Very few police dramas expand or redefine the genre. Dragnet, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue and CSI are among the few that have. Add to that very select list, The Shield
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Although Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue featured police officers straying into gray areas of morality, in The Shield, cops operating outside the law are the center of the action. Like in the Sopranos, viewers are challenged by these characters: Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) isn’t a good guy, he isn’t a bad guy, he’s something in between. To Vic, his rogue behavior serves the public interest. To everyone else, a cop with a pet crack dealing operation who murders, plants evidence and savagely beats suspects is a danger who needs to be taken off the street. But Vic is an old pro at this, and viewers get to watch him attempt to out-maneuver the forces trying to take him down, and not always for the best of reasons.
But the show is an ensemble, as the best cop shows have been, and everyone from beat cops to detectives to the police captain get their moments to shine. Especially impressive is Detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder), who radiates morality, maturity and wisdom. Claudette has to deal with an over-eager partner (who, on paper, the audience should love, but who in practice practically invites the abuse the other officers heap upon him), a politically minded captain and, of course, the Strike Team, led by the obviously corrupt Vic Mackey.
Bear in mind that the series, which will begin its fifth season in January 2006, is constructed in 13 episode arcs. At times, the first few episodes will seem slow, but it’s always building to a shattering conclusion at the end of each season.
This is one of the few television shows that can justly be called a classic. More importantly, The Shield redefines what audiences can and should expect from police dramas in the years to come.
Strongly recommended to fans of police dramas. Be warned that The Shield skirts an R rating much of the time, especially in the adult and dark subject matter.
Joss Whedon, long a fan of Veronica Mars, just reviewed the new Veronica Mars Season One DVD set in Entertainment Weekly.
At the center of it all is Veronica herself. Bell is most remarkable not for what she brings (warmth, intelligence, and big funny) but for what she leaves out. For all the pathos of her arc, she never begs for our affection. There is a distance to her, a hole in the center of Veronica’s persona. Bell constantly conveys it without even seeming to be aware of it. It’s a star turn with zero pyrotechnics, and apart from the occasionally awkward voice-over, it’s a teeny bit flawless.
In return for all the Veronica love, Joss will be appearing in the sixth episode this season, apparently as a cranky car rental employee. (Kevin Smith was in last week’s episode as a publicity-loving convenience store clerk.)
“All the Money or the Simple Life Honey,” by the Dandy Warhols, has replaced Marty Casey’s “Trees” as my bounce-around happy fun rock and roll song of the moment.
That is all.
(And yes, I heard it first on the Post-Modern Rock podcast.)
Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld novels and co-author, with Neil Gaiman, of Good Omens, was interviewed by NPR yesterday on science-fiction themes invading literary fiction. Also interviewed was Susanna Clarke, author of the wonderful Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Freakanomics is a gold mine of interesting facts and trivia, including how much money a crack dealer makes, the life cycle of popular baby names, how sumo wrestlers work the system and how the Chicago school system caught teachers cheating on standardized tests.
It’s not a lot more than that — the book is openly just an extended magazine article, and not a particularly critical one at that — but it’s a quick and interesting read; I knocked out most of it in a single transcontinental plane flight. And, honestly, when’s the last time there was a quick and interesting read about economics?
The book could use both more length and depth, but hopefully that will come in the form of a sequel.
Recommended for those looking for a fun and interesting quickie read. Not so recommended for those hoping this is a profound work that will somehow change their life.
