The Shield: Season 3
March 6, 2005
“You have the right to remain silent,” barks Vic Mackey to an Armenian mob underling in the season finale of “The Shield”, “but I wouldn’t use it.” Vic and his Strike Team have been dealing with the Armenian mob the whole of season three, continually trying to shift the light of the three million dollars they stole in a daring robbery onto other suspects, while desperately searching for the ruthless boss of the mob, who has a penchant for torture by way of feet removal. This is L.A., Farmington district, and Mackey is one part criminal enforcer, one part mad dog, two parts humanistic father figure, and three parts amoral anything-goes-if-nobody’s-watching master street detective, who isn’t beyond dunking a guy’s head in a vat of oil to get the necessary results. Season three of F/X’s brilliantly written and acted dirty cop drama was all about the stolen Armenian mob money Mackey and his three best friends- Shane, Lem, and Ronnie- stole from the Armenian mob at the end of season two, and the repercussions it takes, physically, professionally and, in the world of “The Shield”, where one Treasury Department mole could mean the deal up in smoke, or one bullet to the chest of an Armenian psychopath could mean a clean walk to riches, ethically as well. Season four starts on Tuesday, and season three has just been released on DVD, and with the passing of “NYPD Blue”, “Boomtown” before it, and possibly “The Wire” next, Shawn Ryan’s ultra-violent and profane L.A. masterwork is unquestionably the best cop show on TV, indeed, one of the best shows, period.
For those new to “The Shield”, a groundbreaking, pseudo-documentary style, no-holds-barred, police sage from F/X, currently the leader in non-HBO cable originality, Emmy winner Michael Chiklis stars as Vic Mackey, a rough-edged detective heading up the Special Ops unit called the “Strike Team”, known for their quick conviction turnaround of street gangs and other seemly denizens of the streets, Vic and his boys are not above breaking a few minor laws themselves to better serve their purpose as street enforcers. In season one, Vic killed a fellow detective who had been spying on his team, and in season two, the team got way too deep into a drug war between a black gang and a rival Mexican that involved at least two instances of flesh burning on an open stove. Both of these plotlines nearly brought the Strike Team to justice, but if Mackey is good at one thing besides beating suspects, it’s staying one step ahead of any possible tie that could lead to his downfall, and in season three, he works overtime to keep the various sets of people in his life happy, while making sure the Armenian money stays safe and sound. Whether that all works out is one of the best surprises of this great batch of episodes, but getting there is filled with incredible tension (a mob contract on their heads, added onto a Treasury investigation into marked bills gives Lem a brutal ulcer, amongst much regrets), and sets the shaky groundwork for the new season, with the Strike Team in virtual shambles after a wrenching series of inner fights.
Much like “NYPD Blue’s” Andy Sipowitz, Chiklis’ Vic Mackey isn’t just a one-dimensional thug detective, yet the center in a world that seems to live and die on building and maintaining relationships, personal and professional. Aside from keeping the ever-crumbling Strike Team from each other’s throats, he has to deal with a broken family, a divorce, two autistic children, and an eldest daughter screaming for attention, the way children of divorce tend to lash out at nothing, and everything bothering them. Vic’s team is a constant headache, especially his longtime partner, Shane (Walton Goggins), who knocks up an obnoxious girlfriend, puts the newest Strike Team member in the hospital after the seasons most brutal fist fight, and ends the season with a soul crushing verbal sparring match with Vic that should see its resolution early in season four. In The Barn- codename for the converted church that houses the Farmington Division- friendship only goes as far as you can trust your fellow man, and by seasons end, not just amongst the Strike Team, but in nearly every other key relationship in the show, fraternity is the deciding factor to whether or not you can make it in this atmosphere of snap decisions- morally suspect or otherwise clean.
Over the 15-episode span of season three, much happens outside of the inner workings of Mackey’s Strike Team and their Armenian money robbery. The biggest, and arguably the most graphic storyline involved Chief David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), who, while following up on a tip that could connect Mackey and the Mexican mob to the marked money, is caught by two hop-heads and forced, at gunpoint, to sexually service the one while the other captures the Kodak moment on camera. “The Shield” is known for its dirty language and slightly graphic sexuality, but this plotline may have crossed the line from realistic TV voyeurism, to realistic sadomasochistic TV exploitation, yet it gave Aceveda a good B-revenge plot, and allowed the character some emotion, as well as offshoot marital repercussions, away from his campaign for city council and his hatred for Mackey. In a season that had an ongoing killer/rapist story, a strangled cat, and multiple feet amputations by the Armenian mob boss, David’s 3-minutes of sexual abuse was the shock-value winner, and broke new ground for a show already swimming in grit and tawdriness.
The production and look of “The Shield” is intense and beautifully realistic, utilizing the Steadicam approach to filmmaking while peppering the background with much rock and hardcore rap to symbolize the head rush that is the Los Angeles street violence in Mackey’s life. Creator Shawn Ryan and his solid core of directors (Clark Johnson, Scott Brazil, Dean White, Guy Ferland), as well as guest directors like Peter Horton, and Hollywood heavy David Mamet, who is used to foul-mouthed morality tales, have fashioned a TV drama that, like “The Sopranos”, and especially “The Wire”, isn’t afraid to stretch plotlines into season-long mysteries, while still providing each episode with smaller police stories, be it from the level of patrol officer, to the high ranks of Chief of Police. So special is the acting on “The Shield” that even stunt guest spots by Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet’s wife), and rapper Andre Benjamin, as a comic book store owner intent on cleaning up his vice-filled block, blends perfectly into the everyday realism Chiklis and his talented acting crew ferociously put forth on a secondary cable show’s budget. From the jittery opening credits, to the often open-ended final moments, the show is relentlessly compelling, with Vic Mackey its holier-than-thou usher into the dark abyss that is Los Angeles criminality.
“The Shield: Season 3” is available on DVD from Fox, with many deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and an impressive 80-minute documentary.
by Adam Suraf