168-591: The Shield is an American crime drama television created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis . The series premiered on FX on March 12, 2002 and ended on November 25, 2008, totaling 88 episodes over seven seasons, plus one additional mini-episode. Captain David Aceveda , seeking to usurp the current black City Council representative of Farmington by swaying the Latino vote, looks to rid his precinct, The Barn, of corruption, starting with Detective Vic Mackey and
336-439: A 15-minute "promosode", which premiered on Google Video on February 15, 2007, to bridge the gap between seasons 5 and 6. The episode focuses on the aftermath of Lemanksky's death, including his funeral and flashbacks as co-workers reflect upon his life. The episode was said to have cost between $ 500,000 and $ 1 million to produce. It was on bud.tv for four weeks and later released to AOL and other media outlets. The "promosode"
504-707: A Series, Drama , and Forest Whitaker was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television . The series won the award for Best Television Series, Drama and received a nomination for that category the following year. For the TCA Awards , the first season received nominations for Program of the Year , Outstanding New Program , Outstanding Achievement in Drama , and Chiklis won for Individual Achievement in Drama . The series received nominations again for Outstanding Achievement in Drama for
672-532: A Television Series – Drama , and winning the award for the first season. The first season also earned the series the award for Best Television Series – Drama . Glenn Close was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama . For the Satellite Awards , the series received seven nominations. CCH Pounder won two consecutive times for Best Actress in a Series, Drama , Chiklis received two nominations with one win for Best Actor in
840-460: A backroom deal to save his and Claudette's careers. A rift forms between Lowe and Sofer over the seizures policy. Aceveda uses the seizures policy to get more power on the city council and ultimately push his own agenda. Season 5 premiered on January 10, 2006, and concluded on March 21, 2006, consisting of 11 episodes. The LAPD's Internal Affairs Division opens an investigation led by Lt. Jon Kavanaugh against Lemansky, purportedly for not reporting
1008-434: A beating from his coworkers after being outed as gay, has toughened considerably, leading Claudette to feel alarmed that he may wash out. Danny makes a deal with Aceveda to be reinstated provided she give him pertinent information about other officers. Monica Rawling ( Glenn Close ) takes over the role as Farmington's new captain, and implements federal asset forfeiture laws to seize any property tied to drug dealing, using
1176-505: A camera in Vendrell's car. The camera captures Mitchell ordering Vendrell to kill Mackey, an act that leads to Mitchell's eventual arrest. After the Strike Team is re-formed following Mitchell's arrest, Gardocki and the rest of the team are investigated by Internal Affairs Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh due to their suspected involvement in various crimes. Kavanaugh finds discrepancies in some of
1344-499: A consecutive nomination Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the second season. For the fourth season, Glenn Close was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and CCH Pounder was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series . For the Golden Globe Awards , the series received five nominations, with Chiklis receiving three consecutive nominations for Best Performance by an Actor in
1512-636: A controversial asset forfeiture program designed to clean up Farmington, by destroying the neighborhood drug trade. The program was extremely unpopular with the local citizens, yet she kept the seizures in place, believing they did more good than harm. Rawling began her police career in Farmington, where she started as a patrol officer partnered with Rich Nelson. In " Back in the Hole ", drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell reveals that Rawling and Nelson had an affair, but
1680-556: A cop drama would be like on a premium cable network like HBO and Showtime , taking into account the edge that shows like Homicide: Life on the Street and NYPD Blue had brought to the genre. While trying to decide a direction, the Rampart scandal within the LAPD was exposed, and Ryan took inspiration from those events to craft out a pilot script. He also recently became a father, and wrote into
1848-412: A criminal informant's house. On the way to a covert meeting with Lemansky, Gardocki and Mackey are tailed by Kavanaugh's agents. By the time they escape their pursuers and arrive at the rendezvous point, Vendrell had killed Lemansky with a grenade in order to prevent him from giving up evidence on the other members of the Strike Team. Gardocki begins to suspect Vendrell's involvement in the murder, but
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#17328631443462016-405: A criticism as you can make." He adds "If Snell gave the kind of busy, expressive, voluble performance that Karnes does [...] his character, would fail completely. [...] Snell plays Ronnie quietly, closed off, giving away so little, because that's who Ronnie is. He's someone who could keep this knowledge secret and no one, including the audience, would suspect anything [...] the one who always counsels
2184-412: A drug dealer and never turned in as evidence. Rawling, having lost her job as Captain, said it was someone else's problem now. This eventually leads to IAD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh 's investigation into the Strike Team. Sergeant Danielle "Danny" Sofer is a fictional Los Angeles Police Department sergeant in the television drama series The Shield . Sofer is played by Catherine Dent . Danny started
2352-458: A fifth member on the Strike Team not in Mackey's circle go astray. The pilot episode concludes with Mackey, suspicious of the loyalty of the latest Strike Team recruit, Terry Crowley, fatally shooting him during an arrest and framing their suspect. This sets in motion events that loom over the Strike Team and continue throughout the series. The show has an ensemble cast featuring the other officers in
2520-503: A full beard in the Season Three, to cover up the scarring caused by Mexican drug lord Armadillo Quintero . Gardocki's personality changes somewhat over the course of the show. Initially he is somewhat of a geek, speaking awkwardly with a woman during a prostitution sting (and being mocked for it by his teammates). After Season Three begins, he takes on more of an extroverted manner, participating in more dangerous, hands-on police work with
2688-407: A large sum of the "Money Train" loot is missing, and openly accuses Mackey and Vendrell of stealing the money. When the real thief is revealed as Vendrell's girlfriend , Gardocki states that it is not safe for any member to use the loot, given that the police are still looking for the identity of the people behind the heist. Lemansky ultimately burns the remaining money from the robbery, fearing that
2856-480: A lockbox, and leaving. The Shield The Shield is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt police officers, it was originally advertised as Rampart in reference to the true-life Rampart Division police scandal , on which
3024-451: A man of raping her. Vic and Lem view a personal conversation between Kavanaugh and Sadie from the interrogation room camera, which Kavanaugh quickly realizes is turned on. He rushes out in a rage, and Vic and Lem quickly exit the security monitor room, but Kavanaugh sees them and arrests Lem on the spot. Kavanaugh freezes the Strike Team's assets but Vic manages to secure bail money for Lem and assists in providing safe passage for him to leave
3192-473: A middleman to help their family escape the police. Vic fails an attempt on Shane and Mara's lives after tracking them down to a hospital using information from both Corrine and Ronnie, driving Corrine to her breaking point. She contacts the Barn and agrees to help stop Vic as long as he never learns of her involvement. Dutch and Claudette begin a full-scale investigation into Vic and Ronnie in a final attempt to take down
3360-579: A mother; Vendrell's rocky, new marriage; Lemansky's growing fear for the safety of the Strike Team; Claudette's battle with illness and Lowe's internal conflicts between his Christian beliefs and his homosexuality . The Shield and the Strike Team were inspired by the Rampart Division Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) unit within the Los Angeles Police Department. Rampart
3528-474: A new backer for his mayoral campaign, real estate developer Cruz Pezuela. After Pezuela begins offering information into the pending San Marcos massacre investigation, Vic discovers that Pezuela has ties to the Mexican cartel and attempts to use this as blackmail against Pezuela to save his own job. In turn, Pezuela offers him a photo of Aceveda's sexual assault. Vic initially tries to use the photo against Aceveda, but
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#17328631443463696-524: A plan to set up an arranged meeting between the Mexicans and Armenians with Shane as the middleman. Unbeknownst to Shane, Vic and Ronnie formulated the plan as a way to resolve all of their issues, including vengeance for Lem. Ronnie tampers with his sidearm in an attempt to get him killed by Mexican hitmen sent to kill Rezian and his men, who, along with Shane, think the meeting is to purchase the blackmail box that would subsequently be given back to Pezuela and end
