The Shield: Season 2

Reviewed by:
Gene Newman

In just two seasons, The Shield has taken a battering ram to every other cop show on television, and all from the FX cheap seats. Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his corner-cutting strike team are back in full effect, ripping off the Armenian mob, stealing cash from Mexican drug lords, and melting the skin off the faces of potential criminals. Not all the characters are dirty, and much of the friction sparks when his political-minded captain and clean colleagues try to take Mackey (bald) head on.

A proper DVD was apparently on the mind of Shield creator Shawn Ryan while filming the second season, since he’s packed this set full of deleted scenes—a few of which are too hot for even FX—and some great featurettes, which let you see a more jovial side of the actors whose characters are always in crisis mode. It’s also great to be able to tear through a season in under two days, since only 13 episodes are produced a season. This could be a valuable lesson to the big networks: Chiklis is more. Sorry, no more puns till our attorney is present.