The Shield
If there's one show that shines a light on the gulf in quality between UK and US drama on TV, it is The Shield. It's an astonishingly good show. Everything is top notch, the script, the acting, the direction, the camera work; why can't we make shows like this in the UK? Why don't UK tv producers even try to make shows like this? I mean, the other day there was a trailer for a UK drama set in a fucking Royal Mail sorting office. Seriously! This followed by a trailer for a drama about some fishermen. For crying out loud, get a grip telly people! How jaded with life and the industry do you have to become, how many ideas must you have gone through and had discarded before you say, without trace of irony "I know, let's make a drama about people that work in a sorting office, sorting letters. And here's the good bit, once they've sorted the letters, they deliver the letters. Do you see?".What on God's green earth made somebody go "Yes, I think that would appeal to people, there has been a dearth of shows about people that sort letters in recent years. Here, have literally million pounds of license fee payers' money."
Why didn't somebody step in and say "Are you fucking kidding me? Are you out of your mind?"
Anyway, sorry, I descended into a rant there. I was talking about The Shield, wasn't I? I finished season 5 last night, and the ending was just stunning. It is so rare to have a show that gets better and better with each season. How they can continue to keep you gripped after 45 hours of telly without resorting to the hackery of 24 is beyond me (and I say that as someone who loves 24).
The DVDs are criminally cheap, about £11 a season, so go and buy them and enjoy.
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