Post by -|E|- on Mar 15, 2006 7:56:31 GMT -5
Episode 509 "Smoked"
POSTED BY: Liz Craft & Sarah Fain
MARCH 14, 2006
*The comments and opinions expressed below are solely those of their respective writers, and not those of FX Networks, LLC, Twentieth Century Fox, or their related and affiliated entities.*
THE SHIELD
Episode 509– "Smoked"
By Liz Craft & Sarah Fain
The site of the Original Sin. The Shield equivalent of the Garden of Eden. Here we are, in a small house in the hills overlooking Dodger Stadium, looking down on the spot where, in the Spring of 2001, Vic Mackey murdered Terry Crowley. As viewers, it was the moment we realized we were in love. With a television show. As writers, it's the moment that continues to define the characters we've been living, breathing, and sleeping these last two years.
Vic and Shane aren't revisiting the sight of their ultimate sin by choice. IAD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker, has compelled each to do a "walk through" of the house formerly occupied by Two-Time, the drug dealer on whom Vic and Shane pinned Terry's murder. Kavanaugh hopes to rattle the guys, and somehow glean new information about Terry's death. Also present is lawyer Becca Doyle, played by Laura Harring, who's as committed to protecting Vic and Shane as Kavanaugh is to destroying them.
As we all troupe into the living room to rehearse the first scene, there's a feeling a déjà vu, though the apartment itself is completely changed. The furniture is more Pottery Barn than Farmington these days. The floors are refinished, the bathroom remodeled. Still, everyone's talking about the pilot, especially the many people who have been with The Shield since those early days. For Michael Chiklis and Walton Goggins, the moment is eerie. They seem to have a sort of reverence for this space.
We all do. And not just because of the fictional events that unfolded here.
Mostly, it seems to us, the sense of reverence stems from the palpable reminder of all that has happened in real life since that pilot episode. Marriages, children, divorces, deaths. Cast and crew who were strangers then are now close friends, often spending more time with each other than with their own families.
Director of Photography Rohn Schmidt and A Camera Operator Billy Gierhart were here for the pilot, as was gaffer Dave Hayball. They remember the shots, the angles, the placement of the lights. Five years later, these guys could reconstruct that scene shot by shot if asked.
Feeling nostalgic, Billy and Rohn share with us the process of developing The Shield's singular shooting style. Shawn Ryan, E.P. and Shield creator, wanted the show to have a documentary feel, which called for hand held cameras and "natural"lighting. Billy, who shot the pilot largely without the cover of a B camera, stumbled upon the jerky push-ins we now use every week when he was short on time and in desperate need of a close-up of Vic's wallet. Necessity is the mother of invention—and, in this case, genius!
Dean White, our director for "Smoked,"takes his time with these two pivotal scenes, wanting the audience to feel the weight of Vic and Shane's return to the spot where Terry died. This place forever bonds them. It defines them. Still, there are many questions. Has Vic changed? Does he regret murdering Terry? Does Shane? Is karma finally, after all this time, going to catch up with them?
We watch on the monitors at Video Village as first Walton, then Michael, walks through Terry's murder with Forest and Laura. We forget for minutes at a time that they're actors. We watch as Terry's brother, whom Kavanaugh has brought in, shoves Vic. Hard. Still, Vic doesn't shove back. Does that mean the walls are breaking down, that Vic is losing his ability to compartmentalize his actions? Or is he a cold-blooded killer, concerned only with staying out of jail? It's hard to say. On The Shield, answers are rarely clear cut.
As Dean calls "cut"on the last shot, we look around before we leave. A young woman lives here now, possibly with her boyfriend. We think they have a dog—probably a big dog, if the size of the bowls on the kitchen floor is any indication. Tomorrow morning, the woman, her boyfriend, and her dog will wake up and make coffee, eat breakfast, read the paper. Maybe go for a walk, right through the spot where Video Village now stands. The crew will have made sure that no evidence of us is left behind. It'll be like we were never here. And we can't help wishing we could leave some reminder of what this place means to all of us. Maybe a placard. "Vic Mackey killed Terry Crowley here."
Which is really only shorthand for everything that blossomed from that moment—both in our fictional world and in the real one.
Outside, a crew member wonders aloud if we'll return to the house in the hills overlooking Dodger stadium again, maybe five seasons from now. Nobody answers. We can't know. What we can guess is that no one—cast or crew—could have imagined five years ago that we'd all be here tonight.
