The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

To Protect and Serve. Also to Scheme and Destroy.

Reviewed by Michael Reuben January 23, 2019

Cop shows have been a staple of the TV landscape almost since the medium became a household fixture. It's an infinitely malleable format, evolving with the times and making room for protagonists of every variety. Dragnet 's Joe Friday was the picture of social and moral certitude. Kojak married New York street smarts with the worldliness of maturity. Starsky and Hutch invented the buddy cop genre. The ensemble of Hill Street Blues made an entire precinct its protagonist. NYPD Blue's Andy Sipowicz showed how a deeply flawed human being—racist, vulgar, alcoholic—could become a hero of law and order.

And then there was The Shield's Vic Mackey. In seven seasons, from 2002 through 2008, Mackey redefined what a TV cop could be: a crook, a killer, an amoral predator out for himself—and yet still, more often than not, the best hope for justice in a violent and seemingly untamable urban wilderness. As conceived by creator Shawn Ryan and portrayed by Michael Chiklis, who won an Emmy for the role, Mackey transformed a bad cop—a very bad cop—into a charismatic champion. Actors playing good cops who opposed him would get stopped on the street and upbraided by fans for attacking their hero.

Mackey wasn't the first villainous protagonist to win the love of TV audiences. Tony Soprano preceded him, but as one participant observes in the extras on Mill Creek's new series set, Tony Soprano merely opened the door. It was Mackey who kicked it down for good, enabling successors like Walter White, Ray Donovan, Al Swearengen and Dexter Morgan to come barreling through.

Mackey and The Shield transformed the fledgling FX network from a rerun also-ran into a basic cable powerhouse that would go on to specialize in unconventional fare like Nip/Tuck, The Americans and American Horror Story. Before Mackey, no one had ever heard of FX. After him, it became one of the most popular destinations on TV. The show's unconventional style, raw language, frank sexuality and brutal depictions of violence framed Mackey and his fellow officers against a background that was like nothing else on the small screen. Even today, ten years and many imitators later, the show still reaches out and punches you in the gut.

The Shield was also popular on DVD, where it was initially released by Fox and then, after the first five seasons, picked up by Sony. Its arrival on Blu-ray has been long anticipated, ever since creator and showrunner Ryan announced the project in 2015. Now Mill Creek has provided a handsome and nicely detailed set based on new 4K scans of the original 16mm camera negatives, as well as remixed 5.1 sound and a full disc of new extras added to the already substantial DVD material. It's an expensive set, but it gives value for the money.

The Shield was inspired by the LAPD's Rampart scandal of the late Nineties, which spawned numerous films (including the 2011 feature Rampart ) and is explored in a documentary in the Blu-ray extras. The series is set in the fictional L.A. district of Farmington, colloquially known as "the Farm". As a result, the district police station, located in a deconsecrated church, is referred to by all, including its occupants, as "the Barn". Like the district it serves, the Barn has seen better days. It's a crumbling ruin, with plumbing so old that the men's room is permanently out of order and the women's bathroom becomes unisex of necessity.

Farmington is beset by gang violence, which has led to the creation of an anti-gang unit led by Det. Vic Mackey (Chiklis). But Mackey is less interested in eradicating the gangs than in becoming their boss. In an oft-quoted phrase from the pilot, he's "Al Capone with a badge". His idea of bringing order to the streets is to treat rival gangs as tenants of the district, with Mackey as the sole landlord—and the rent due on time. Mackey has his own sense of justice, and he's a canny operator with an eye on the Farm's crime statistics. He understands that his unit is tolerated, and the bosses often look the other way, because he's managed to bring down the crime rate. But Mackey never works for the public good. He's always out for himself, and he will literally do anything to protect his own interests. To drive home the point, Shawn Ryan concluded the show's pilot by having his hero commit an act so heinous and unforgivable that it echoed through the rest of the series. Fans loved him anyway.