3864-537: A plan to simultaneously eliminate both Vendrell and the leadership of the Armenian mob. Their plan succeeds in eliminating the Armenians, but Vendrell escapes and realizes he had been set up. Vendrell responds by attempting to murder both Mackey and Gardocki; this too fails, and he is exposed for conspiring to murder his two teammates. Vendrell flees, increasing pressure on Mackey and Gardocki to eliminate him before he tells
4032-407: A serial killer from their past to confess. Steve Billings functions as the interim "jellyfish yes-man" Captain of the Barn while Danny deals with pregnancy and refuses to divulge the baby's father, who is eventually revealed to be Vic. Julien trains Tina, a beautiful but incompetent rookie officer, and at long last Claudette gets her opportunity for promotion to captain of the Barn, which she accepts on
4200-496: A serial killer targeting prostitutes while dealing with their own problems in The Barn. Vic, separately, has to deal with the growing rift between him and his wife Corrine . After learning his son Matthew is autistic, Vic uses his illicit police activities to pay for special schooling for him. Due to Vic's reckless behavior, Corrine takes the children and disappears, leaving a note to Vic to not to come find them. The Barn discovers that
4368-455: A serious relationship with a woman named Mara and eventually proposes to her when she reveals her pregnancy. Mara encourages Shane to be more independent from Vic, even after discovering the money from the heist. This conflict between Vic and Shane soon becomes personal, leaving a deep rift between the two. Dutch opens a case of a serial rapist and finds himself becoming more obsessed than usual without Claudette's backing. Julien, having suffering
4536-503: A sexual relationship with a black teenage girl. Walton Goggins said in an interview that he didn't agree with or enjoy saying Shane's bigoted views; coincidentally or not, Shane was less vocal in his prejudices in the latter years of the series. In Season 4, Shane was partnered with "Army", a Mexican-American detective and veteran of the Iraq War . The two became close friends, with Army notably referring to their pairing as "the hick and
4704-511: A show about an antihero but believed that the cop genre had become tired. However, Reilly was amazed by Ryan's script, and greenlit the show in mid-2001. Reilly worked with Ryan to help determine how much violence and nudity could be used within the show, as unlike HBO, FX was an ad-sponsored cable channel and beholden to certain content considerations. As they were working towards this, the September 11 attacks occurred, and in their aftermath, Fox
4872-487: A single episode of the show. Griffin later created Terriers and was reunited with Shawn Ryan as a fellow executive producer. Time magazine's James Poniewozik ranked The Shield #8 in his list of the Top 10 Returning Series of 2007 and later included it in his list of the top 100 greatest TV shows of all time. Entertainment Weekly named it the 8th-best TV show of the 2000s, saying, "Det. Vic Mackey didn't just clean up
5040-446: A small-time criminal to kill Armadillo by passing him a knife after he is arrested and put into the cage by Danny, leading to Danny being fired. Separately, Vic hires a private investigator to search for Corrine and the children, and discovers her seemingly preparing to file for divorce. He moves out of his home and preemptively files first in an attempt to gain a better chance of retaining his parenting rights, but this only serves to widen
5208-463: A soft reputation within Hollywood based on his roles from The Commish and Daddio , and felt that he needed to have a change of pace in future roles, as he was finding himself cast for older, overweight parts. Chiklis spent six months away from acting and losing a significant amount of weight, and for his audition on The Shield , had shaved his head. Ryan was taken by this new appearance feeling it
List of The Shield episodes - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-524: A son, Jackson. Shane reveals in season 1 that he originally comes from Atlanta, Georgia . He reveals to Lem in season 5 that Mara is pregnant with the couple's second child. When Terry Crowley —an undercover informant sent by the Justice Department to expose corruption in the Strike Team—was murdered by Vic, Shane was the only witness. The other two members of the Strike Team were unaware that it
5544-501: A sort of right-hand man, despite Aceveda's protests. Despite a few arguments, their relationship was usually cordial. While Mackey serves as a good cop, he was also a political liability. Early in the season, Rawling opens an investigation into Mackey to prove to Aceveda that Mackey was clean. However, IAD confirmed Monica's suspicions about the Strike Team correct when they found a brick of heroin in Lemansky's car that he confiscated from
5712-412: A stash of drugs he had taken, but in actuality to find evidence of the Strike Team's misdeeds. Mackey learns of Kavanaugh's true intent, and tries to humiliate Kavanaugh to show the investigation is personal. Enraged, Kavanaugh puts on more pressure and charges Lemansky. The Strike Team attempts to smuggle Lemansky out of the country, but Vendrell, fearing Lemansky will talk, kills him with a grenade, ending
5880-406: A stove burner only for Armadillo to later retaliate by doing the same to Ronnie and using his new leverage against the Strike Team. With the fallout of Gilroy's arrest, Vic and Aceveda find themselves under scrutiny of an independent auditor who is determined to find and expose any corruption in The Barn. As Vic and Aceveda struggle to stay one step ahead, their tactics draw the ire of Claudette, who
6048-537: A subtle warning to Vic unaware that IAD will be investigating him and the Strike Team. Mackey tells her to do the same and wished each other good luck for the future before departing. Right after closing the door, Rawling broke down in tears, visibly devastated by having been fired. She was the only member of the Farmington Police Division to not attend the celebration at the local bar of Mitchell's arrest. Her final scene shows her alone in her house, sitting on
6216-551: A teenager associated with the new One-Niner boss. Kavanaugh, convinced that Vic killed Lem and desperate to close his case after being given a 24-hour turnaround deadline by the Assistant Chief, resorts to planting evidence and coercing witnesses to lie about the Strike Team. Dutch and Claudette begin to suspect Kavanaugh's integrity after holes in his investigation are discovered and Corrine reveals that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her. Kavanaugh eventually confesses to his actions and
6384-490: A truce with Vendrell in order to deal with the threat. When Gardocki expresses refusal to work with Vendrell, Mackey promises that they will deal with Vendrell after the threat from the Armenians is resolved. Meanwhile, Gardocki is promoted to lead the Strike Team in light of Mackey's upcoming forced retirement. This is done to marginalize Mackey during his final weeks on the job, as Gardocki would be held responsible for any wrongdoing on Mackey's part. Mackey and Gardocki craft
6552-419: A writer. Scott Brazil was a co-executive producer for the first season. He became an executive producer for the second season. He was a regular director for the series until his death during production of the sixth season. Brazil and Ryan had worked together on Nash Bridges . Several of the series more junior writers became executive producers during its run. Glen Mazzara was an executive story editor for
6720-523: Is a fictional character from the FX television show The Shield , played by Glenn Close , who received an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance, and Golden Globe Award nomination as Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama. Monica Rawling succeeded David Aceveda as Captain of the Farmington precinct. A morally strong woman, she tried to redeem Vic Mackey and Ronnie Gardocki by involving them in
6888-507: Is a fictional character on the FX Networks police drama television series The Shield . He is portrayed by actor Walton Goggins . Shane is a police detective who has been heavily involved in the dealings of Vic Mackey 's Strike Team, since its formation. He starts out as Vic's best friend and Lem's long-time good friend, but falls out with them multiple times during the course of the series. In season 3, Shane marries Mara Sewell and has
List of The Shield episodes - Misplaced Pages Continue
7056-433: Is also one of the special features included on the season 5 DVD set. Season 6 premiered on April 3, 2007, and concluded on June 5, 2007, consisting of 10 episodes. The Strike Team struggles with Lemansky's death, and suspect one of the gangs committed it, while Vendrell remains quiet regarding his role. Kavanaugh continues his investigation outside of Internal Affairs, but is eventually forced to admit to planting evidence and
7224-449: Is arrested. Vic and Ronnie hunt Guardo Lima, a drug lord and overseer of a grenade factory that the Barn raided prior to Lem's death, where Shane pocketed the grenade he later used to kill Lem. After capturing Guardo, Vic tortures and murders him while Shane and Ronnie watch. Shane's subsequent behavior arouses suspicion in Vic and Ronnie, and after reviewing a report by Kavanaugh of the night Lem
