Saying Goodbye to The Shield

Yesterday, after seven seasons, FX aired the last episode of The Shield, probably the best police show ever created for television.

I remember Ironside, The Naked City, The F.B.I, Hill Street Blues and other such shows that caught my imagination and entertained me for many hours, but none has brought the realities of crime and life in a precinct as realistically and with the brutal honesty of this show.

The writers were able to connect events years after they took place, the actors were as realistic as the persons you come across walking in the streets of your neighborhood. I was always amazed by the extras. They must have been recruited among the gang members of LA. None of the actors looked like they just came out of a photo session with Vogue.

The acting was superb. I will not mention names because there were so many great actors involved in this show. However, this series will always be associated with the bald headed Michael Chiklis. It was he who created a character that despite the many terrible things he did, deep in our hearts we wanted to see triumph and survive.

If you have not seen this show, and you are not afraid of blood dripping from you TV screen, get the DVD's, buy a large screen television, get rid f anyone who might interrupt your viewing, and enjoy the show. The only other way to get a similar rush of adrenaline is fighting crime in Los Angeles. And we all know that that can be too dangerous.