Mackey commands a special unit known as the Strike Team, of which the core members are Dets. Shane Vendrell (Walton Goggins), Curtis "Lem" Lemansky (Kenneth Johnson) and Ronnie Gardocki (David Rees Snell). Shane and Lem are as tough and determined as Mackey, each in his own way, but neither is nearly as smart (though Shane thinks he is). They are also polar opposites when it comes to matters of conscience, because Shane doesn't have one. Ronnie is a classic follower, doing whatever his boss tells him. (The role is so routine and took so long to develop into a full-fledged character that Snell wasn't even credited as a lead actor until the fifth season.) Over the course of the series, additional team members come and go, but these three—Shane, Lem and Ronnie—remain the core of Vic Mackey's support.

Certainly Mackey's home life offers him no support. He has three children he loves—the eldest played by Chiklis' daughter, Autumn—but he's rarely home, to the unending frustration of his long-suffering wife, Corinne (played by creator Shawn Ryan's wife, Cathy). Early in the series, Mackey's two younger children are diagnosed with autism, imposing crushing financial burdens that provide a semblance of justification for Vic's urgent need to supplement a cop's salary. But somehow one suspects that Mackey would be extorting gangs and hoarding cash regardless of his home life—just as his marriage doesn't make him think twice about the multiple infedilities in which he indulges whenever opportunity offers.

Mackey's heart is with the streets and at the Barn, where his chief adversary is the division's captain, David Aceveda (Benito Martinez). The captain is determined to expose Mackey as a criminal, but his motives are hardly pure. Politically ambitious, Aceveda is already plotting his run for City Council when the series opens, and he makes no secret of his ambition to be L.A.'s first Latino mayor. Calculating, amoral and manipulative, Aceveda plans to ride the publicity of exposing police corruption to political fame and fortune, and he will gladly sacrifice anyone in the pursuit of his goals. In his own way, Aceveda is no better than Mackey. He's just the white collar version, more Michael Corleone than Al Capone, with a badge and a law degree.

Through seven seasons, Mackey and his cohorts stomped across Farmingdale and the television landscape, busting as many barriers as heads. Each episode juggled multiple plot lines with a breathless urgency that still feels unsettling today, ten years after the final episode first aired. Most episodes of a continuing TV series have "A" and "B" and occasionally "C" plot lines, but The Shield routinely interwove "D" and "E" stories as well—and shockers could occur in any of them.

Essential to the show's ability to sustain emotional credibility amidst the frantic plotting was an exceptional supporting cast, especially among the regulars at the Barn who are genuinely trying to enforce the law. Street cops in uniform are represented by partners Danielle "Danny" Sofer (Catherine Dent) and her rookie trainee, Julien Lowe (Michael Jace), a mismatched pair if ever there was one. Lowe is a towering figure with a gentle, reserved nature and a naive faith in the innate goodness of people, despite what he daily witnesses on the job; he's also a devout Christian struggling to suppress the homosexuality that he considers a sin and a character flaw. Danny, by contrast, is cynical, worldly and a tomboy who's treated more like one of the guys than her partner. They're often at odds over matters both personal and professional, but somehow their partnership works on the street.

The Barn also has detectives who aren't part of the Strike Team and who pursue investigations by legitimate methods. The most talented pair are Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder) and Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach (Jay Karnes), who, on the surface, have nothing in common. Dutch is dorky and uncomfortable in his skin, a constant object of mockery by his fellow cops, especially Mackey. Wyms has the thick hide and intimidating demeanor of a black woman who had to shove her way up through the ranks at a time when there were few like her on the force. But Dutch and Claudette share two critical traits: Both are smart, and both have the kind of moral center that Mackey wholly lacks. Dutch is more of an intellectual—indeed, he's a snob about it, which is part of what makes him unpopular with his coworkers—while Claudette possesses an infallible shrewdness about people and their behavior. They make a formidable team, especially in an interrogation room.