7392-483: Is arrested. Mackey learns he is being forced into early retirement and tries to fight back by proving his value. Tensions on the Strike Team led Vendrell to admit to killing Lemansky, and knowing that Mackey will likely kill him, he turns to the Armenian mob for protection, only to expose the team's role in the money-train heist, putting their families at risk. Vendrell writes up all their crimes and mails duplicates to use as blackmail against Mackey. Claudette fights to keep
7560-506: Is available for streaming on Hulu as part of FX's catalog. All seven seasons are available on Netflix throughout Latin America. On August 28, 2015, Shawn Ryan announced that he was revisiting the series for a 4K conversion. In August 2017, Ryan announced the release had been delayed until 2018. In July 2018, Mill Creek Entertainment announced it would be releasing the complete series of The Shield on Blu-ray and that it would include all
7728-450: Is complimentary of Snell's performance, writing that he "turned a non-speaking extra part in the pilot into a crucial role as strike team member Ronnie Gardocki. IGN share similar sentiments, adding "For much of the series, David Rees Snell was underused as Ronnie Gardocki, but the last couple of seasons deftly made use of his portrayal as the quiet workhorse of the team, as we saw more of what made Ronnie tick." Detective Shane Vendrell
7896-495: Is determined to arrest Armadillo after he rapes a young girl. Claudette, initially reluctant to take a leadership role, eventually agrees to take over as The Barn's Captain after realizing she can't stay neutral anymore. Meanwhile, Danny fatally shoots a Muslim man who threatened her during a confrontation and Julien is unable to corroborate her story. The man's widow threatens to sue the department and creates problems for Danny both professionally and personally. Shane and Lem convince
8064-474: Is dragged from the premises as the entire Barn stares at Vic in contempt. Later, Claudette admits to Dutch she’s dying but will remain Captain as long as she can while Corrine and the children arrive at their new home. Olivia, angry that Vic used her, relegates him to a job writing daily analysis reports at a desk for ICE. Vic, shocked by this information after assuming he'd be working on the street, argues it wasn’t
8232-430: Is finalized, but later comes to believe that his ex-wife is in legal trouble for unwittingly assisting Mackey in his illegal actions. Fearful for his ex-wife's immediate future, he agrees to the immunity deal for himself and his ex-wife. As a condition of the deal, he is required to confess to the Strike Team's various illegal actions, implicating Gardocki in a number of them. He lies to Gardocki, telling him that immunity
8400-410: Is forced to kill an Arab man, and the repercussions haunt her through several episodes as she is continually harassed. In season 5, she is assigned to desk duty as a result of her pregnancy. The identity of the father is unknown and is the subject of an office pool among her co-workers. Even though she is driven to the hospital by Julien, in her hospital bed after giving birth, Vic asks if Danny will tell
8568-598: Is initially unable to find evidence to justify his suspicions. Eventually, Mackey discovers the truth and threatens to kill Vendrell. Vendrell responds by creating a document detailing the various crimes committed by the Strike Team, informing Mackey that the document—containing enough evidence to put Mackey and Gardocki in prison for the rest of their lives – will find its way to the police if Mackey carries out his plans for revenge. Vendrell approaches Gardocki with an offer to form an alliance against Mackey. When Gardocki declines, Vendrell informs him of Mackey's involvement in
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#17328631443468736-522: Is injured during a robbery. Shane attempts to blackmail Vic one final time, but Vic gloats to Shane about his immunity deal and Shane's inability to use the Strike Team's crimes as leverage. Shane, trying to prove he was always the better husband and father, reveals Corrine's betrayal. Officially out of options, Shane goes back to the house, where a neighbor spots him. He poisons Mara and Jackson and shoots himself after writing out his confession as Claudette and her team arrive to arrest him. Vic and Ronnie lead
8904-406: Is murdered and the Barn is under intense media scrutiny. Vic and the Strike Team find the murderer but uncover a bigger conspiracy which has Dutch enthralled. All the while, Shane is trying to keep his face out of the media when he accidentally sets up a chance to earn the team much money recovering stolen art, and Julien and Danny struggle to realize when is the right time to go "by the book" and when
9072-442: Is not. When uniformed officers spot the Strike Team with the stolen art, they have no choice but to do things the right way. Aceveda is warned to drop the journalists investigation or risk losing political backing. He drops the case which leaves Dutch feeling disheartened. The first five seasons were originally distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for region 1. However, in 2008, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment became
9240-441: Is off the clock". Later episodes would reveal that Vendrell considered Gardocki to be Mackey's "whipping boy", due to the fact that Mackey often has Gardocki run errands and leaves him out of major decisions involving the Strike Team. Despite this, Vendrell was visibly annoyed and upset when Tavon Garris momentarily replaced Gardocki after the latter's hospitalization, though in the end Gardocki returned and Garris also stayed. During
9408-452: Is partnered up with Tina Hanlon and the two clash frequently as Danny feels that Tina is too inexperienced to be relied upon while Tina feels that Danny doesn't respect her or her skills. Things escalate when both women fix their eye on Kevin Hiatt , though Danny later admits that it was only to see if she could still "get her girl on." Later on, after hearing a confession, Danny consoles Dutch in
9576-446: Is shielded by his deal with ICE; however, Vic then learns that he will be required to work as a desk analyst at ICE, with no official power or responsibilities. The series ends as Mackey, hearing sirens in the distance, holsters his gun (which he was supposed to surrender as a condition of his deal) and walks out, his destination unknown. The series was created by Shawn Ryan . Ryan served as an executive producer for all seven seasons and
9744-492: Is successful, while Aceveda wins the city council primary. In the aftermath of the money train heist, the Strike Team resolves to lie low and avoid any controversy but quickly find themselves marginalized and lacking vital information. When some of the money from the heist is revealed to be marked for a federal case, the Team struggles to stay ahead of Dutch, who begins to suspect Vic. The Armenian mob sends hitman Margos Dezerian to find
9912-411: Is under investigation by IAD, thinking he might sell out the team to save himself, but did not suggest violent retribution, unlike what Shane Vendrell eventually did. Upon Lemansky's death at the hands of Shane, Gardocki, like Mackey, wants to find the culprit and kill him. Gardocki still seeks to kill the murderer when it became clear it was Vendrell, even more so than Mackey. In the final season, Gardocki
10080-409: Is unwilling to forgive Shane for what he did to Lem and constantly reminds Vic that Lem must be avenged. Gardocki evolves from being a "feature player who maybe [gets] a line or two, to one of the show's aces in the hole." With both Snell and Walton Goggins praised for delivering "some of their best work" in series seven. Salon are especially complimentary of the character's role in the climax of
10248-485: Is watching his reaction in the security monitor room, Vic stares into the camera before ripping it out of the wall in a rage. As Vic exits the room, he furiously says to bill him for it and Claudette replies that the "first payment's due now", before prompting Dutch to arrest Ronnie publicly for all the crimes Vic confessed to. Ronnie, led to believe that Vic that he had gotten immunity for both of them, screams that Vic betrayed him as Vic attempts to explain his actions. Ronnie
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#173286314434610416-524: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time. The Shield follows the activities of an experimental division of the Los Angeles Police Department set up in the fictional Farmington district ("the Farm") of Los Angeles , a district rife with gang-related violence, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Operating out of a converted church ("the Barn"), they work to maintain
10584-457: The Armenian Mafia in season 2 and having a police dog maul a rape suspect. The timeline of the seven seasons of the show covers approximately three years. Season 1 premiered on March 12, 2002, and concluded on June 4, 2002, consisting of 13 episodes. The season deals with Mackey and Vendrell covering up their shooting of Terry Crowley, a plant on the Strike Team placed by David Aceveda and
10752-483: The Parents Television Council . The series received six Primetime Emmy Awards nominations during its series run. For the first season, Michael Chiklis won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series , and the pilot episode received nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series , for Clark Johnson and Shawn Ryan respectively. Chiklis received
