The Shield: Season 2

The Strike Team, led by Vic Mackey, has become the king of the asphalt jungle. The "how" comes in Episode 9, "Co-pilot," explaining how The Barn began and how the satellite station works. It also shows how Vic wasn't necessarily "questionable" with his methods in the beginning and how he has become a big fish in a chaos-riddled pond by creating a veritable mob with a lovely badge to boot. This thing becomes emboldened by profits from various enterprises, by the sweet smell of success, and rumors of a beautiful Armenian enterprise simply called "the money train."As a viewer I cannot stress just how good the show has gotten. It won a Golden Globe by this point for Best Drama Series and Micheal Chiklis won an Emmy/Golden Globe for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. It deserved it, too, because it affords audiences of all types (not all age-ranges) something to watch and doesn't just focus on a linear concept. Quite simply, you do not have to adjust your screen because the picture is indeed perfect.As I'm writing this I just completed the sixth season and can say that it doesn't let up and that many of the things that happen in the 1st and 2nd season sculpt the landscape of things to come. (There are NO spoilers, either, so don't worry aobut reading on) This isn't meant to say that the show is driven by one thing, either, or that it isn't doesn't exist on more than one level. It instead says that the show rewards you, showing you the ironclad ways of an environment that constantly changes and yet remains - in part - the same. You have the main theme that run alongside Vic and his teammates as you see the line and how things blur because of things that are not easily divided into good/bad, and you see clashes of culture everywhere - especially in the department itself. This is illustrated boldly when shown through Julein's eyes, addressing a conflict on an individual level and also working as a group dynamic, and it shows you just what a blanket party means when you know the person suffering. There are also the rules of the streets, the territories and the politics that run them, and the rules of the governing bodies that want to change them into something controllable for a variety of reasons. This, combined with interesting casework and one of the best illustrations of how profiling the traits of a killer - ala Dutch - works, makes for something that goes well beyond expectation. Some of the best acting I have ever watched comes from this show - even in the minor characters that appear and reappear - and connecting with the show becomes an addictive thillride that is not only watchable but also rewatchable as well.Included in this season are all 13 episodes, some with audio commentary, 5 behind-the-scenes featurettes, 37 deleted scenes, and a preview of the videogame (not recommended) as its features.For reference, the episodes are as follows: 1 - The Quick Fix, 2 - Dead Soldiers, 3 - Partners, 4 - Carte Blanche, 5 - Greenlit, 6 - Homewrecker, 7 - Barnstormers, 8 - Scar Tissue, 9 - CoPilot, 10 - Coyotes, 11 - Inferno, 11 - Inferno, 12 - Breakpoint, 13 - Dominoes Falling.They all feed off each other, none wasting your time as a viewer and none attempting to feel the void between concepts. This is one of the most impressive things to me - normally a show has cracks in the facade but The Shield is solid from beginning to end.Closing, I can't stress just how good this series is besides to say that I have only purchased five series in the thousand or so DVD purchases I've made and that this was one of the top picks I had to have in my collection. It comes highly recommended and will keep you wanting and watching and ready for the next season. When it comes you will do the same all over again, making for a unique experience.I cannot sing its praise loudly enough.

This season of THE SHIELD ramps up the tension as the protagonist, Vic Mackey's personal life crumbles when his wife & children run away leaving him foundering a bit at work while a civilian auditor observing the unit causes Captain Aceveda to form an uneasy alliance with Vic to further his political aspirations. Detective Claudette Wymms (the exceptional C.C.H. Pounder) suspects this unholy alliance and begins to investigate Vic while trying to bolster her partner, Dutch's confidence after he screws up a case. Meanwhile Dani faces harassment after a justifiable shooting while her partner, Julian becomes involved with a single mother to prove to himself that he is not gay; the Strike Team is greenlit by a Mexican gang leader after they try to run him out of Farmington and FINALLY the Strike Team plots a rip-off of an Armenian money train.Whew - now that's a LOT of storylines within a 13-episode season but that is the brilliance of this show - their ability to act out this multi-arc format in such a fast paced fashion. As a viewer I found myself easily engrossed in this show - I would try to allow myself 2 or 3 episodes per viewing but watched the entire season in one sitting.This set is also packed with featurettes that give insight into the creator's mindset as well as a few of the directors and the star, Michael Chiklis (Vic Mackey); but honestly this series would not be what it is without the OUTSTANDING supporting cast including: Benito Martinez (Capt Aceveda); Catherine Dent (Dani); Michael Jace (Julian); Jay Karnes (Dutch) and Walton Goggins (Shane)and the aforementioned, C.C.H. Pounder (Det Wymms).If you (like me) had never seen the series when it originally ran, try to see or buy the first 3 seasons - you will be on the edge of your seat by the end of the 3rd!