As The Shield's reputation grew, it attracted impressive guest stars. Some played cops, others played crooks, but their characters' common denominator was that anyone who tries to take on Mackey is either tarnished or destroyed. The great Glenn Close appears in Season Four as a new captain in the Barn, with a radical plan to strike at the heart of Farmington's gangland. Like most radical plans, this one has dire unintended consequences. In the same season, Anthony Anderson was cast against type as Farmington's new king of the streets, a ruthless hoodlum who kills children as casually as he fathers them. Forest Whitaker enters the scene in Season Five, playing a righteous investigator from Internal Affairs, whose obsession with defeating Mackey twists him into a monster as dangerous as the one he's fighting. In Season Six, noted German actress Franka Potente (The Bourne Identity) makes a too-brief appearance as the quietly intimidating representative of a foreign crime syndicate with hefty local interests.

But it's Mackey who remains The Shield's black soul, a live wire of scheming and violence and a resourceful escape artist until the bitter end. The series' finale is justly regarded as one of the finest pieces of storytelling in TV history. The series doesn't conclude with anything like The Sopranos' infamously perplexing cut to black. Stick with The Shield, and your loyalty will be rewarded with a grim but satisfying resolution.

The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's press materials promised a featurette on The Shield's "restoration" for Blu-ray, but I have been advised that this extra had to be abandoned due to the unavailability of various technical personnel. It's an unfortunate omission for many reasons, including the likelihood that it probably would have addressed the discs' aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which has generated controversy. The Shield was broadcast on FX at 1.33:1, and the same aspect ratio was used on the Fox DVDs of Seasons One through Five. Elsewhere in the world, the series was shown at 1.78:1, and Sony adopted that AR when it took over the DVD releases, even re-releasing the first five seasons at 1.78:1. In the documentary extras, it is evident from the on-set monitors that both framings were considered during the show's production. Whether this constitutes shooting at 1.33 and "protecting" for 1.78, or shooting for dual aspect ratios, may be considered either a meaningful distinction or little more than semantics. There are those who feel that the 1.33 framing of the FX broadcasts is the only accurate version and that any change misrepresents the show. I respect that opinion, but I don't share it.

What we do know from Mill Creek is that these 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-rays are based on new 4K scans of the original 16mm camera negatives and that The Shield's ultimate overseer, Shawn Ryan, was closely involved in their creation. Leaving aside the debate over framing, the Blu-ray image accurately re-creates the docudrama style that was The Shield's hallmark (and is widely credited to pilot director Clark Johnson, a veteran of The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street). Shot almost entirely with handheld cameras, The Shield routinely placed the viewer in the midst of the action, racing into deadly situations with the Strike Team, pacing the floor of the Barn like one of the station's overworked cops, peering into fraught personal situations like a friend or family member desperate to intervene. This wasn't "shaky cam", because the image remained steady even while moving. Call it "participation cam". Instead of watching the action, you were part of it, and countless films and TV series have borrowed The Shield's techniques ever since. (And yes, Cops had been doing handheld work already, but this was something different, more intimate and without the documentary detachment.)

Cinematographer Rohn Schmidt was the DP for most of the series, but the true creators of the show's unique visual style were the agile camera operators, who worked in tight coordination with the actors on sets and in real L.A. locations, some of which were considered so dangerous that the Fox executives didn't want their cast and crew to go there. The camera crew appear throughout the extras, and their accounts of how they worked are supplemented by laudatory appraisals by both the cast and the episode directors.

The Blu-ray presentation of The Shield will be a pleasure to newcomers and a revelation to anyone (like me) who has only experienced the show in standard definition. The technical crew has extracted a superbly sharp and detailed image from the 16mm source without sacrificing any of the rawness or grit that distinguished the show from everything else on TV. It helps that the production design is so relentlessly naturalistic, so that seeing it even more clearly doesn't disrupt the illusion. The image retains the slightly grainy texture that was an intentional element of the visual style, but the grain has been finely resolved and effectively managed so that it never becomes intrusive. It simply blends into the overall impression of what's happening onscreen, which is never less than absorbing. (Still images don't adequately capture the quality of the presentation, because of the near-constant camera motion.)