10920-721: The video game , was released for the PlayStation 2 on January 9, 2007, and for the PC on January 22, 2007. It is a third-person shooter that bridges the gap between the third and fourth seasons by exploring the gang war between the Byz-Lats and the One-Niners. It received generally negative reviews. Monica Rawling The following is a list of character summaries from the FX Networks television series The Shield . Captain Monica Rawling
11088-586: The Armenian Money Train robbery along with his decision not to come forward with the revelation that Mackey had murdered Detective Crowley as Ronnie is being handcuffed). Incredulous that Mackey betrayed and lied to him, Gardocki explodes with anger at Mackey as he condemns his former friend's now hypocritical rhetoric about "protecting the team" as well as his preventing Ronnie from fleeing the country several days earlier. Ronnie's demeanor during this scene contrasts greatly with his overall personality throughout
11256-506: The Armenian hitman sent to kill them. Vic learns from Claudette that the Chief plans to force him into early retirement. Claudette makes strong efforts to solve a brutal mass murder after learning the Barn could be shut down if no improvements are made by the time quarterly crime statistics are released. Julien joins the Strike Team under the leadership of Kevin Hiatt, brought in as Vic's replacement but nowhere near as effective as Vic. Aceveda finds
11424-482: The Armenians that Vic spearheaded the money train robbery. As the gang war spins out of control, Vic cozies up to ICE Agent Olivia Murray as a way to bring more weight down on the cartel and to secure an ICE position for himself and Ronnie, along with complete immunity for their past crimes. Shane, despite holding his written confession as leverage over Vic and Ronnie, agrees to help stop the Armenian threat in order to protect his own family. Vic and Ronnie inform Shane of
11592-622: The Barn from being shut down. Dutch tries to adjust to his new partnership with Billings and his crush on Hanlon. Sofer, recently promoted to Sergeant, tries to find balance being a working single mother. Lowe joins the Strike Team now under the command of Kevin Hiatt. Aceveda finds a strong financial backer who may be too good to be true. Season 6 was originally intended to be aired as the second half of season 5, but FX decided to refer to these 10 episodes as season 6 instead. Season 7 premiered on September 2, 2008, and concluded on November 25, 2008, consisting of 13 episodes. Mackey and Aceveda discover
11760-517: The Chief immediately complied, Rawling was allowed to remain at the Barn until Mitchell was delivered to the police station and formally arrested for the Farmington cop killings. Vic informally visited Rawling one last time in her residence in Farmington. She has a small chat with him about the future and asks if he ever thinks about how things would end for him, Vic responds that he will take things as they come. Monica tells him to promise her to be mindful of his actions and to take good care of himself,
11928-520: The Department of Justice who have been suspicious of the Strike Team's activities. Dutch believes a serial killer is targeting prostitutes. Lowe struggles with his sexual orientation and his Christian morals making him a target for blackmail. Sofer, who is having an affair with Mackey, finds herself both concerned and frustrated while training Lowe. Season 2 premiered on January 7, 2003, and concluded April 1, 2003, consisting of 13 episodes. The first half of
12096-436: The Farmington district. This includes detectives Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach , Steve Billings and Claudette Wyms , uniformed officers Sgt. Danielle "Danny" Sofer , Julien Lowe , and Tina Hanlon . The series has a variety of subplots, notably Aceveda's political aspirations and his suffering a sexual assault; Mackey's struggle to cope with a failing marriage, two autistic children, and rebellious eldest daughter; Danny becoming
12264-451: The Mexican cartel is looking to influence Farmington, and work with ICE to take them down. Mackey also uses the opportunity to secure a position at ICE in exchange for immunity for his crimes on the Strike Team. The Barn gains significant evidence to arrest the Strike Team. Vendrell attempts to kill Mackey, but it goes awry, making him and his family fugitives. With no hold over Mackey, he kills himself and his family. Mackey successfully busts
12432-587: The Mexican drug gangs in Farmington are uniting under a new drug lord, Armadillo Quintero, who is able to evade arrest due to lack of evidence and willing witnesses. Privately, the Strike Team learns that Armadillo has knowledge of some of their illicit activities and fear he will rat them out if he is taken to prison. They attempt to coerce Armadillo to return to Mexico by threatening to "greenlight" Armadillo's brother Navaro. Armadillo responds by having Navaro murdered himself. After Armadillo murders one of Vic's CI's, Vic loses his cool and burns half of Armadillo's face on
12600-467: The Money Train cash, Gardocki is angered, yet willing to move past it to keep Lemansky on the team so the Strike Team can remain in operation. Like the other members of the Strike Team, Gardocki is visibly touched when Lem reveals that he considers the team to be "the only family I got." When the Strike Team does dissolve, they are shown to still have a friendship. Gardocki begins to distrust Lemansky when he
12768-554: The Money Train money, his involvement with Terry Crowley's death, and other crimes more visibly committed by Mackey and Vendrell. Only in the final episodes of the series do Gardocki's crimes become known by his superiors, though his careful personality is not the cause of it. His involvement in crimes is only exposed because of his team leader and best friend Mackey, who revealed the Strike Team's criminal acts—Gardocki's included—in order to gain immunity from ICE, sending Gardocki to prison for life. Gardocki appeared in about two-thirds of
12936-483: The Strike Team re-forms. He is more willing to accept Vendrell back into the fold than Lemansky. However, after he discovers that Vendrell killed Lemansky and then drafted up a document detailing the team's crimes as part of his scheme to protect himself from reprisals of Mackey, their friendship ends once and for all. Vendrell tries to lure Gardocki away from Mackey's side, but Gardocki remains angry at Vendrell, refusing to betray Mackey or even engage in small talk with when
13104-425: The Strike Team's crimes unscathed. Gardocki's relationship with Vendrell is much more antagonistic. For the first few seasons they were shown to be good friends, albeit not as close as Shane was to the other two. This is evident in a Season One episode when Lem and Shane profit $ 10000 each from a cockfighting ring, and Vendrell gives $ 5000 to Mackey, when Lem asks about Gardocki, Vendrell simply says "Screw Ronnie! He
13272-464: The Strike Team, particularly in planning out a means for the Strike Team to hijack the Armenian mob's "Money Train," a convoy used in a money laundering operation. Gardocki, initially interested in the idea, became a much larger advocate for it after his disfigurement, coming up with an alternate method of stealing the money that bypassed the problems within the original plan. Gardocki later notices that
13440-402: The Strike Team. However, he has also been shown to have a violent side: when the Strike Team tried to break up a riot between a group of black and Hispanic gang members at a funeral home, a black gang member struck Gardocki in the back of the head with a crucifix hanging on a nearby wall. After finding out the identity of the culprit, the Strike Team tracked him down so that Gardocki could beat
13608-441: The Strike Team. Lem is able to warn Vic that he is wired and Mackey uses it against Kavanaugh to embarrass him and IAD. Kavanaugh responds by moving his investigation into the Barn, causing anxiety for everyone inside. Applying pressure to the team in any way he can, Kavanaugh finds out about Mackey's share of the money train haul after interrogating Corrine. Kavanaugh's mentally ill wife Sadie comes into play when she falsely accuses
13776-410: The Strike Team. Previously, Lem had stolen heroin as leverage for information on the disappearance of a young girl he was close to. Emolia Melendez, an informant, witnessed the theft and reported it to IAD. Finding the heroin gave IAD sufficient evidence to arrest Lem, but Kavanaugh, suspecting that Vic murdered Terry Crowley, informs Lem of his theory and coerces Lem into wearing a wire to get evidence on
13944-428: The Strike Team. This is reflective of his experiences over his time working with Mackey. Over the course of the show he is seen flirting with several women; he is also admired by Officer Tina Hanlon, though the potential relationship never develops, and during Season Seven is shown taking an attractive Asian woman back to his apartment. His calm and quiet personality sharply contrasts with the more aggressive members of
14112-555: The aftermath of the murder, Mackey and fellow conspirator Vendrell go out of their way to avoid discussing the crime in front of him. After Vendrell's estrangement from the team following his murder of Lemansky, Vendrell reveals the truth about Crowley in order to drive a wedge between the two remaining members of the Strike Team. Gardocki reveals to Mackey that he had long suspected the latter's involvement and that he understood why Mackey did what he did. Furthermore, Gardocki adds that he could have provided Mackey with emotional support after
