Mike Graham]

One helluva of an episode. Anderson as Mitchell is terrifying, and reminds of Homicide's Luther Mahoney.

 

[TravisR]

I've only seen Anthony Anderson in primarily comedic roles but I think this role proves that he's a talented actor and that he can play more than the 'funny fat guy'.

 

[Chad Ferguson]

I think what this show needs is more conflict. Too many things are going right for hte police. The captain and Vic should but heads soon, even better would be Aceveda and Vic teaming up again, just to fight the captain on something. The show peaks when Vic is under the gun, and lately he hasn't been. It almost seems Aceveda is just there for shock value now, when he can be so much more!!

 

[chuck_b]

Chad,

I kind of felt the same way for the first few episodes, but I think we are being set up for some conflict. These first few episodes have laid the ground for problems all across the squad. I also think the writers assumed brand new viewers who may need to be primed for the struggles that will occur.

To be honest, it will be sweeter when there is a strong foundation behind the tension. Much of the angst and conflict last season was the money train and it's underlying darkness. I think there are several smaller "money trains" this season and feel we are being lead to a multiple conflicts over as the season progresses.

 

[Paul McElligott]

And Shane knows how Vic deals with people he can't afford to have around. (see pilot episode).

 

[Rhett_Y]

As soon as I made my last post I was thinking the same thing...... That will be interesting to see if this happens.... Or something simlier....

R~

 

[Patrick Sun]

This season, they've found the right mix of conflict on all different sides without cluttering up the momentum for each main subplot per episode.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Exactly. Anytime you have several shows starting their seasons around the same time you have new viewers "smapling" the first different shows on different nights. If you don't spend a little time on backstory and re-establishing your characters you're apt to put these potential new fans off by losing them in plot complications they can't keep track of. It doesn't hurt fans of the show, either, since it has been months since the end of the previous season and those who didn't catch all the reruns or buy the DVDs may need a quick refresher course as well.

J. Michael Straczynski went through the same process in most of the seasons of Babylon 5 and got the same sort of criticism each and every year - for the first three or four episodes, anyway. (The exception was season 4. Since it seemed certain that there would be no season 5, Straczynski dropped several "stand-alone", "breather" episodes from the start and the middle of the season, and dropped some story threads he had planned to begin in S4 and wrap up in S5, like the telepath arc, so the he could substantially "finish" the series in only 4 seasons.)

The "slow" start and laying of groundwork makes sense from both a story and audience building point of view, and makes possible the action that will follow. By the time we're watching this season in 4 and 5 episode chunks on DVD I doubt the start will seem "slow" or "lacking" or inferior to the earlier seasons at all.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Chad Ferguson]

If i remember correctly Season 2 started out with a huge bang, didn't they do the messed up trip to Mexico and all that?

 

[chuck_b]

I think you needed a huge bang early on to establish a core audience when the show was new.

That Mexico trip with the " hot tire suit" grabbed me and I haven't left since. I remember staying right through the 11:00 repeat wihout realizing it.

As the show gathers a regular audience, it can afford to build storylines slower as the built-in audience is there to stay with it and new viewers have been pre-sold by several seasons of critical success and strong word of mouth.

 

[Duane R]

4/19 : Insurgents

Even though it's late, I wanted to pop in and make a few comments. to Dutch for hitting on Corinne, to Vic for bugging Shane's ride for getting the inside info, and for Rawling for not bowing to pressure over the church bit. Also, it looks like Julian is stirring up a shitstorm with Aceveda over the seizures.

 

[TravisR]

One of the things I loved about the episode (and the series in general) was that you could make an argument for Rawlings' case and you could see Julian's point too. They give the audience both sides and let them decide who is 'right' or 'wrong'. It's good to see that it's not for any type of gain for either of them. They both believe in their side.

If Dutch thought Mackey was pissed when he found out about taking his daughter to his ex-wife, it's gonna be nothing compared to when he finds out about Dutch making a move on Corrine. He might be madder at Dutch than Shane

 

[Spero D]

True, true

Another great ep.