The Shield—Season 1

Welcome to the Farm!

Detective Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond) has been given an offer by David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) to infiltrate a ring of criminals and bring them down.  Unfortunately for Crowley, it is a fellow police officer named Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his close-knit team nicknamed the Strike Force.  Vic is a dangerous man and crossing him could be deadly.

The Shield—Season 1 ran from March 12, 2002 to June 4, 2002.  The series aired on FX and was released to critical acclaim.  Michael Chiklis won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the series was nominated for Outstanding Director for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (both for the pilot episode).

So honey…how do you feel about morally corrupt police officers?

I wasn’t able to see The Shield in the first run, but I had heard good things about it.  I was able to see the first season soon after it was released in a boxset and did enjoy it.  I however wasn’t able to continue watching the series…rewatching season 1, I hope to fix that because the show has proven to hold up since the years it was released.

After the rise of series TV drama with The Sopranos and HBO, a number of high quality shows began popping up.  The Shield fell in with those shows.  With a pilot that took the show in a completely different direction than you expected the show to go, the series became a show about how corrupt can you be and still be a good person and if bad people can be redeemable.

When the show was released, it was hard to imagine Michael Chiklis as a tough guy.  He was in a ’90s TV series called The Commish which featured him as a police officer/dad.  However, here Chiklis is pretty intimating.  It is ironic however because you are constantly reminded how short he is next to the other actors.  Chiklis only stands 5’ 7” (according to sources) and it is hard to see him as a “threat” at points no matter how fit he is.  I had the same problem with him as the Thing in the film version of the Fantastic Four.

Another lovely night in L.A.

Another plus to the series is that Chiklis is surrounded by some great supporting actors.  You don’t get to see everyone fully develop but I like the cast and look forward to seeing some more of the characters explored.  I particularly liked the episode where they had to switch up partners (“Cupid & Psycho”) to see how the Strike Team works with others.

The Shield is a good series that kind of crept along under the radar while other more popular series gained the real attention.  If you wrote off The Shield as a simple police procedure drama or a TV version of Training Day or Bad Lieutenant, you aren’t doing the TV series justice.  Check out The Shield…once you do, you’ll be hooked.

The Shield—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:

“Pilot”

1.1       Pilot Airdate:  03/12/02

A missing girl has Detective Holland “Dutch” Wagenbach (Jay Karnes) and Detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) trying to stop a child selling ring.  Officer Danni Sofer (Catherine Dent) and Officer Julien Lowe (Michael Jace) work the street.  David Aceveda (Benito Martinez) strives to clean up the Barn for his future run at the mayor’s office and targets Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his crew for dirty dealings.  With an offer to Detective Terry Crowley (Reed Diamond), Lemansky agrees to infiltrate Vic’s Strike Team to bring him down…but Vic has plans of his own.

“Our Gang”

1.2       Our Gang Airdate:  03/19/02

Vic and the Strike Team have committed the ultimate crime by killing fellow officer Terry Crowley for trying to turn informant for David Aceveda.  Now an investigation is on into the death and the Strike Team is covering their tracks as Aceveda debates what to do about Mackey’s probable involvement.  Sofer has to crack down on Lowe and teach him what happens when a fellow officer is killed.  A churro vender is gunned down and Wyms must go to Vic for help in tracking down a gang lead.

“The Spread”

1.3       The Spread Airdate:  03/26/02

Vic gets a visit from one of his normal informants Connie (Jamie Anne Allman) after she has a rough time with a client.  It is warrant sweep day and the arrest of a basketball player named Derrick Tripp (Elimu Nelson) could help Vic and his men get the edge on game.  Officer Lowe finds one of the men named Tomas Motyashik (Brent Roam) rounded up knows his secret.  Dutch and Claudette bring in Connie’s abuser William Greeley (Kirk Baltz) and find he might be more than just an abuser.  Vic and his wife Corrine (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) gets bad news about their son.

“Dawg Days”

1.4       Dawg Days Airdate:  04/02/02

A shooting at a release party leads to an investigation and a turf war that could make Vic lose one his men on the street…and making Sofer a target.  Claudette and Dutch get roped into searching for a missing migrant for Aceveda’s political ambition.

“Blowback”

1.5       Blowback Airdate:  04/09/02

Vic tries to bring down Armenians.  Lowe worries that Tomas will expose him as gay.  When Vic and his men score drugs in the Armenian raid, Shane (Walton Goggins) makes a mistake…and Lowe knows about it.  Dutch helps Sofer on her testing…with ulterior motives.  Vic and Corrine get a diagnosis on Matthew.  Dutch learns why Sofer is protecting Vic.