14280-467: The baby who the father was and she tells Vic that she will let the baby know, "when he's old enough," implying that Vic is indeed Lee's father. In Season 6, Captain Claudette Wyms promotes Danny to the rank of sergeant; however, since open sergeants positions were filling rapidly, Danny was told she would have to end her maternity leave immediately in order to get a guaranteed full-time position. Danny
14448-455: The band Journey , beer, and is an avowed atheist (he implies to Shane that, unlike Vic, he is unafraid of divine wrath ). He has severe allergies (in one episode, he comments that he's allergic to "everything but sheet metal"). He appears to favor the Beretta 8045 Cougar F as his sidearm . He had a thick mustache in the first two seasons for which he was occasionally mocked for, before growing
14616-420: The cartel and the leadership of the black gangs into an ICE trap, which Aceveda uses as a publicity stunt for his mayoral campaign. They return to the Barn, where Vic is informed by Claudette of Shane’s suicide. She orders him to the interrogation room and reads Shane's suicide note before placing the crime scene photos of Shane, Mara, and Jackson's corpses on the table and leaving the room. Realizing that Claudette
14784-405: The cartel for ICE, but betrays Gardocki, who is arrested for the Strike Team's crimes. Dutch focuses on a kid he is certain will become a serial killer. Sofer attempts to keep Mackey out of their son's life. Corrine, scared when she finally realizes everything Vic is, takes her children into federal witness protection. Claudette and Dutch make one final attempt to get evidence to arrest Mackey, but he
14952-438: The city council. However, a defense attorney is killed, and the ensuing investigation leads Claudette and Dutch to discover that the victim had been a heavy drug user for the past three years. Claudette, determined to ensure justice, investigates further, losing favor with the D.A. and Barn coworkers after she reopens the attorney's closed cases against orders and resulting in her being denied the promotion to Captain. Shane enters
15120-441: The complete series box set are presented in widescreen. The Sony region 2 release of season 5 has a shortened version of the season finale—48 minutes, as opposed to the regular 67-minute version. In November 2012, all seven seasons were made available for purchase on iTunes . On February 26, 2013, Amazon.com announced the addition of the series to its Prime service, but the series is now only available for purchase. The series
15288-629: The controversial yet effective Strike Team that Mackey leads. Aceveda works with the Justice Department to bring Detective Terry Crowley onto the Strike Team to try to gain evidence to use on Vic. However, Vic is aware of Terry's informing due to his friendship with the Assistant Chief of Police, Ben Gilroy. When the Strike Team conducts a raid on the residence of Two-Time, a drug dealer, Vic and Strike Team member Detective Shane Vendrell are shot at by Two-Time, who they fire back at and kill. Vic picks up Two-Time's gun off his body and shoots Terry in
15456-434: The couch drinking a beer, in contrast to the crowded, boisterous, noisy celebration at the bar. Before Rawling arrived at the barn, Aceveda disbanded the strike team and wrote a burn notice on Mackey. This made Mackey "untradable" because no other department would take him afterwards. As Rawlings put it, he was the "red-headed stepchild of the barn before (she) came." Rawling gave Vic more responsibility, and took him on as
15624-472: The country. However, Shane worries Lem will turn. Kavanaugh orders Aceveda to lie to Vic and say that Lem had revealed the Strike Team's involvement in the robbery of the Armenian money train. Shane falls for the deception and murders Lem with a hand grenade. After Lem's body is discovered, Vic vows to find the killer. Other plots include Dutch discovering Claudette has lupus and Claudette's subsequently reaching her physical breaking point after finally getting
15792-428: The course of the series. As Ronnie is dragged away, Claudette allows a distraught Vic to finally leave the precinct, having destroyed his relationship with the Barn once and for all. One of the few elements of Gardocki's background that has been explored is his close friendship with Mackey. The season two episodes "Partners" and "Co-Pilot" established that Gardocki and Mackey met after Mackey's original partner Joe Clark
15960-579: The crew as a consulting producer for the third season and was promoted to executive producer from the fifth season onwards. James Manos Jr. served as a consulting producer and writer for the first two seasons. He left the show to develop the Showtime serial killer drama Dexter . NYPD Blue veteran writer Kevin Arkadie was a co-executive producer for the first season only. Nash Bridges writer and producer Reed Steiner replaced Arkadie as co-executive producer for
16128-402: The crime boss is arrested, he threatens to file a police brutality complaint against Mackey if Gardocki does not recant a statement which identifies the crime boss as his attacker. When Vendrell finds out the details of the situation, Mackey responds that he would turn himself in for his act of police brutality rather than be blackmailed into forcing Gardocki to recant his sworn statement and let
16296-488: The darker schemes involving the Strike Team. Ronnie, either deliberately or unconsciously, tends to stay in the background, rarely speaking up about anything, though he radiates a manner of unshakable confidence. Superficially, Gardocki can be described as " geeky " due to his interest in electronic equipment and computers. In episode "Blowback" he comments that he went to California State University, Northridge . Besides this aptitude with computers, he has been shown to enjoy
16464-539: The department by a former lover. Sofer finds herself becoming a pawn in Barn politics and begins to question the Strike Team's ethics. Season 3 premiered on March 9, 2004, and concluded on June 15, 2004, consisting of 15 episodes. The season deals with fallout from the money train robbery. Mackey learns that a portion of the money was marked by the Treasury Department, and the Strike Team figures out ways of diverting any federal attention to their activities. However,
16632-528: The distance between him and Corrine. As the Armadillo case is resolved, the Strike Team learn that the Armenian Mob have a "money train" that passes through Farmington every so often, a means for the mob to launder their illegal funds into untraceable cash. The Strike Team privately plans to rob the money train, knowing that they would be financially secure for a long time should they succeed. The money train heist
16800-451: The drug cartel is brought down, Gardocki is informed that Vendrell committed suicide and killed his own family in order to avoid arrest. Gardocki is distraught at the news, but relieved that Vendrell will no longer be able to threaten him. Gardocki is shocked shortly thereafter when Claudette gives the signal to Dutch to arrest Ronnie before Vic can alert him himself (the exact charges are never stated, though Detective Wagenbach references both
16968-459: The end, the Strike Team is re-formed and manages to put Antwon in prison. Rawling eventually loses her position over a dispute with the DEA. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette are "blacklisted" as detectives because of the latter's refusal to apologize to the D.A. after her reopening the cases of the murdered defense attorney resulted in many of the prosecutor's cases being overturned. Dutch attempts to resolve
17136-591: The events leading to the Strike Team's temporary dissolution, Gardocki became privy to several of Vendrell's misdeeds. When $ 7000 of the Money Train cash went missing, Gardocki suspected Vendrell and chastised Mackey for not suspecting Vendrell sooner. He comes to see Vendrell as a liability who must be watched in case he does anything which could implicate the team members in any wrongdoing. When gang leader Antwon Mitchell orders Vendrell to kill Mackey, Gardocki tells Lemansky that he hopes Mackey kills Vendrell during their next meeting. Their friendship heals to an extent when
17304-475: The extras from the previous DVD sets and includes new, exclusive featurettes. It was released on December 18, 2018. On September 5, 2005, The Shield: Music from the Streets was released by Lakeshore Entertainment . The soundtrack features 19 tracks, including two versions of the theme song and tracks ranging from artists such as Black Label Society to Kelis . After a rocky development cycle, The Shield ,
17472-441: The face (without informing follow Team members Detective Curtis "Lem" Lemansky and Detective Ronnie Gardocki ), making it look like Terry was murdered by Two-Time himself. Gilroy assists Vic in covering up the murder, which stops Aceveda's investigation. Things come to a breaking point towards the end of the season when Gilroy's own ambitions threaten both Vic's and Aceveda's futures. Separately, rookie officer Julien Lowe learns
17640-437: The fallout of nearly being outed in the previous season, Lowe starts taking on a tougher demeanor making Claudette question his future. Season 4 premiered on March 15, 2005, and concluded on June 14, 2005, consisting of 13 episodes. During this season, the members of the Strike Team become involved with the affairs of Antwon Mitchell , a highly respected drug lord who ends up blackmailing Vendrell to coerce his help. Mackey, with