The Shield never had a vibrant palette, and the HD colorists have resisted any temptation to turn up the chroma, even in an episode like Season Two, Episode 1, "The Quick Fix", where the Strike Team travels to Mexico in pursuit of a suspect. The show's consistently dull and faded hues have been faithfully reproduced throughout the Blu-ray set, and the precision of the image allows a new appreciation of how creatively production designers Kitty Doris-Bates and Anthony Medina maintained visual interest within a limited spectrum. The nighttime blacks are solid and dark, with DP Rohn Schmidt making creative use of discreetly placed red and blue lights to illuminate the essential action.

The Shield's eighty-eight episodes have been fit onto sixteen discs, with anywhere from seven to four episodes per disc (the sixteenth disc has three episodes, plus extras). Bitrate averages hover between 15-16 Mbps, and while I would usually question rates that low, I cannot argue with what I see on my screen. The Blu-ray image remains superior throughout. Aspect ratio issues aside, it's both true to the show's down-and-dirty aesthetic and by far the best these episodes have ever looked.

The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Shield was broadcast and released on DVD in stereo surround, which has been remixed in 5.1 for Blu-ray and encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA. To my ear, the rear channels appear to be identical, a dual encode of the typical mono rear channel in matrixed surround. A multi-part featurette in the extras explores the constituents from which the show's soundtrack was stitched together. The Blu-ray aptly reproduces the sonics of Farmington, the Barn and various other environments to which the show's action takes it. Key sound elements shift with the camera's changing perspective; freeway noise or distant source music will be in front with one shot, behind with the next, then back in front again. Dynamic range is broad, but realism is the hallmark of the soundtrack, just as for the rest of the show's aesthetic. Gunfire is authoritative without being overly assertive, and the same is true of the various explosions scattered throughout the series. For all the show's violence and skullduggery, its soundtrack supports it with surprising subtlety, relying on a cacophony of overlapping voices and effects or quietly disturbing sounds—searing flesh, a suspect's choking, an injured person's labored (or final) breath—to achieve its impact. The dialogue is clearly rendered for the most part, although an occasional line may be hard to make out until you've heard it more than once, because so much of it is spit out at high velocity.

The Shield has no composer or musical score. The soundtrack occasionally opts for a mood-setting song (e.g., Coldplay's "Til Kingdom Come", which is heard over a closing montage in Season Five, Episode 1), but mostly it relies on source music from apartments, cars, etc. There are two major exceptions: the screaming theme that accompanies the opening logo and closing credits ("Just Another Day" by Vivian Ann Romero, Ernesto J. Bautista and Rodney Alejandro) and the anxious background instrumentals that play behind each "previously on" segment, lending urgency to whatever is about to happen next.

The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While I do not have the DVD sets of The Shield for comparison, Mill Creek says that it has included all of the extras provided by Fox for Seasons One through Five and Sony for Seasons Six and Seven. Taken together, they are an enormous collection, and Mill Creek has provided some substantial new additions. The extras are so voluminous that I have eliminated some details from the listing below. For example, I have not attempted to list the participants in every commentary, which typically include Ryan, Chiklis or both, plus a revolving list of regular cast members. Guest stars and recurring players also participate (e.g., Michael Peña and Anthony Anderson in Season Four), as well as writers and directors. Some commentaries are more substantial than others, depending on the chemistry of that particular group, but taken as a whole, the commentaries provide unique insight into the making of The Shield.

Deleted scenes are not listed separately, and they have been oddly formatted so that each one is separately timed, even though they play continuously. Accordingly, I have not attempted to calculate a total running time for any given episode's selection. Some deleted scenes have optional commentary by Ryan; others have audio introductions; a few are presented without explanation. They also vary in aspect ratio, although most are 1.33:1. Like nearly all of the extras carried over from DVD, these scenes have been upconverted to 1080p, though most are of obviously lesser quality than the newly scanned episodes.

