The Shield Season 6

As The Shield moves through its seventh and final season, and season six arrives on DVD, two things remain that have been true since its inception: that it’s the most underrated show on TV, deserving of but never receiving a spot in the inner circle (The Sopranos, Dexter, Mad Men); and that it has the most convoluted serialized plot on television, with dramatic arcs that reach all the way back to the show’s very first episode. So, if the words "Armenian money train” don’t mean anything to you neither will season six — go back to the beginning to start down the adventurous path of Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), a cop who’s lack of moral compass has made him the most fascinating good bad guy on TV in a long time. This season was actually shot back-to-back with season five; at the end of a long, gruelling 11 months, what they call season 5.1 finally wrapped. Once again, in terms of DVD presentation, The Shield illuminates the general by getting specific, in this case looking at the approach of two different directors: Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and series regular Paris Barclay. By following their styles and approaches, it gives a glimpse into the on-the-fly shooting methods that give The Shield its signature look and feel. Though the show has boasted high power guests like Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker, it’s relative unknown Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) who gets her own featurette, because she’s the first guest in the show’s history who lobbied so strongly (out of love for the show) that they actually wrote a part for her. This kind of fierce loyalty runs through the whole cast, from creator Shawn Ryan down to every actor; that’s demonstrated in some enthusiastic but still informative commentaries, while their usual big fistful of deleted scenes helps showcase how tightly edited the storytelling is. As the show winds down to what is sure to be an acclaimed and bloody finale, these DVD sets will go far to demonstrate that you were in on it from the very beginning. There’s no other way these stories could get told.