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But recently, a colleague at AOL drew my attention to "The Shield." I told my TiVo to record it for me, and what can I say, I was so electrified and shocked that I devoured the show from beginning to end without interruption. The show is insane, brutal, and unpredictable. It takes place in a police precinct in Los Angeles, whose chief, Aceveda, is a Latino who has worked his way up, wants to establish himself as a politician, and outwardly maintains a squeaky-clean image. However, behind the scenes, things get intense: The "Strike Force," consisting of the bald bruiser Vic Mackey, the unassuming gang-buster Curtis Lemansky, and the insanely dim-witted Southerner Shane Vendrell, solves stubborn cases, but mostly using illegal methods. Suspects are beaten during interrogations, confiscated cocaine is stolen, or nasty gang members who can't be legally caught are framed with a freshly fired weapon. Additionally, racial conflicts are fully played out and minorities are harassed, just like in any police precinct in the world. Addressing this in the USA is outrageous!
The fascinating thing about the show, however, is that the viewer sides with the thugs, as beneath their rough exterior beats a soft heart: they might take in the baby of a drug-addicted prostitute for a night or make evidence disappear that would incriminate someone who is actually innocent. Naturally, the police chief goes ballistic every time he learns about such actions and wants to get rid of the chaotic team, but somehow the street-smart Vic always manages to avert disciplinary complaints or mislead investigation committees, because he has eyes and ears everywhere and is on familiar terms with the underworld.
Additionally, there are other lovingly developed characters, such as Detective Wagenbach, who is generally called "Dutch" but is sometimes insulted as a "Nazi" because of his name. He is often despised as a wimp and a desk jockey. Then there's the Black officer Julien Lowe, who wants to be an "honest" cop but hides his homosexuality and is cruelly blackmailed by Vic, preventing him from testifying against the strike team.
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