“Cherrypoppers”

1.6       Cherrypoppers Airdate:  04/16/02

Dutch finds another prostitute has been killed and that his serial killer could be catchable.  Jim Wright (Richard Portnow) is brought in to help the investigation along as the search for the killer heats up.  Sofer learns that Lowe is going after Vic and learns that Lowe claims to have seen Vic steal evidence.  Vic finds an underage video maker and sets out to break up the ring.  Connie calls Vic for help…but Vic isn’t sure if he can save her.

“Pay in Pain”

1.7       Pay in Pain Airdate:  04/23/02

A shooting occurs at a shooting gallery and race war picks up.  Vic finds himself teamed with Detective Carlos Zamora (Carlos Sanz) as they try to quash the war, but Carlos finds he and Vic have a different approach.  Dutch and Claudette are asked to stop a psychic.  Vic learns he’s under investigation and that there might have to be a fall guy.

“Cupid & Psycho”

1.8       Cupid & Psycho Airdate:  04/30/02

Aceveda’s leak to the papers leads to the break-up of Vic’s crew and the reassignment of the group.  Vic finds himself teamed with Claudette as they try to shut down the increasing meth tale.  Lowe finds himself at Vic’s mercy with Vic uncovering his relationship with Tomas.  Aceveda gets word that he’s getting backed for City Council.  Dutch and Shane team up to research a cold case left by a retired detective.

“Throwaway”

1.9       Throwaway Airdate:  05/07/02

Detective Curtis Lemansky (Kenny Johnson) shoots an unarmed man, and Vic tries to cover it…but find they shot the wrong man.  Lowe deals with recanting his statement against Vic and finds himself at odds with Captain Acevada while Vic tries to woo him to his side.  Dutch’s romance heats up with Kim (K.K. Dodds), and Claudette is faced with a visit by her father (Roscoe Lee Browne) and daughter Rebecca (Tangi Miller) as she and Dutch find an old man chained outside his house by his son.  Sofer finds that the results of her detective test.  With Chaco (Robert Zepeda) proclaiming he is out of a gang, Lem wonders if it could be true and that his sister Tigre (Liz Jemielita) is in danger.  Vic learns his wife is wanting him to quit the force.

“Dragonchasers”

1.10     Dragonchasers Airdate:  05/14/02

Connie calls Vic for help in getting clean.  Vic’s Strike Force does a sex sting at a strip club.  Vic and Aceveda find a reporter named Tereza Varela (Sandra Purpuro) coming after them.  An HIV transvestite prostitute attacks Sofer and turns Lowe against him.  A man named Sean Taylor (Michael Kelly) is pulled in to public indecency is targeted by Dutch as his serial rapist.

“Carnivores”

1.11     Carnivores Airdate:  05/21/02

Vic finds his drug deal alliance with Rondell (Walter Jones) is threatened by Salaam (Mailon Rivera) and the Nation of Islam.  Dutch and Claudette investigate the attack on elderly Korean couple.  Aceveda as to come clean about his former rape accusation and decides he has to try to clear his name.  Lowe finds Tomas has been arrested again.  Sofer finds Lowe has become suicidal and tries to talk to him about it.  When the Nation of Islam refuses to leave the precinct until the situation is settled, Vic could be force to cut his ties to Rondel.  Vic learns that his son is out at the school for his autism and tries to locate a stolen ring to get it back.

“Two Days of Blood”

1.12     Two Days of Blood Airdate:  05/28/02

Vic’s political backer Ben Gilroy (John Diehl) returns to Vic when he’s involved in a hit-and-run, but Ben forces Vic into a corner when he takes actions into his own hands.  Lowe tries to deal with his homosexual urges through the church.  The killing of a black woman by a white male raises problems for Claudette and Captain Aceveda, and Aceveda faces him off against his potential political rival Karen Mitchell (Tyra Ferrell).  The Strike Team busts a cockfighting ring.  As Vic learns what Gilroy is up to, trouble begins to brew due to the murders.

“Circles”

1.13     Circles Airdate:  06/04/02

Vic worries that Ben is going after his family as a series of 9-1-1 calls lure out cops for targeting.  Vic tries to get Aceveda to help him take down Ben as Ben tries to sway Aceveda to bust Vic.  Vic finds he is going to suffer a massive loss.