Just finished the whole series yesterday.
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preachcaleb — 9 years ago(December 15, 2016 06:25 AM)
Of course Vic is the bad guy, yes. But don't his rights outdo the wrongs?
They don't. Not when they involve murder, particularly cop murder. That's something the police take very seriously. And for Vic to do that while hiding behind his badge is unforgivable.
It's one thing to bend the rules, but Vic was breaking the law. He really was the bad guy of the series. And it was quite satisfying to see him a broken, lonely man at the end.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the series. If you ever get a chance, rewatch it. It's worth it. It really changes your emotions when you know how it's going to end. It's almost heartbreaking to watch the Strike Team in the early seasons and see just how close they all were and compare to how there's nothing left of them by the end.
Or to see all the mistakes they make knowing it'll all snowball for them.
Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead. -
Bandit-One — 9 years ago(December 15, 2016 11:09 PM)
Ok, the Terry Crowley killing was cold blood. I agree. But most others were no saints.they had it coming. Vic was their Judge, Jury and Executioner. I shed no tears for them. But I think most of the time Vic at least tried not to kill without any reason or to spare innocents.
I'll surely watch it again one day. I very much enjoyed Breaking Bad as well, but for me "The Shield" is even better. Had more interesting characters (Walter White / Bryan Cranston was outstanding, but couldn't really stand Jesse Pinkman much).
"Pizz on you and pizz on your law!"- Rubber Duck (Convoy)-
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preachcaleb — 9 years ago(December 16, 2016 06:26 AM)
Vic was their Judge, Jury and Executioner.
Bingo. That's exactly why he's the bad guy. No one elected him to be those things. Cops are supposed to arrest and only kill in defense (of themselves or others). Vic kidnapped, tortured, and executed people while hiding behind the safety of his badge. The fact they were criminals doesn't change what Vic did.
But this is why I love the Shield. People can interpret Vic's actions in a number of ways. And yes, I agree, he tried not to kill innocent people. But he's still a murderer.
And yeah, I also think The Shield is better than Breaking Bad.
Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead. -
depaul_rules — 9 years ago(December 17, 2016 04:32 PM)
I wonder how long Vic would last in today's society where everyone has a camera/video cell phone. He surely would have been caught on video many times and wouldn't last long in my estimation.
TWITTER @bigdaddy6666 -
sawfan1414 — 9 years ago(December 18, 2016 06:14 PM)
Glad you enjoyed the series as a whole! It's definitely an all time favorite of mine.
We also seem to be in agreement regarding Walton Goggins and how brilliant of a performance he gave here. One of the most underrated actors out there. Have you seen Justified?? He's the co-lead of the show and he's maybe even better as Boyd Crowder than Shane. That would be the next best bet for you. I'd rank Justified up there as one of the best shows in terms of quality that I've seen, but I'd definitely say it's the most entertaining, the writing and dialogue are both so sharp and witty, second to none.
SOA is ok, it starts and stays strong for a few seasons but loses steam in the second half of the series. SOA's final season was one of the worst I've seen while Justified's final run was one of the more satisfying conclusions to a series. -
Bandit-One — 9 years ago(December 22, 2016 03:14 AM)
I remember watching Walton Goggins in "Shanghai Noon", "House of 1000 Corpses" and "Joyride" (add. footage). I'm very happy for him that his talent was spotted and got the chance to be Shane in The Shield (even though they didn't plan him to be a main character at the beginning).
Same goes for Chiklis. I've seen him first in "Wired" around 1990. I liked his performance. Little did he know that he will become a persona non-grata after this for a while. And unrightly so.he was new in the business and took a job. What's wrong with that. He did fine in the movie. But being attacked so long by John Belushi's family and friends was more than unfair. Belushi is a legend, an icon. But he's no saint. Why be so mad at Chiklis. I'm glad he got out of it, his talent got finally appreciated and eventually became Vic Mackey.
"Pizz on you and pizz on your law!"- Rubber Duck (Convoy)-
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Naphthous — 9 years ago(December 28, 2016 01:59 AM)
I find your moral assessments of the characters extremely baffling.
You "hated" Claudette for obeying the law and doing her job - for trying to arrest a multiple-murdering drug-trading cop-killing corrupt cop - so much so that you think her impending early death is deserved.
You skewer Olivia because "Like she didn't have dirt on her" as though there were some kind of equivalency between what she did and what Vic did, which isn't even remotely true. You think her confession would take hours, the way his did?
And then you "always liked Vic" (!) despite him having done vastly worse than either of those characters, especially Claudette. You know, Claudette also "always got the job done," with the one exception of not getting to bust Vic, and she never cheated to do it.
And, while Claudette's early death has you shrugging your shoulders, Ronnie's arrest
for doing a bunch of terrible things
"broke your heart."
That's all pretty messed up, in my opinion.
The rule of law exists for a very good reason. It is a big deal if those whose duty is to uphold the law casually disregard it, as the Strike Team did routinely. I think you need to give this a little more thought. Vic and his guys are as guilty as hell and deserved everything they got (and Vic a lot worse). -
Bandit-One — 9 years ago(December 28, 2016 03:13 AM)
Sorry to disappoint you pal. Just one or two things. I don't think I was the only one who like the Vic-character. He was driving the series and kept people watching. He's the ultimate Anti-Hero. And that in a time where TV-Series weren't that big or straight-forward yet. Vic was / is loved by the audience. Even when the producers brought the great Forest Whitaker to show the audience how bad Vic really was.what happened? The watchers at home clearly took Vic's side.to the surprise of the producers/screenwriters.
And also I'm definitely not the only one shedding a tear for Ronnie. Read through the forums to check
Law.exists, yes. And that's good! I don't defend Vic on killing Terry. But it takes a beep to smell beep Vic Mackey cleaned up the streets.and broke the law numerous times doing so. But he also took a load of bad guys with. The law fails how many times? Then you need guys like Vic to clean up the mess.
It it right? Well, I guess not. But the world is also not a happy and innocent place and too many criminals walk away free. That's sadly how it is.
But hey, I don't feel wrong rooting for Vic and the Strike Team. Great actors, great characters (I remind you: It's a TV-Series, not a documentary). And I don't feel wrong to dislike some of the "clean" and law-abiding characters. There's no good - there's no bad. There are only grey areas left nowadays.
"Pizz on you and pizz on your law!"- Rubber Duck (Convoy)-
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Naphthous — 9 years ago(December 28, 2016 03:22 AM)
There's a difference between loving a character and making a moral judgment about him/her. Yes, Vic is a great character and drives the series. You asserted that his actions were morally justifiable, though, which is totally different. I specifically avoided your criticisms/praise of characters that were based on the quality of the character rather than his/her moral standing (you said you liked Billings as a character, for example, but never tried to justify him morally - this I have no issue with).
Question for you: What makes you think Vic cleaned up more mess than he made? That seems like a large assumption to me.
But even if we could assume that were true, it doesn't excuse his wrongdoing. Let's look at the money train alone - that money could have funded the police instead of going into his pockets. That is stealing from the public. Or perhaps knowledge of the operation could have been used to better disrupt the mob. Who's to say? Either way, it's a blow to law enforcement in order to personally profit the Strike Team.
Criminals do indeed walk free in our world - and in this show, Vic is one of them. Something else that happens in our world is law enforcement acting above the law, which results in harm to innocent people and loss of faith in our institutions.
There is a lot of gray area, but there are also things that are clearly good and bad if you reason them out.