Shield 5th Season (2005)

"...one of the top police dramas of the past decade...[with] a strong, well-rounded cast...  Britt Gillette, The DVD Report
"Once it grabs you, The Shield doesn't let go.  Chicago Sun-Times
"...riveting police drama...compelling...spellbinding television.  Dan Heaton, Digitally Obsessed!
"...the hardest-hitting, most balls-to-the-wall show on television, and one of the high points of the seemingly emaciated cop genre.  Dave Johnson, DVD Verdict
"The Shield is America in microcosm; entertaining the audience as this show provokes thought on very real issues that face all of us today.  Home Theater Info
"The storylines are tight, there's rarely ever a dull moment, and it's well acted.  Ron J. Epstein, DVD Talk
"...stabs the cop-show genre in the gut and rubs salt in the wounds...a must for any lover of crime fiction.  Tor Thorsen, Reel.com

Editor's Note Transgressing the seemingly rock-solid boundaries of regular television programming, THE SHIELD refuses the strictures of black-and-white depictions of clear-cut moral dilemmas in favor of an ambiguity that will challenge even the most jaded viewers. Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis, THE COMMISH) leads the elite Strike Team in the fictional L.A. district of Farmington, employing dubious but effective crime fighting methods as a tough, successful, but corrupt cop. The other detectives and cops on the force disapprove of the team's methods, while the precinct head, Captain David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), is just as corrupt as Mackey. The stoic, upright Detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder, ER), who understands both sides of the game, provides a much needed balance and rationality to the mix. The charismatic Mackey strikes just the right pitch so as to be the least sympathetic antihero television has yet seen, while the controversial themes and violent nature of the content manage the effect of making audiences really think about what they're watching. This collection presents the series' fifth season in its entirety.

	Catherine Dent
	CCH Pounder
	Forest Whitaker
	Glenn Close
	Jay Karnes
	Michael Chiklis
	Michael Jace
	Walton Goggins
	Hunter M. Via, et. al. - Editor
	Kitty Doris-Bates, et. al. - Production Designer
	Michael Chiklis - Producer
	Richard Cantu - Cinematographer
	Ronn Schmidt - Cinematographer
	Scott Brazil, et. al. - Director
	Scott Rosenbaum - Executive Producer
	Shawn Ryan, et. al. - Writer
	Vivian Romero - Original Music By
	William J. Durrell, Jr. - Art Director

Film Comment
"Ryan's stingingly well-written modern cop-show classic is small-screen ensemble drama at its best..." 01/01/2007 p.77

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "Eleven episodes of intense cat 'n' mouse culminate in a shocker of a climax..." 05/01/2007 p.111

Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- "In this season of the cop drama we bathe in machismo as Internal Affairs snoop Kavanaugh gets on Vic's bad side." 03/01/2008 p.124

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]o many shades of grey prevail throughout the series that viewers will find their sympathies and suspicions shifting with every episode..." 04/01/2008 p.157