The Shield: Season 6
Directed by Michael Fields et al
Studio: Sony/Fox
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 498 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround English, Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
MSRP: $ 59.95
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Review Date: August 26, 2008
Directed by Michael Fields et al
Studio: Sony/Fox
Year: 2007
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 anamorphic
Running Time: 498 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround English, Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
MSRP: $ 59.95
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Review Date: August 26, 2008
The Series
4.5/5
Six electrifying seasons in and The Shield is still among the finest police dramas ever to grace the small screen. Similar in vibe to Homicide: Life on the Streets but even grittier and more explosive with the crude language and violence which cable channels can now offer and network shows can’t, The Shield’s sixth season ratchets the drama to unbelievable levels of suspense and surprise. There really isn’t anything else like it on television.
At the end of season five, Farmington district’s lead street gang detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) had successfully eluded a dogged IA investigation into his unit’s activity by Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh (Forest Whitaker). Though Vic’s unit is dirty, it’s the only way he can made any inroads into dealing with the street crime his unit faces every day. One member of Mackey’s team Curtis Lemansky (Kenneth Johnson) was close to spilling the beans though he had determined he’d take the hit rather than rat out his friends, but fellow unit member Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins) had been told his friend was going to betray them and put a grenade in Curtis’ car killing him. Now as season six begins, Kavanaugh is so desperate to take down Vic that he’s trying to frame him for Curtis’ murder. Meanwhile, Shane’s trying to cover his own tracks so Vic won’t find out who actually did murder their friend. And dedicated detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) has been promoted to captain of the Famington division but is feeling the heat to get rid of Mackey and reduce crime in her division, something that will be difficult indeed without Mackey’s crew on the job.
So, the ebbs and flows that have consistently kept The Shield among the most gripping dramas on television continue right into season six. The show’s writing staff manages to keep season-long story arcs balanced with other stories which play out over the course of two or three episodes. In these stories, other characters such as Vic’s wife (Cathy Cahlin Ryan), closeted gay cop Julian Lowe (Michael Jace), new mother Danny Sofer (Catherine Dent), square detective “Dutch” Wagenbach (Jay Karnes), and scheming district supervisor David Acevada (Benito Martinez) all play key roles. Added to the strike team this season is Evan Hiatt (Alex O’Loughlin) brought in to replace Vic as head of the street crime unit when the LAPD forces retirement on him. Also appearing in cameo roles this season are Katey Segal, Clifton Collins, Jr., and Franka Potente.
Michael Chiklis’s career-defining performance as Mackey won him an Emmy during the show’s first season, and though he’s never been nominated since, his performance has never lacked for power, drive, and authority. Even more than in previous seasons, Walton Goggins’ Shane really comes into his own this season, initially trying to steer Vic away from looking for their friend’s killer (since he’s the guilty party and feels his guilt palpably) and then once the information becomes known, fighting to stay alive from Vic’s murderous vindictiveness. The face-off between these two actors ignite this season’s final few episodes chillingly and suggest that season seven (premiering on September 2, 2008, and already slated to be the final season for the show) will rise to heights even the most faithful fans of the show can only dream about.
Here is the lineup of episodes from season six of The Shield spread over the four-disc set. Names in parentheses refer to the participants in the audio commentary contained with the episode.
1 - On the Jones (Shawn Ryan, Marie Brazil, Catherine Dent)
2 - Baptism by Fire (Shawn Ryan, Jay Karnes, Scott Rosenbaum, Cathy Cahlin Ryan)
3 - Back to One (Jay Karnes, Michael Chiklis)
4 - The New Guy
5 - Haunts (Michael Chiklis, Walton Goggins, Glen Mazzara, David Marciano, Michael Jace)
6 - Chasing Ghosts (Shawn Ryan, Walton Goggins, Frank Darabont)
7 - Exiled
8 - The Math of the Wrath (Shawn Ryan, Benito Martinez, Catherine Dent)
9 - Recoil (Jay Karnes, David Marciano, Guy Ferland)
10 - Spanish Practices (Shawn Ryan, Kevin Cremin, Benito Martinez, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, Scott Rosenbaum, Michael Jace)
Video Quality
4/5
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 aspect ratio has been modified from the 4:3 broadcasts of the series on FX. The program is filmed in 16mm and blown up thus accounting for the excessively grainy, gritty look of the show. In low light, the grain increases, but this is the normal look for the series. It’s certainly sharper here than on the usual broadcast episodes, and color is solid. Black levels are very good with above average shadow detail. Each episode has been divided into 6 chapters except for the lengthy season finale which has 8 chapters.
Audio Quality
3/5
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround track is very front heavy, the rear channel used mostly for the hard driving background street music that makes up the score. Dialog is placed firmly in the center channel and is generally not overpowered by the music. Some users may also feel the volume is dialed up just a bit too high, but that, too, seems faithful to the show’s broadcast levels.
Special Features
3/5
Eight of the season’s ten episodes have audio commentary. Often, the commentaries are so crowded that some participants (Michael Jace in particular) fade into the background. The commentaries were recorded in March 2008, a full two years since these shows were filmed, and the contributors sometimes have a hard time remembering significant details from filming the episodes. In some cases, they are watching the episodes for the first time and get caught up in the action. And all must be careful that they don’t reveal any surprises from the final season which had also filmed before these commentaries were recorded.
The set offers 33 deleted/extended scenes, all attached to the menus of the individual episodes they come from. Most of them can have creator Shawn Ryan’s commentaries turned on or off. Most of the scenes were deleted for reasons of time, and none contain information pivotal to the episodes themselves.
“Two Directors” is a featurette focusing on movie director Frank Darabont and Emmy-winning TV director Paris Barclay each directing an episode of the series in very different styles. Darabont’s more studied, serious approach is contrasted with Barclay’s looser, easier style. Producers, writers, and actors comment favorably on both approaches to the directing of the show. This feature runs 29 ¼ minutes and is in anamorphic widescreen.
“Full Circle: Franka Potente” is a 14 ¼-minute feature on how international actress Franka Potente had a role written for her into this season’s last three episodes. Production personnel and the actress herself comment on her love for the show and her desire to be on it.
There is a 30-second preview of FX’s new series Sons of Anarchy in nonanamorphic letterbox.
In Conclusion
4.5/5 (not an average)
One of the most compelling police dramas ever broadcast on American television, The Shield is one of a kind. This penultimate set of episodes finds the show at its zenith for suspense and engrossing drama and comes highly recommended.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
