Post by -|E|- on Sept 8, 2005 12:01:38 GMT -5
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From icCroyden.co.uk
Die harder
By Robert Dex
THERE is a long-standing theory that all the best cop shows have blue in their names - Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, The Thin Blue Line.... alright maybe not the last one. But if that theory wasn't tenuous enough already, the new series of The Shield on Channel 5 (Saturday 11.05pm) has just put the final nail in its coffin.
The show follows members of the LA police department around the mythical neighbourhood of Farmington.
There are changes back at the office and a gang war growing on the streets.
But The Shield manages to mix racial politics, office politics and the usual ingredients of a good cop show without bursting apart at the seams.
The star of the show is probably meant to be Hollywood blow-in Glenn Close.
The Fatal Attraction star puts in a suitably stellar performance as precinct captain Monica Rawling but is blown off the screen by leading man Michael Chiklis in the role of senior detective Vic.
Imagine Die-Hard-era Bruce Willis being cloned three times and then stuck together again and you get some idea of Vic.
Chiklis brings a brooding menace to the role but he is much more than just a psychotic hardman and as the series develops we learn more about him and he grows into a fully-rounded character.
The same goes for the rest of the cast with the show following a familiar pattern with a host of minor characters in the background.
Every so often one comes to prominence for a couple of episodes before slipping back into the background to drink coffee in the station house.
With a hero as outsized as Vic patrolling on the side of the good guys the series needs a villain of equal stature and it gets one.
Anthony Anderson plays reformed gangster Antwon Mitchell - a preacher who seems to have turned his back on the life of crime.
But as the plot builds up a head of steam Antwon becomes a far more sinister figure and an end of series clash with Vic is obviously on the cards.
The show holds very little back and piles on the sex, drugs and violence episode after episode but with writing and performances this good you know they are not just doing it for effect. It's already two episodes in, but if you start watching now you won't regret it.
The Shield is on Channel 5 on Saturdays at 11.05pm.
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HAHA, the "Hollywood blow-in" was "blown off the screen" by Chikky, huh?? Oh, yeah!!
E
From icCroyden.co.uk
Die harder
By Robert Dex
THERE is a long-standing theory that all the best cop shows have blue in their names - Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, The Thin Blue Line.... alright maybe not the last one. But if that theory wasn't tenuous enough already, the new series of The Shield on Channel 5 (Saturday 11.05pm) has just put the final nail in its coffin.
The show follows members of the LA police department around the mythical neighbourhood of Farmington.
There are changes back at the office and a gang war growing on the streets.
But The Shield manages to mix racial politics, office politics and the usual ingredients of a good cop show without bursting apart at the seams.
The star of the show is probably meant to be Hollywood blow-in Glenn Close.
The Fatal Attraction star puts in a suitably stellar performance as precinct captain Monica Rawling but is blown off the screen by leading man Michael Chiklis in the role of senior detective Vic.
Imagine Die-Hard-era Bruce Willis being cloned three times and then stuck together again and you get some idea of Vic.
Chiklis brings a brooding menace to the role but he is much more than just a psychotic hardman and as the series develops we learn more about him and he grows into a fully-rounded character.
The same goes for the rest of the cast with the show following a familiar pattern with a host of minor characters in the background.
Every so often one comes to prominence for a couple of episodes before slipping back into the background to drink coffee in the station house.
With a hero as outsized as Vic patrolling on the side of the good guys the series needs a villain of equal stature and it gets one.
Anthony Anderson plays reformed gangster Antwon Mitchell - a preacher who seems to have turned his back on the life of crime.
But as the plot builds up a head of steam Antwon becomes a far more sinister figure and an end of series clash with Vic is obviously on the cards.
The show holds very little back and piles on the sex, drugs and violence episode after episode but with writing and performances this good you know they are not just doing it for effect. It's already two episodes in, but if you start watching now you won't regret it.
The Shield is on Channel 5 on Saturdays at 11.05pm.
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HAHA, the "Hollywood blow-in" was "blown off the screen" by Chikky, huh?? Oh, yeah!!
E