THE SHIELD. Final episode.

THE SHIELD comes to an end.

THE SHIELD (FX)
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
If you have not yet seen the finale’ – READ NO FURTHER – critical details are discussed and the entire ending is revealed, so once again – if you’ve not seen the show yet – DON’T READ THE FOLLOWING:

THE SHIELD (Season Finale’ – F/X)
The last batch of original SHIELD eps were as tense, taut and riveting as anything you're likely to see all year. Chicklis has never been better as Vic, and the entire cast really stepped it up this final season. Especially Walton Goggons as the horrific Shane Mandrell. The highlight of this last season might’ve actually been last week, when Vic, in order to get immunity for all his strike team sins, gave I.C.E. a complete list of all his wrongdoings at the Barn. Including killing Terry Crowly in the pilot and stealing The Money Train. In doing so, he also gave them enough to throw Ronnie in jail till they day he dies. But the immunity was only available to Vic, not to Ronnie. The finale’ – initially 90 minutes, but a last minute editing decision to leave more in lead to an almost 2 hour show (which I'm sure cut off on some DVRs), had an awful lot going for it. A lot of people are saying it was a better ending than THE SOPRANOS – but I wouldn’t say that. Two different shows – two different endings that fit each show uniquely. As far as THE SHIELD goes, the last hours of this were at turns grim, tense and unusually somber for such an action-packed show. A few threads seem to have gotten lost. Such as Julien’s gay life which was only hinted at when he saw two happy gay men running down the street – I actually thought that was a great nod to a storyline that I guess they didn’t feel like cramming down our throats. The rookie (I forget her name) seemed to be in this season for almost no reason – as she didn’t really have much to do. The inclusion of Andre 300 from OUTKAST as a budding politician – COMPLETE TIME WASTER.

While it fed somewhat into the theme of corruption – it just wasn’t what we wanted to see in the finale’. We wanted real resolution - or as much as we could get. My heart actually skipped a beat when Julian saw that happy gay couple - I assumed it was leading into a moment for him - but no, it was just a nod to that storyline - and I liked it a lot. Its just that - I guess I wanted a little more story involving our favorite characters. Not the uninvolving interrogation of the young serial killer. Danny was a complete no-show in the finale. Claudette’s disease coming to fruition was interesting but somehow – not terribly character oriented in the sense that – okay, she’s sick and it had many wonderful notes of friendship between Claudette and Dutch – but it certainly didn’t help her character grow. If anything, it felt overly dramatic and predictable. Aceveda was also sort of a no-show in the finale’. You’d think they would’ve scripted a bigger finish with him and Vic. But that’s the way the finale’ went – against many expectations of what you’d expect them to do – which I appreciated a lot of. All the stuff with Shane and his wife on the run was pretty great, it was a shame we got no last Shane/Vic scene – it seems to me that phone call could’ve been a face to face. What Shane ultimately did was horrific if slightly out of character – but then again – he was so coked up – who knows what was going on in his head. But it worked and was insanely horrifying. But the most sinking feeling I had during the finale’ was the setting up of Ronnie – Vic having him risk his life only to eventually feed him to the wolves as a sacrificial lamb for all the strike team’s misdeeds. The fact that Ronnie, the most passive of the group got dicked over by Vic in the end – I think speaks more to Vic’s nature than anything. Not that Vic felt great about it – but he had his family to protect. If only he knew.

I would’ve liked to see a bit more of a Vic/Ronnie post revelation scene – but this ep moved fast and quickly got to the last, sterile image of the evening. Vic, in an ill-fitting suit, now working at a ghastly cubicle with a 30 year old computer making reports on gang activity based on pre-existing intel while the sirens went off outside, making Vic’s pulse pound with an adrenaline rush he’s not allowed to fix. When Vic takes his gun out of the lockbox - I thought for a minute he was going to eat it - but instead he grabbed his gun and walked out - giving us the feeling that Vic is not quite out of the woods yet. But that the life he’s about to lead, thinking of all those he’s fucked over, screwed with, killed…what in God’s name is Vic Mackey going to do?

By the way – the song that played over the final credits was CONCRETE BLONDE’s “Long Time Ago” from their 92 CD WALKING IN LONDON. I thought it was a great choice and liked the final montage, though - it was their last chance to throw some images at us and it felt like at least half of them were picked half-hazzardly. It still kind of worked really well. But once this thing hits DVD, you’ll get that montage right after the final image of Vic is shown –and I don’t know that it’ll play as well as when not separated by commercials – but maybe that’s just me. While not giving us everything we wanted, this was a pretty sturdy wrap up that did go pretty far in spelling out the future – and a very satisfying final installment on many levels. And they seemed to have gone out on their own terms, unlike Vic Mackey.

FINAL SEASON GRADE: A (points off for the first few eps with that convoluted Armenian/Mexican war plotline)
Season Finale’ Grade: A
OVERALL SERIES GRADE: A +

For a GREAT q & a with Sean Ryan, creator of THE SHIELD and showrunner for all 7 seasons – go here:
http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2008/11/shield-boss-ans.html

For some reason this hot link is not working - but if you cut and paste you should get to the fascinating Q&A. Same thing for the link that appears later.


