The Shield is over - Reflections on a TV great

Just finished watching the final season of The Shield.

And as per usual with great television its a bitter sweet conclusion.

Inevitably two things happen when you finish watching a great series, firstly you wonder what can you watch next that reaches such a high standard, and secondly how does this TV series rate against the other great works we've seen in the last 10 or so years (i.e. The Wire, The Sopranos and The West Wing)?

And it seems like I'm not the only one. A brief search of the web through up the following articles that are worth reading if your interested or are considering watching either The Wire or The Shield. First up there's an article in the Guardian that compares The Shield to The Wire and controversially advocates the former over the latter:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/dec/27/tv-drama-david-simon-wire-shield

For me, if you are interested, dramatically The Shield often had highs that I think surpass The Wire. However where I think The Wire may edge it is just the sheer size of the canvas. The Wire is somehow epic, whereas the The Shield is a lot more claustrophobic and therefore sometimes much more intense. The following article also has an interesting counter response to the Wire Vs Shield debate:

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/chris-petit-and-the-wire-v-the-shield

In terms of an ending however I think The Shield really aced it. By comparison the end of The Sopranos lacked something, although it is I have to admit wonderfully ambiguous! But that's both great and frustrating.

Next up Generation Kill the series that David Simon did after finishing The Wire.

Watch this space....