[Courtney]

It's the big city vs. the old west. The law vs. no law. Let's go.

The Shield



vs.

Deadwood (had to get a pic of my girl Jane in)



Poll closes Wednesday, October 24th, at 10:30 CST!!!

[The Jewish Cunthead]

Goddamn it, this could easily be my final. Swearengen vs. Mackey. I can't decide yet.

[Lori]

Calling in all favors. If I ever helped you out, and you'd like to repay it, please do not let my favorite show lose to Deadwood.

[DevSop]

Voted for The Shield for ya Lori.

[Courtney]

Please vote Deadwood. I'll vote for anything over in the comedy thread. Anything that anybody wants me to. I have to see Deadwood in the finals.

[williamssl]

lori said:

Calling in all favors. If I ever helped you out, and you'd like to repay it, please do not let my favorite show lose to Deadwood.

You've helped me. I've helped you. Not sure who owes who anything, if anything.

But my vote is yours.

[Lori]

Yes, thank you both, and everyone else. More Shield votes, I want to see a landslide!

[Batman]

Hmm. Convince me. I mean, I'm biased against HBO, I don't like the idea of TV that expects me to pay extra, but Deadwood strikes me as something I just might take a chance on renting a first season DVD one of these days.

The Shield, I've caught a couple of times, and it seemed entertaining enough. But I was kind of confused about who the hell I'm supposed to root for. Is Mackey a crooked cop? It sure looks like it. How am I supposed to root for a crooked cop?

[Courtney]

Deadwood:

Classic Al

Mine and Solly's Favorite Chinaman

Wu, Swear-jinn, and the Jew

Al on Annexation

[Batman]

Mmmyeah. After viewing those, I'm thinking I'm gonna have to abstain, unless Lori can give me a reason to give a fuck about The Shield.

When I was thinking to myself, "what the fuck is lower than a fucking crooked cop?" "pimp" was one of the things that crossed my mind.

[Lori]

Yes, he's a crooked cop, but somehow you manage to love him anyway.

And it's not just about Vic (although he is my favorite part), the entire cast is amazing and the writing is incredible. The other detectives all work perfectly together, Dutch brings something nerdy to the table, Claudette is the moral conscience, Aceveda is the smarmy boss who didn't earn his job, and you even have Julian as the reformed-gay Christian officer. There is no black and white, it's all shades of grey, making it hard to hate Vic even when he does fucked up things. And let's see, he manages to shoot another cop, rob an Armenian money train, outsmart numerous gangsters, police, politicians, and IAD, and get away with everything almost scott-free. Honorable mentions go out to Glenn Close and Forest Whitaker as well, for spicing up the show.


Some of his best one-liners:




One of my favorite scenes ever, say goodbye to Armadillo's face.




I'm at work and I'm having a tough time finding more clips. If you lived nearby, I already would have made you watch the entire show, just as I have for everyone I know. I own all 6 seasons, and have seen the whole thing at least 4 times through.

[Lucky]

lori said:

There is no black and white, it's all shades of grey, making it hard to hate Vic even when he does fucked up things.

Actually its mostly black with a LITTLE grey and a tiny bit of white. Don't be fooled. Vic is evil. He's scum that by all rights should be rotting away in a jail cell for life or sitting on death row. He is NOT a tortured hero or a man who has made mistakes. He's a bad person. The female fanbase of the show just lusts for him.

That's actually my only complaint about the show, that Vic is so often treated by the fanbase as something he's not and that the show seemed to downplay his actions for a couple of seasons there and help us forget what he really was. Still haven't watched Season 6 but even when they bring up what a prick he is again in Seasons 4 and 5 they always present it in a different light, essentially introducing a WORSE character or two than him (or at least one we're less sympathetic to) to try and downplay his deeds. I'm not a fan of that at all. Vic is simply evil scum. But so is Sawyer from Lost and the ladies love him too. It happens.