The entire collection is housed in a sturdy book, of which the first page is an introductory letter from Shawn Ryan. The book itself arrives with its own slipbox with a fold-over cover and a magnetic closure. No digital copies are included.

Season One, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. Pilot
• 2. Our Gang
• 3. The Spread
• 4. Dawg Days
• 5. Blowback
• 6. Cherrypoppers
• 7. Pay in Pain


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. Pilot
• 2. Our Gang
• 3. The Spread
• 4. Dawg Days
• 6. Cherrypoppers
• 7. Pay in Pain

Season One, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 8. Cupid & Psycho
• 9. Throwaway
• 10. Dragonchasers
• 11. Carnivores
• 12. Two Days of Blood
• 13. Circles


• Deleted Scenes
• 9. Throwaway
• 12. Two Days of Blood
• 10. Dragonchasers
• 13. Circles


• Season 1 Epilogue (1080i; 1.33:1; 0:23): A tongue-in-cheek goodbye from Ryan and Chiklis.

Season Two, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. The Quick Fix
• 6. Homewrecker


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. The Quick Fix
• 3. Partners
• 4. Carte Blanche
• 5. Greenlit
• 6. Homewrecker
• 7. Barnstormers

Season Two, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 12. Breakpoint
• 13. Dominoes Falling


• Deleted Scenes
• 8. Scar Tissue
• 9. Co-Pilot
• 10. Coyotes
• 11. Inferno
• 12. Breakpoint
• 13. Dominoes Falling


• Wrap Day (1080i; 1.33:1; 27:00): This account of the final day's shooting includes the cast and crew (especially director/producer Scott Brazil) and substantial on-set footage. Because it's the last day, everyone is both emotional and punchy from exhaustion.


• Season 3 Teaser (1080i; 1.33:1; 1:02).

Season Three, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 3. Bottom Bitch
• 5. Mum


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. Playing Tight (w/optional commentary)
• 2. Blood and Water (w/optional commentary)
• 3. Bottom Bitch (w/optional commentary)
• 4. Streaks and Tips (w/optional commentary)
• 5. Mum (w/optional commentary)

Season Three, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 8. Cracking Ice
• 9. Slipknot
• 10. What Power Is . . .


• Deleted Scenes
• 6. Posse Up (w/optional commentary)
• 7. Safe (w/optional commentary)
• 8. Cracking Ice (w/optional commentary)
• 9. Slipknot (w/optional commentary)
• 10. What Power Is . . . (w/optional commentary)

Season Three, Disc 3

• Commentaries
• 11. Strays
• 13. Fire in the Hole
• 14. All In


• Deleted Scenes
• 11. Strays (w/optional commentary)
• 12. Riceburner (w/optional commentary)
• 13. Fire in the Hole (w/optional commentary)
• 14. All In (w/optional commentary)
• 15. On Tilt (w/optional commentary)


• Breaking Episode #315: Making-Of Documentary (1080i; 1.33:1; 1:19:25): This feature-length documentary takes the viewer into the intimate details of making The Shield through an examination of the season finale's creation. A remarkable array of talent participated, both in front of the camera and behind, with a detailed breakdown of the episode's multiple storylines and the process of writing, directing, performing and editing them together.

Season Four, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. The Cure
• 2. Grave
• 3. Bang
• 4. Tar Baby


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. The Cure (w/optional commentary)
• 2. Grave (w/optional commentary)
• 3. Bang (w/optional commentary)
• 4. Doghouse (w/optional commentary)
• 5. Tar Baby (w/optional commentary)
• 7. Hurt (w/optional commentary)

Season Four, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 8. Cut Throat
• 10. Back in the Hole
• 11. A Thousand Deaths
• 13. Ain't That a Shame


• Deleted Scenes
• 8. Cut Throat (w/optional commentary)
• 9. String Theory (w/optional commentary)
• 11. A Thousand Deaths (w/optional commentary)
• 12. Judas Priest (w/optional commentary)
• 13. Ain't That a Shame (w/optional commentary)


• "Under the Skin" Featurette (1080i; 1.33:1; 1:00:36): Much like the feature-length documentary for Season Three, this one explores the evolution of Season Four in substantial depth. Both Glenn Close and Anthony Anderson are major participants.