17808-467: The first season and became an executive producer from the fifth season onwards. Mazzara had also worked with Ryan on Nash Bridges . Kurt Sutter and Scott Rosenbaum were staff writers for the first season and became executive producers for the sixth season onwards. Adam E. Fierro joined the crew as a co-producer and writer for the third season and was promoted to executive producer for the seventh season. Veteran television writer Charles H. Eglee joined
17976-421: The first season's episodes, including a brief appearance in the pilot for which Snell went uncredited. To explain why a member of the Strike Team would be missing in action so often, it was established that Mackey often has Gardocki run errands. After Mackey uses a stove to burn the face of Armadillo, a violent Mexican drug lord, Armadillo retaliates by doing the same to Gardocki (after Gardocki's paranoia, which
18144-470: The gang war. Shane escapes and, after realizing that his partners set him up to die, blackmails a pimp from a previous investigation to help him perform simultaneous hits on Vic and Ronnie. The attempt fails and the pimp gives up Shane, forcing Shane to go on the run with Mara and their son Jackson. Vic turns in his badge in order to focus on catching and killing Shane and the pregnant Mara. Mara uses Shane's leverage against Vic to coerce Corrine into serving as
18312-463: The help of the new Barn Captain, Monica Rawling , manages to help Vendrell out of his situation, reunites the Strike Team, and eventually ends up with sufficient evidence to send Mitchell to jail. However, Rawling finds herself dismissed as Captain due to her approach of seizing any assets tied to drug money. Claudette and Dutch continue to be shut out of meaningful cases by the DA's office, forcing Dutch to make
18480-434: The hopes of securing an immunity deal for both of them. That's why Ronnie's arrest and realization that Vic had betrayed him constituted the most grueling moment of the whole finale, more grueling even than seeing Shane and his family dead, since Shane's short-sightedness seemed to seal their ugly fate a long time ago. Unlike Shane, Ronnie was smart and practical, but he was done in by his trust in Vic, who finally proved that he
18648-650: The imprisoned drug lord. Learning that the DEA was using Antwon's information to build a case against the Salvadoran drug cartel which had been supplying him with heroin , Captain Rawling ordered Vic and the Strike Team to build a case against the Salvadorans first. The DEA was enraged and subsequently threatened to cut off all Federal funding to the LA area unless Rawling was fired. Although
18816-441: The investigation. Lowe trains Tina Hanlon but quickly believes she may not be cut out for the job. Dutch and Claudette focus on the serial killer they have no evidence against while it becomes clear Claudette's health is deteriorating. Billings' weak management coupled with Kavanaugh's strong-arm tactics force the LAPD chief to name a stronger and more independent Captain to the Barn, Claudette. The producers of The Shield produced
18984-501: The locker room and the pair share a kiss. Detective Ronald Everett "Ronnie" Gardocki, is a fictional character who appears in the FX crime drama The Shield . He is portrayed by David Rees Snell . Ronnie is known for his extremely calm demeanor, well-groomed appearance, and quiet nature. Little is known about the background of Detective Ronnie Gardocki. His surname is of Polish origin, but no other clues about his past are given. A DVD commentary by Michael Chiklis said that all
19152-494: The man bloody. Gardocki ultimately distinguishes himself from the other three members of the Strike Team as being the most careful and smart in maintaining his outward image as an upstanding, incorruptible cop. Although he committed and was involved in as many crimes as the other three members, Gardocki manages to evade his superiors and their wrath as an individual, unlike the three other team members who all get caught for individual crimes or questionable actions made separately from
19320-411: The man who disfigured him go free. Mackey is never forced to carry out his vow, as Vendrell arranges for the mob boss to be killed by a disgruntled minion, sparing Vic from having to destroy his career for Ronnie's sake. Despite his friendship with Mackey, Ronnie has often been kept in dark regarding some of Vic's darker plans. Most notably, Gardocki was not involved in the murder plot against Crowley. In
19488-524: The married father Nelson eventually returned to his family. When Mitchell murdered a 14-year-old girl turned police informant, Rawling was determined to take him down. A video recording of him confessing the murder to Shane Vendrell and ordering Vic Mackey's death provided the means to send Mitchell back to jail. However, after finally proving that Mitchell was responsible for ordering the brutal stabbing deaths of two Farmington police officers, Rawling learned that David Aceveda had arranged an immunity deal for
19656-410: The money and kill anyone suspected of involvement in the robbery. As both Margos and the investigation close in on the Strike Team, a fearful Lem burns a majority of the money in a desperate attempt to protect the Team, ultimately leading to a confrontation which causes the group to disband. Claudette is promised a promotion to Captain and maintains a supervising role while Aceveda prepares to move on to
19824-623: The money to fund the department and give back to the community. This soon becomes controversial among The Barn, particularly Julien, and members of the Farmington community. After the Strike Team's disbandment, Shane works in Vice with new partner Armando "Army" Renta ( Michael Peña ). The pair enter into a dangerous situation when trying to control major drug lord Antwon Mitchell ( Anthony Anderson ), who blackmails them and coerces Shane into accepting an order to kill Vic. The police are outraged after two officers are kidnapped and subsequently found murdered. In
19992-448: The most pragmatic approach, the one who, as Kavanaugh said, leaves no traces or vulnerabilities. That's what makes Ronnie a compelling character, and Snell gives exactly the right performance for that." The Guardian regret that Gardocki remained "underused" until the final two series, initially referring to him as "the other one". Series seven of The Shield has been described as "the finest season of [David Rees Snell's] Shield career as
20160-470: The murder attempt. Vendrell survives the attempt on his life and realizes that Gardocki and Mackey had tried to kill him, leading to Vendrell arranging for Gardocki to be killed, a scheme that fails as well. When he and his family goes on the run, Gardocki fears that if caught they will testify against him and Vic to receive better deals. Despite their antagonism, Gardocki shows a deal of sadness when he discovers that Vendrell killed himself and his family, but at
20328-452: The murder of detective Terry Crowley . Gardocki, unmoved because he had long suspected as much, confronts Mackey to demand why he had been left out of the plot. Mackey refuses to admit to the murder in front of Gardocki. Mackey and Gardocki later discover that Vendrell has informed the Armenians of their involvement in the Money Train heist. The Armenians have vowed to get revenge by killing Mackey, his family, and Gardocki, so Mackey forges
20496-412: The murder, citing that he would have "looked out for [Mackey] better" than Vendrell did. At the series' conclusion, Mackey accepts a deal to receive a job with ICE and immunity from any crimes he committed as a member of the Strike Team in exchange for helping to bring down a Mexican drug cartel. He attempts to get Gardocki in on the deal, but ICE refuses. Mackey initially holds out until Gardocki's deal
20664-494: The next two seasons. For the final season, it was nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama, as well as receiving the Heritage Award . Also, Walton Goggins was nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama. In 2004, IDW Publishing released a five-issue comic book limited series written by Jeff Mariotte and illustrated by Jean Diaz titled The Shield: Spotlight . A controversial journalist
20832-442: The overall Strike Team. This is due to Gardocki being extremely guarded and intelligent in the way he handles not only the team's illegal activities, but his own, and he never leaves evidence or proof of his involvement with the majority of his questionable actions. He was the only member of the Strike Team to escape the majority of the damage of IAD Lieutenant Kavanaugh's investigation due to there being no direct evidence on his use of
21000-566: The peace in the district and reduce crime. At the center of the division is the Strike Team, led by Detectives Vic Mackey , Shane Vendrell , Curtis Lemansky , and Ronnie Gardocki . Mackey and the Strike Team use criminal methods to coerce information and stage arrests and take a share of various drug busts. Although the Strike Team's questionably high success rate leaves the division's head, Captain David Aceveda , suspicious of their methods, he values their success as they help his political efforts to become mayor of Los Angeles. Attempts to place
21168-415: The police of their involvement in various crimes. Mackey begins working with ICE , hoping that in exchange for bringing down a Mexican drug cartel both he and Gardocki will be offered jobs and granted immunity for any crimes committed as members of the Strike Team. ICE refuses to grant immunity to Gardocki, extending it only to Mackey. In order to secure his own immunity, Mackey is required to confess to