Its still a great show. But no, there's not a pure hero in there unless its Claudette and she's not set up to be the one you follow along. So knowing that you, Serg, prefer a more clean cut escapism form of entertainment I don't think you'd be a fan of the show.

Then again I love the show and I do NOT root for Vic. I root for Vic to get fucking taken down once and for all so that there's a little justice in his little world. And if this series ends with anything other than Vic rotting in a cell then fuck it, I'll never watch it again.

[Batman]

lori said:

Yes, he's a crooked cop, but somehow you manage to love him anyway.

Yeah, I kinda doubt it.

One of my favorite scenes ever, say goodbye to Armadillo's face.

Gee, that was a little gay. Girls love their slash . . .


Yeah, sorry, I'm abstaining.

[Lori]

Yeah, it is definitely not only females that love Vic Mackey. I've shown the show to a lot of people, and despite Vic's being "evil", most people seem to like him anyway. I would venture so far as to say you are one of the few people who truly hates him. I could be wrong, but in my experience, I've yet to find anyone who didn't like him for very long. You do see him do good things, and it's all mixed in with the bad, which is why I say it's varying sides of grey.

[Lucky]

No, you're right. Its rude and kind of chauvinistic for me to say its just women. I mean women who are fans of the show DO seem to lust for him in that "bad boy" way like Lost's Sawyer. But dudes enjoy him as well. He's tough and amusing and isn't pure evil.

But hey ain't grey. I mean, Hitler was nice to someone. Vic has committed more than his share of murders and hurt innocent people. He's threatened mothers, kidnapped people, tortured, framed, and all other manner of things. He's a bad man, pure and simple. He loves his kids and his friends and that's great. And part of him wants to keep people safe. But he's allowed his greed, anger, and selfishness turn him into an evil man who can not be forgiven. That's what the show SHOULD be about. And if the final season isn't all about the truth coming out and him seeing justice for his sins? BS. But I have yet to watch Season Six beyond a couple of episodes so its possible things changed somewhat there.

I like the character. He's fun and all. But he's a horribly bad person and if the story ends with him walking away? Ugh. That's bad storytelling if you ask me. Its incomplete at the moment (and again, I'm a chapter behind you).

[The Jewish Cunthead]

I think I mentioned this in the Shield thread a while ago. Shawn Ryan was just as surprised as anyone else when Mackey got this huge following. There's no way Mackey's gonna walk in the finale, not with Shane holding the Crowley murder over his head.

Anyway I still can't decide. Deadwood is the better show but The Shield is more entertaining.

[Lori]

You really think so? I can't see it ending with Vic going to jail, not after all the shit he's gotten away with. I see an elaborate plan to get the info from Shane, and then Shane taking a bullet. I'd be happy with that. Sometimes I watch the scene from House of 1000 Corpses where Walton Goggins gets shot in the head, just for kicks.

[edit]

And Lucky, you're right, he isn't a great person. I couldn't tell you exactly why everyone loves him. I think he's badass. Would I like him if he were someone I actually knew? Maybe not. But he's a damn compelling character, as well as is everyone else on the show. I like Dutch too, even though he's kind of a whiny douche. It's not just Vic that I'm rooting for here, though it is entirely true that I lust after him. That show kept me captivated for 5 straight seasons. I wasn't as huge a fan of season 6, but I'm waiting for the final season before condemning where they went with it.

[Lucky]

He HAS to go to jail or die. Its just a horrible story if a cop killer gets to walk away the hero. Like I said, if he's not in jail or dead then I don't think I'll rewatch that damn show once after it ends. Realistically the proper story would seem to me to be Shane dies, Vic goes to jail. But if he walks its just immoral and wrong.

[Courtney]

Just a reminder that the polls close tonight.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

I voted for Deadwood to add some more drama, no pun intended. I really don't have a problem with either show losing to The Sopranos.

[Courtney]

Most tense tiebreaker EVAR!!! My roomie Lee is flipping the coin. Tiebreaker says:

The Shield wins. Dammit.

[Lori]

MUAHAHAHA! I love that coin. Save it and send it to me.