Season Five, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. Extraction
• 2. The Enemy of Good
• 3. Jailbait
• 4. Tapa Boca
• 5. Trophy
• 6. Rap Payback


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. Extraction (w/optional commentary)
• 2. The Enemy of Good (w/optional commentary)
• 3. Jailbait (w/optional commentary)
• 4. Tapa Boca (w/optional commentary)
• 5. Trophy (w/optional commentary)
• 6. Rap Payback (w/optional commentary)

Season Five, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 7. Man Inside
• 8. Kavanaugh
• 9. Smoked
• 10. Of Mice and Lem
• 11. Postpartum


• Deleted Scenes
• 7. Man Inside (w/optional commentary)
• 9. Smoked (w/optional commentary)
• 10. Of Mice and Lem (w/optional commentary)
• 11. Postpartum (w/optional commentary)


• Delivering the Baby (1080i; 1.78:1; 1:28:08): Subtitled "The Making of Episode 511", this feature-length documentary uses interviews taped during the making of the season finale, but it examines the entire season's developments, including the evolution of Forest Whitaker's character, Lt. Kavanaugh. Whitaker is interviewed, along with all of the principal cast, the writers, and Stephen Kay, director of the season finale.


• Season 6 Prequel (1080i; 1.33:1; 14:52): This mini-episode is meant as a bridge between Seasons Five and Six. It was initially released on the web before being included on the Season Five DVD set.

Season Six, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. On the Jones
• 2. Baptism by Fire
• 3. Back to One
• 5. Haunts
• 6. Chasing Ghosts


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. On the Jones (w/optional commentary)
• 2. Baptism by Fire (w/optional commentary)
• 4. The New Guy (w/optional commentary)
• 5. Haunts (w/optional commentary)
• 6. Chasing Ghosts (w/optional commentary)

Season Six, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 8. The Math of the Wrath
• 9. Recoil
• 10. Spanish Practices


• Deleted Scenes
• 7. Exiled (w/optional commentary)
• 8. The Math of the Wrath (w/optional commentary)
• 9. Recoil (w/optional commentary)


• Full Circle: Franka Potente (1080i; 1.78:1; 14:14): An entertaining account of how the German actress joined the show and the role that was created for her.


• Saturn's Sons (1080i; 1.78:1: 29:48): This mini-documentary focuses on the unusual configuration of Season Five, which has eleven episodes, and Season Six, which has ten. For reasons discussed at length, the show's creative team regards them as two halves of a single, extended season.


• Two Directors(1080i; 1.78:1; 29:26): Portraits of first-time guest director Frank Darabont and Shield veteran Paris Barclay at work.

Season Seven, Disc 1

• Commentaries
• 1. Co-Efficient of Drag
• 2. Snitch
• 3. Money Shot
• 4. Genocide
• 5. Game Face


• Deleted Scenes
• 1. Co-Efficient of Drag (w/optional commentary)
• 2. Snitch (w/optional commentary)
• 3. Money Shot (w/optional commentary)
• 4. Genocide (w/optional commentary)
• 5. Game Face (w/optional commentary)

Season Seven, Disc 2

• Commentaries
• 6. Animal Control
• 7. Bitches Brew
• 8. Parricide
• 9. Moving Day
• 10. Party Line


• Deleted Scenes
• 6. Animal Control (w/optional commentary)
• 7. Bitches Brew (w/optional commentary)
• 9. Moving Day (w/optional commentary)
• 10. Party Line (w/optional commentary)

Season Seven, Disc 3

• Commentaries
• 11. Petty Cash
• 12. Possible Kill Screen
• 13. Family Meeting


• Deleted Scenes
• 11. Petty Cash (w/optional commentary)
• 12. Possible Kill Screen (w/optional commentary)
• 13. Family Meeting (w/optional commentary)


• Last Call: The Final Episode (780i; 1.78:1; 29:47).