he loved it

Watching a TV series on DVD where you have the whole season to go through at whatever speed you wish, is a delightful treat. I was hooked by the First Season DVD and almost felt post partum depression when it's episode 13 finished and I realized I didn't have the Second Season on hand to keep following the adventures of Vic Mackey and all of the others at The Barn in Farmington. That was quickly remedied with a one-click on Amazon and two days later I had the second season in hand. During this season you are brought up on the quest to hijack The Money Train by the Strike Team, Capt. Acevada's quest for a City Council seat, thefurther marital problems of Vic Mackey,the Civilian Auditor's report and the fallout from that and many, many sub plots that continue to swirl through this amazing series. There is no disappointment in the Second Season. Once again, I found myself watching the 13th episode and wondering where the time had gone and then scurring to the computer right after it finished to order the Third Season. The series is probably not for everyone. There is considerable violence, much bad language, and some conversations about sex and sexual orientation that are not for young ears, It is adult fare and it comes at you like a runaway freight train. It is also compelling and fascinating. I have never seen anything like it on TV.

This is, of course, one of the best series ever made for American TV.I purchased all seven seasons separately to avoid the problems associated with the two complete editions (poor packaging, missing discs, scratched discs, etc.) Just finished watching Season 2. All four discs in S2 had cloudy patches, something I have never before seen. There were no playback problems at all, but after seeing those cloudy patches I was on tenterhooks, afraid there would be. But every episode played perfectly.My question: Has anyone here experienced these cloudy patches on these or on other DVDs? Know what causes them? Do they ever affect playback?I was happy to see that all 7 seasons are remastered, and the aspect ratio is 1:78, unlike the 1:33 ration on the first issue of Season 2.

I enjoyed the opening season and you get sucked into the next installment hoping for perhaps a move forward and development of the plot and characters. Unlike other series such as 'The Wire', '24', 'Homeland' for example 'Shield' seems to rest on it's laurels and lacks development ---- it is mainly more of the same.It still has some entertainment value if you like action and violence (OK by me) but unlike the other series that I've mentioned there seems less evolving of the plot and the writing 'cept for the main character Vic Mackey who clearly holds the whole story line together through all seasons of 'The Shield' in my view.Worth buying at these current prices on Amazon but don't expect 'The Wire' or 'The Sopranos'.9 hours 32 minutes with English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Sometimes billed as "If you like The Wire, you'll like this....", The Shield is not up there with that hallowed piece of TV history but it's pretty good. Series 2 continues where Series 1 left off with the ongoing feud between maverick cop Mackey and his boss, the disintegration of his homelife and increasingly desperate attempts to boost his police wages with various unethical and illegal enterprises. The action is full-on and the focus switches around from one character to another interestingly. The weakness with series like these, which The Wire avoided, is that they can become a bit like soap operas, driven by personality conflicts that never get resolved or go anywhere, and occasionally the stand off between Macky and his boss seems repetitive. But a strength of this series is that it continues from series 1 but manages to throw in plenty of shocks and surprises to keep it fresh.

Started watching while recovering from surgery and already watched dozens of DVD's before eventually getting to season 1 of the Shield. It was not only the best of all I'd seen but is by far one of the best cop shows ever made. Once you start the first series it's very difficult not to go on buying one after the other.I'm now half way through the last series (7)and really don't want it to end - it's absolutely gripping stuff. All of the regular characters are entirely believable and even though the main ones are "baddies" you'll find yourself rooting for Vic's Strike Team all the way through. Unmissable!!

Even better than the first series, brilliant.

If you have never seen the shield and like police dramas filmed in a fly on the wall style with a 'nitty gritty' feel then look no more.The first time seeing this had me on the edge of my seat, I have watched the who series several time over. This show is N all time favourite