21336-453: The process and stunning Olivia and her boss, as well as Claudette and Dutch, who walk in too late to stop the deal. Claudette, her health still deteriorating, nearly breaks down upon learning of Vic's immunity. As a small bit of revenge and to protect Corrine, Claudette and Dutch make an arrangement with Olivia to place Corrine, Cassidy, Matthew, and Megan into federal witness protection. Meanwhile, Shane, Mara, and Jackson return home after Mara
21504-449: The remaining Strike Team members once and for all. After a failed attempt to incriminate Vic in the act of aiding and abetting Shane, Dutch fakes the arrest of Corrine in order to preserve her cover. Vic, believing that Corrine was actually arrested, leverages the bust of the Mexican cartel into a full immunity for both of them. As part of his deal with ICE, Vic confesses to all the crimes he and Strike Team committed, incriminating Ronnie in
21672-492: The rights holders for the DVDs . They released season 6 and re-released seasons 1–5 in slimmer packaging in 2008, and released season 7 in 2009. International releases have always been distributed by Sony, who have only ever presented the show in 16:9 (widescreen) format, as opposed to the Fox releases, which presented the show in 4:3. All the re-releases by Sony along with seasons 6 and 7, and
21840-550: The ropes from his training officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer , while attempting to hide his homosexuality from other officers. Julien witnesses the Strike Team smuggling a portion of a drug bust for their own personal wealth and reports it to Aceveda. When Aceveda begins to investigate Julien's claims, Vic threatens to reveal Julien's homosexuality to the department, causing Julien to back out from his witness statement and leaving Aceveda with nothing to go on. Partners Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach and Detective Claudette Wyms hunt
22008-417: The same time shows relief thinking he is safe from prosecution, not knowing Vic already gave up Ronnie. Gardocki's friendship with Lemansky is noticeably less complicated. Due to Mackey and Vendrell often riding together, he and Lemansky are often tasked to work together in running down leads. "Co-Pilot" established they did not know each other until the formation of the Strike Team. When Lemansky burns most of
22176-467: The script his concerns about raising a child in a crime-ridden world. The pilot script had ended with Mackey shooting Crowley; Ryan had the idea of an alternate ending to Donnie Brasco , of where Al Pacino 's mobster character would have shot Johnny Depp 's undercover FBI character, revealing that the mobster had known his identity all along. He used this ending idea in the pilot for The Shield , not expecting to have to worry about any consequences as he
22344-405: The season deals with a new drug threat from Armadillo, a highly intelligent immigrant who has coerced the black and Hispanic gangs to work together, making it difficult for the Strike Team to charge him. The second half of the season deals with the Strike Team's discovery of the Armenian "money train" used to ship laundered money out of the United States. Mackey and the Strike Team successfully hijack
22512-414: The second season only. Kevin G. Cremin was the series unit production manager throughout its run and became a co-executive producer from the sixth season onwards. Angel writing team Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain joined the crew as co-producers for the third season and became supervising producers before leaving at the close of the sixth season. Dean White was a producer and regular director throughout
22680-452: The series as a patrol officer who aspires to become a detective. She has an on-again, off-again sexual relationship with Vic Mackey , and a complicated history with Dutch Wagenbach . Captain David Aceveda trusts her, helping her get reinstated after she is fired and arranging for her to be reassigned to Julien Lowe . Sofer becomes a mentor for Lowe, though the two don't see eye to eye on several personal issues and aspects of police work. She
22848-558: The series run. Chiklis became a producer from the second season onward and also regularly directed episodes. Post-production supervisor Craig Yahata joined the crew in the third season and eventually became a producer for the seventh season. The series pilot and finale were directed by Clark Johnson ; Johnson had previously starred in Homicide: Life on the Street and made his directing debut on that series. Guy Ferland directed episodes for all seven seasons of The Shield . Rohn Schmidt
23016-399: The series, writing "In contrast to impulsive, confused Shane, Ronnie was prepared to stand by Vic to the end. What made Ronnie's downfall so heartbreaking was that it had nothing to do with his own bad decisions. He was following Vic's lead, trusting his longtime partner to protect him. He even had a very rational plan to skip town a few episodes back, but Vic talked him into sticking around, in
23184-414: The series. Darabont later reunited with several writers from The Shield for his television adaptation of The Walking Dead comics , including Charles H. Eglee, Glen Mazzara and Adam Fierro. Acclaimed playwright and film writer and director David Mamet directed an episode of the series. Mamet and Ryan collaborated as executive producers on military thriller The Unit . Screenwriter Ted Griffin wrote
23352-463: The shipment, ending up with millions of dollars for themselves. Aceveda makes an agreement with Mackey to protect each other while Aceveda runs for city council. Claudette, whose own investigation into Armadillo is hampered by Mackey and Aceveda, is forced out of her passive role and prepares to take an active role as a moral leader. Dutch makes a major mistake in an investigation and begins second guessing himself. Lowe gets married but nearly gets outed to
23520-516: The show 77th on its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century, stating that "a key part...of the golden age of antihero drama, this thriller about likable – and utterly corrupt – cops broke new ground for bold, risk-taking television". The premiere episode of The Shield had a 4.1 rating, at the time a record for a dramatic program on basic cable. However, The Shield lost advertising from Burger King , New Balance , Office Depot , and Tricon Global Restaurants , in part due to complaints from
23688-571: The show's Strike Team was loosely based. The series was created by Shawn Ryan and The Barn Productions for Fox Television Studios and Sony Pictures Television . Several notable actors took extended roles on the show, including Glenn Close , who was the female lead during the fourth season; Michael Peña , in season 4; Anthony Anderson , in seasons 4, 5, and 6; Forest Whitaker , who guest-starred in seasons 5 and 6; Laura Harring , in season 5; Franka Potente , in season 6; and Laurie Holden , in season 7. The series has received critical acclaim and
23856-401: The show's characters are from where the actors themselves are from, which would mean that Gardocki is from Wichita, Kansas . Ronnie has very few lines in comparison with the rest of the Strike Team members, and consequently it is difficult for the viewer to ascertain much information about him through what he says. He is trusted implicitly by Vic Mackey , who at times often shields Ronnie from
24024-401: The situation by making a back-room deal with the D.A. to keep an eye on Claudette and do favors for the office in return for breaking back into action. Ultimately, this causes a rift between the partners, culminating in a confrontation where Claudette rebukes Dutch for making the deal. Internal Affairs Division Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh ( Forest Whitaker ) begins an investigation into Vic and
24192-527: The sole condition that she gets to run the Barn her way. This 15-minute mini-episode was produced between the fifth and sixth seasons, and initially released to various websites in February 2007 as a promotion for season six. It was later made available on the Season 5 DVD set. Vic and the Strike Team are distraught over Lem's death. Shane, overcome by guilt, becomes reckless and suicidal and enters into an affair with
24360-403: The streets—he cleaned up on the streets. Would he pay for those sins? This gutsy TV drama kept us guessing." On the review aggregator website Metacritic , season 1 received high acclaim from critics, with a score of 92 out of 100, based on 28 reviews. Season 7 also received high acclaim from critics, with a score of 85 out of 100, based on 14 reviews. In September 2019, The Guardian ranked
24528-411: The team members' finances (a result of their using money from the "Money Train" heist), but Gardocki escapes suspicion due to careful management of his share of the money. Kavanaugh points out that because of the others, Gardocki may go down for "a mistake you were too smart to make", foreshadowing his ultimate fate. Lemansky later becomes a fugitive after Kavanaugh charges him with stealing heroin from
24696-492: The team's actions will eventually be discovered. When Lemansky's actions cause tension between him and Vendrell, Gardocki attempts to mediate between the two. However, tensions between the team eventually lead to the team's dissolution. Lemansky and Vendrell are transferred to different divisions, but Gardocki remains as Mackey's partner. When suspicions between Mackey, Gardocki, and Lemansky arise regarding Vendrell's involvement with drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell , Gardocki plants