• Nobody Expects to Lose, Nobody Expects to Die: The Shield's Final Season (1080i; 1.78:1; 26:00).

Bonus Features, Disc 1

• Crossing the Line


• Rampart Documentary (1080i; 1.78:1; 29:54): An overview of the Rampart scandal. The participants are primarily journalists and former cops.


• "Behind The Shield" Featurette (1080i; 1.33:1; 21:26): This promotional featurette includes Ryan, Chiklis and most of the cast.


• "The Shield" FX Featurette (1080i; 1.33:1; 2:27): A promotional spot.


• I.A.D. Featurette (1080i; 1.78:1; 10:37): An interview with Officer George D. Maycott, an LAPD technical consultant to the show.


• Framing Farmington


• Raising the Barn (1080i; 1.33:1; 9:16): This interview with production designer Kitty Doris-Bates describes how the set for the Barn was conceived and constructed.


• Making a Scene (1080i; 1.33:1 & 1.78:1, windowboxed; 10:33): This special was made for the Fox Movie Channel. It was shown after the conclusion of Season Five and contains major spoilers.


• The Editing Room (1080i; 1.33:1): A contrast between the editor's initial cut of a scene and the final version, with optional commentary. The scene runs 6:02 in the initial cut and 5:49 as aired.


• Sound Surgery (1080i; 1.33:1; 1:47): A single scene from Season Two, broken down into its individual components: Production Dialogue, Sound Effects, ADR and the final mix. With introductions by co-producer Dean White and supervising sound editor Albert Ibbotson.


• A Place We Called Home (1080i; 1.78:1; 7:36): Ryan and Chiklis (among others) reflect on seven years of intense labor at the studio, with scenes of the Barn set being torn down and disassembled.


• Strike Team Only!


• Cast Auditions (1080i; 1.33:1): Audition tapes for Chiklis, Dent, Goggins, Jace, Johnson, Karnes, Martinez and Pounder.


• Director's Roundtable (1080i; 1.33:1; 48:21): Ryan moderates a panel consisting of Scott Brazil, Paris Barclay and Peter Horton. There's a lot of joking around, but if you have the patience to stick with it, you can learn a lot about how the show's unique style, as the directors compare their experience on other shows, including Barclay's work on NYPD Blue.


• Panel Discussion with Michael Chiklis, Forest Whitaker and Shawn Ryan (1080i; 1.78:1; 29:54): Held after Season Five and loaded with spoilers.


• Scott Brazil Tribute (1080i; 1.78:1; 25:46): Cast and crew pay tribute to their long-time director/producer, who passed away at the age of 50 in 2006 (i.e., after Season Five) due to complications from Lyme Disease and A.L.S.

Bonus Features, Disc 2 (New!)

• 2018 Cast Reunion with Shawn Ryan (1080p; 1.78:1; 55:44): Featuring Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Paula Garces, Walton Goggins, Kenny Johnson, Jay Karnes, David Marciano, Benito Martinez, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, David Rees Snell and CCH Pounder.



• ATX Television Festival: The Shield Writers Room Panel (1080p; 1.78:1; 1:00:27): Recorded in June 2016, the panel includes Ryan, Kurt Sutter, Glen Mazzara, Scott Rosenbaum and Charles Eglee.



• Beyond the Badge Retrospective (1080p; 1.78:1; 19:13): Executives, participants and TV critics reflect on The Shield's influence on individual careers, the rise of FX and the history of TV.

The Shield: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Shield has arrived on Blu-ray. It was worth the wait. The show has lost none of its devastating impact in the intervening years, and the collection is one of the finest TV presentations I have ever seen. Highest recommendation.