POSTED BY: Liz Craft & Sarah Fain
MARCH 14, 2006
*The comments and opinions expressed below are solely those of their respective writers, and not those of FX Networks, LLC, Twentieth Century Fox, or their related and affiliated entities.*
THE SHIELD
Episode 509– "Smoked"
By Liz Craft & Sarah Fain
The site of the Original Sin. The Shield equivalent of the Garden of Eden. Here we are, in a small house in the hills overlooking Dodger Stadium, looking down on the spot where, in the Spring of 2001, Vic Mackey murdered Terry Crowley. As viewers, it was the moment we realized we were in love. With a television show. As writers, it's the moment that continues to define the characters we've been living, breathing, and sleeping these last two years.
Vic and Shane aren't revisiting the sight of their ultimate sin by choice. IAD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, played brilliantly by Forest Whitaker, has compelled each to do a "walk through" of the house formerly occupied by Two-Time, the drug dealer on whom Vic and Shane pinned Terry's murder. Kavanaugh hopes to rattle the guys, and somehow glean new information about Terry's death. Also present is lawyer Becca Doyle, played by Laura Harring, who's as committed to protecting Vic and Shane as Kavanaugh is to destroying them.
As we all troupe into the living room to rehearse the first scene, there's a feeling a déjà vu, though the apartment itself is completely changed. The furniture is more Pottery Barn than Farmington these days. The floors are refinished, the bathroom remodeled. Still, everyone's talking about the pilot, especially the many people who have been with The Shield since those early days. For Michael Chiklis and Walton Goggins, the moment is eerie. They seem to have a sort of reverence for this space.
We all do. And not just because of the fictional events that unfolded here.
Mostly, it seems to us, the sense of reverence stems from the palpable reminder of all that has happened in real life since that pilot episode. Marriages, children, divorces, deaths. Cast and crew who were strangers then are now close friends, often spending more time with each other than with their own families.
Director of Photography Rohn Schmidt and A Camera Operator Billy Gierhart were here for the pilot, as was gaffer Dave Hayball. They remember the shots, the angles, the placement of the lights. Five years later, these guys could reconstruct that scene shot by shot if asked.
Feeling nostalgic, Billy and Rohn share with us the process of developing The Shield's singular shooting style. Shawn Ryan, E.P. and Shield creator, wanted the show to have a documentary feel, which called for hand held cameras and "natural"lighting. Billy, who shot the pilot largely without the cover of a B camera, stumbled upon the jerky push-ins we now use every week when he was short on time and in desperate need of a close-up of Vic's wallet. Necessity is the mother of invention—and, in this case, genius!
Dean White, our director for "Smoked,"takes his time with these two pivotal scenes, wanting the audience to feel the weight of Vic and Shane's return to the spot where Terry died. This place forever bonds them. It defines them. Still, there are many questions. Has Vic changed? Does he regret murdering Terry? Does Shane? Is karma finally, after all this time, going to catch up with them?
We watch on the monitors at Video Village as first Walton, then Michael, walks through Terry's murder with Forest and Laura. We forget for minutes at a time that they're actors. We watch as Terry's brother, whom Kavanaugh has brought in, shoves Vic. Hard. Still, Vic doesn't shove back. Does that mean the walls are breaking down, that Vic is losing his ability to compartmentalize his actions? Or is he a cold-blooded killer, concerned only with staying out of jail? It's hard to say. On The Shield, answers are rarely clear cut.
As Dean calls "cut"on the last shot, we look around before we leave. A young woman lives here now, possibly with her boyfriend. We think they have a dog—probably a big dog, if the size of the bowls on the kitchen floor is any indication. Tomorrow morning, the woman, her boyfriend, and her dog will wake up and make coffee, eat breakfast, read the paper. Maybe go for a walk, right through the spot where Video Village now stands. The crew will have made sure that no evidence of us is left behind. It'll be like we were never here. And we can't help wishing we could leave some reminder of what this place means to all of us. Maybe a placard. "Vic Mackey killed Terry Crowley here."
Which is really only shorthand for everything that blossomed from that moment—both in our fictional world and in the real one.
Outside, a crew member wonders aloud if we'll return to the house in the hills overlooking Dodger stadium again, maybe five seasons from now. Nobody answers. We can't know. What we can guess is that no one—cast or crew—could have imagined five years ago that we'd all be here tonight.