24864-464: The tension of having the money gets to Lemansky, and in an off-the-cuff decision, burns most of the money before the others can stop him. This leads to the dissolution of the Strike Team. Dutch struggles to find balance while looking into both the money train robbery and a serial rapist. Claudette begins administrative duties in preparation to take over as Captain but her qualms over a potentially incompetent defense attorney put her career in jeopardy. After
25032-479: The terms he agreed to, but Olivia reminds him that any step out of line to the word of their agreement will violate the terms of his immunity. In the final scene, Vic sits at his desk in the ICE office after hours, where he unpacks pictures of his children, as well as one of himself and Lem. After hearing police sirens, he rushes to the window and stares out at the street below before returning to his desk, removing his gun from
25200-664: The third Strike Team member, Ronnie Gardocki, and it's a season described in the commentary as the corruption of Ronnie because in several episodes Ronnie is forced to commit acts worse than he has ever done onscreen before. He's an extremely likeable character, and it's nice to see him get more screen time than has been awarded him in the past, and while David's acting might not be as critically praised as that of Michael Chiklis or Walton Goggins, he easily matches their stellar standard and his performance far surpasses simply being believable, making it easy to feel for his character. SubtleTea describe him as "introverted, but effective." NJ.com
25368-438: The two are forced to work together on a stakeout. Gardocki eventually pushes Mackey to deal with Vendrell "once and for all," culminating in Mackey arranging for Vendrell to be murdered along with the leaders of the Armenian Mob. However, when Vendrell informs Mackey that he would be willing to transfer to a new precinct once they cleared themselves of the problems involving the Armenians, Mackey begins having second thoughts about
25536-446: The two eventually ally to take down Pezuela. Vic confronts Mexican intel operative Luis Aramboles and, upon searching the trunk of Aramboles' car, discovers a box filled with blackmail on government officials in Farmington. Vic and Aceveda plot to use this to serve their own respective interests. Vic spins the blackmail box into a gang war between the Mexicans and Armenians as a way to protect himself and his family after Shane's reveal to
25704-480: The various crimes committed by the Strike Team. Frustrated at her inability to prosecute Mackey for the heinous actions he admits to, ICE agent Olivia Murray tells Mackey that she has enough evidence to send Gardocki to prison for life and will have him arrested after the conclusion of the cartel investigation. Unable to warn Gardocki for fear of voiding his immunity agreement, Mackey lies and tells Gardocki that he successfully secured immunity for both of them. After
25872-411: The wire Kavanaugh forced him to wear and learned the truth from Vic. Early in season 1, Shane was clearly distressed about what he and Vic had done. This was most evident at Terry's funeral, where Shane was visibly shaken by seeing Terry's mother. As time passed, he was seemingly able to move past it and accepted the murder as having been necessary. When Vic expressed regret about the murder in season 5, it
26040-428: Was Shane who reassured him that he had done it to protect the team. Shane has behaved in a racist manner throughout the show as he has used derogatory comments like " nigger ", " darkie ", " wetback ", and " beaner " multiple times. Shane also drove away a potential protégé of Vic named Tavon Garris due to their personal differences. Shane also had very friendly relationships with several minority officers, as well as
26208-454: Was Vic, not the drug dealer Two-Time, who had murdered Terry until season 6, when Shane had compiled a list of all their crimes to use as blackmail against Vic. Ronnie Gardocki angrily confronted Shane about the list, it implicated him, and it was at that time that Shane told him about Vic's murdering Terry. Curtis Lemansky had suspicions about Vic's murdering Terry, which Vic denied, until his struggle with Vic in season 5 when Lem disconnected
26376-403: Was a cinematographer for all seven seasons and made his television directing debut on the show. Stephen Kay was a frequent director for the series. Gwyneth Horder-Payton was an assistant director for the show's early seasons and made her television directing debut in the fourth season, she continued to regularly direct episodes thereafter. Film director Frank Darabont directed an episode for
26544-458: Was allowed to continue, with the pilot first broadcast in March 2002. Ryan had written the part of Mackey for someone with a young Harrison Ford personality. Due to the complexities of the character, he was uncertain they would have found a suitable actor for the role, and cast his own doubt on his writing. During casting, Ryan had been surprised with Michael Chiklis 's audition. Chiklis had gained
26712-458: Was concerned if the show would be appropriate at this time, believing that audiences would not be receptive to seeing police officers portrayed in a negative light. The situation changed following the theatrical release of Training Day in October 2001, a film centered around corrupt cops that was a financial success. Fox was assured by Training Day ' s reception from audiences that The Shield
26880-414: Was fired due to excessive force complaints, but before Mackey met and became partners with Vendrell. It was Mackey who brought Gardocki onto the Strike Team after the anti-gang task force was formed. Despite being out of the loop on several deeds, Ronnie's loyalty is established during season two when he is disfigured by a pedophile crime boss who Mackey had similarly disfigured earlier in the season. When
27048-467: Was ignored by the Strike Team), leaving him on the brink of death. Gardocki survives, but is left permanently disfigured. It is hinted that Gardocki will not return to active duty, and detective Tavon Garris is hired to join the Strike Team. Fellow team member Shane Vendrell is initially resentful towards Garris for taking his spot on the team. Gardocki returns and decides to take a more active role in
27216-462: Was killed, they both realize the truth. Vic gets Shane to confess, but Shane threatens to reveal the Strike Team's illegal exploits should Vic attempt to arrest him. Shane tries to get protection with the Armenians and recklessly reveals Vic was the ringleader behind the money train robbery, putting Vic's family in danger. However, Shane takes steps to rectify this mistake, kidnapping Corrine and Vic's daughter Cassidy before ambushing and severely wounding
27384-407: Was not appropriate, but found that Chiklis had a certain charisma in his delivery that worked well into the Mackey character. This allowed Ryan to write Mackey as a compassionate figure, able to get away with certain improper actions through his charisma, which served to draw fans to sympathize with Mackey throughout the series. Ryan recognized that with Chiklis as his star, it validated his success as
27552-531: Was not sure the script would be picked up. Ryan later commented in 2017 that if he had known how long The Shield would have run for, he would have had a few more episodes to help establish Crowley's character before having Mackey kill him off. Around 2000, the FX network was looking to find what would be the network's first drama series to help set the tone for their network, given the ongoing success of The Sopranos on rival network HBO. FX's Kevin Reilly wanted
27720-407: Was secured for both of them. In the series finale, Mackey's treachery is revealed when Gardocki is arrested for his crimes, though he does apparently feel guilty for having sold Gardocki out. Despite Gardocki's loyalty, Vic never considered him as close as he did Shane. Ironically, many thought before Vic's betrayal, that Ronnie's low key nature and ability to cover his tracks would allow him to escape
27888-415: Was seriously considered as the series' name and was even used in some early promotional ads for the series. Characters are portrayed with vices and virtues; Vic's loving relationship with his children contrasts with his thuggish approach to police work. Two of the many examples of Mackey's criminal and sociopathic behavior include an attempt to rob the "Armenian Money Train", a money laundering operation of
28056-503: Was the series head writer and showrunner throughout its run. Prior to creating the series Ryan had been working as a producer and writer for the supernatural detective series Angel . He began his television career as a writer for the crime drama Nash Bridges . Nash Bridges was a more up-beat show, and Ryan was required to write scripts that showed the hero succeeding in a positive way, and Ryan sought to write something far different to get that out of his system. He had considered what
28224-424: Was willing to sacrifice almost anyone for his own survival." They summarise the character as "steadfast and patient and trusting." Brandon Nowalk for The A.V. Club remarks, that " Jay Karnes and David Marciano act David Rees Snell into the background [...] Karnes is letting you know Dutch's reaction to every last thing that happens. It's a full performance." Though Grant Nebel describes this as "about as misguided
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