UPDATE:
I've been thinking a lot about THE SHIELD since the final episode. It's a popular idea going around that it had a stronger ending than the SOPRANOS. EW actually said NOTE TO DAVID CHASE: THIS IS THE WAY TO END A SERIES. I have serious reservations about that idea. First of all - to compare the 2 shows is useful only in that they both had absolutely amoral protagonists. But there is a huge difference. In THE SHIELD, Vic Mackey killed a cop in the very first episode. And we loved him anyway because despite all his and the strike team's dirty dealings, they were the kind of cops you wanted on your side when you were in trouble - particularly Vic. But let's be honest about the show - since that first episode - Mackey never did anything that despicable to a civilian again. One could even argue that the cop killing was there to spark the pilot and that the Vic that remained was a generally decent guy to root for. In fact, he had serious moral problems with general corruption time and time again. In other words - was he the same guy that shot the cop in the pilot? Were we all hoodwinked into loving Vic these last 6 seasons and then having the finale finally call a spade a spade? Hardly. Vic was a hero as far as the structure of the show was concerned.

Even in the finale - he did not sell out Ronnie so that he could have an easy life - he did it to protect his wife and children. Maybe it's easier to think that in the end, he was a rat - and yes, he did sell out Ronnie - but it wasn't that simple. And that - is the beauty of THE SHIELD. Vic walked through that finale like a zombie because he knew he would sell out Ronnie in the end - his last remaining loyal soldier.

THE SOPRANOS on the other hand, really called Tony on his pathology in its final batch of episodes. The thing about Tony is that he was always a bastard - there were always civilians catching friendly fire in his world - he routinely humiliated his wife, fucked over his friends and let his selfishness cloud everything he did. And again - that's kind of why we loved him. Because on some level - we all want to be that guy - maybe not in real life, but we loved watching it play out and we certainly loved living that life vicariously. One of the great things about the SOPRANOS is that watching it made you FEEL like a mobster in that amoral window.

So we were not hoodwinked into loving Tony, who in the pilot was pretty much a lovable Jersey crook but over the course of 7 seasons, showed us he was a murderous, petty, jealous, theiving, racist, cheating, lying, betraying, con man who even lied to himself and ultimately killed his own de-facto son (Christopher) and then went to Vegas to fuck his dead son's whore and do drugs with her and live the life that Christopher was living because - despite all of Tony's remarks about Chris being a junkie who would flip at any second - he was insanely jealous of Christopher's life and the ep where he killed him and took all his spoils only proved that. We loved him anyway. Despite the fact that he ruined Bobby's life by making him kill, that he was ready to pull the trigger on Hesh over a gambling debt, that he wanted to kill Paulie over his big mouth - and that he killed some of the people closest to him - Adriana, Christopher, Big Pussy, Tony B., the list goes on and on.

But we weren't fooled into loving either Tony or Vic - we went along all too willingly. Why wouldn't we? These were great, rich characters. As far as Vic goes, we watched him shoot a cop (it helps that he shot someone we didn't really know) and we didn't care. But frankly - even though horrifying things often happened on THE SHIELD - it was usually Mackey taking care of business. In the end, he had to what he had to do. He had played all his cards, misjudged a mortal amount of situations -and he protected his family. That's why, even after he sold out Ronnie, even after he strung him along all the way through the finale and even after his own family left him, we still rooted for the bastard. We loved Vic and always will. And regarding the comparison of the finales - look - THE SHIELD was brilliant in its final hours with Vic. It really was. Probably even better than my review would admit. But then again - we had 20 minutes of OUTKAST in it. I realize with that storyline Sean Ryan was trying to shine a light on overall corruption through the Aceveda storyline - but let's be honest - the Aceveda stuff didn't quite feel full in the end. What it all felt like was life - imperfect.

THE SOPRANOS final hour had much imperfection as well. Lots of AJ. Lots and lots of AJ. Why? Certainly not because of the dynamic character - in fact, AJ is probably somewhere behind Tony's sister Janice is one of the more useless elements of the show. If I had to point a finger at why that was...I think somehow the actor just never truly connected to the role. He was okay. It was fine. But the finale - despite some lameness that is inherant to anything you attach expectations to - rocked in ways that brought the series to true resolution in ways deeper than some of the individual plotlines. And in that sense, I think THE SHIELD and THE SOPRANOS both had great, slightly flawed, imperfect endings. Like life.


I really liked IRON MAN but somehow didn’t quite love it.


SNL: W/TIM McCRAW
One funny sketch. I counted it. The thing with DATELINE w/Keith Morrison. That was really weird and funny. The rest was completely unwatchable. Seth Meyers doing that UPDATE alone is like….
Grade: D


I do like Rosie O’Donnel but her promos for her variety show…not so much.


SCREAM QUEENS (VH1)
Is getting better and more embarrassing than ever. Long live this crazy show and the whacky actresses that inhabit it. The most recent challenge – where the girls had to act possessed was brilliant. Even better – Shawnee Smith appears at the edge of falling asleep in every scene she’s in. Who will win the coveted walk-on in SAW 6? And can that really be the prize?????
Grade: B +


ENTOURAGE (HBO) (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!)
Since I rambled on so much about THE SHIELD and THE SOPRANOS, let me make this one pretty quick. I watched the final four episodes the other night and generally kind of really liked it. I loved that Vince had so much trouble with the director, I loved what a prick Jason Patric was, I loved Gary Cole as the new agent - I even liked the Turtle/Jamie Lynn Siegler romance. What I did not particularly love is how the show went through amazingly great pains to take Vince down all those notches only to literally have his salvation fall from the sky with Martin Scorsesee in one of the most unlikely plot scenarios in the series history. Despite that, it's still a great show and well worth the time and I'm glad they're coming back for another season. I also thought Adrien Grenier really rose to the ocassion this season as his character was challenged on every level both personally and professionally that he could be. Even Turtle and Drama posted new acting highs this season. So - even though I'm going to have to overlook some gratuitis bullshit like the writer E. reps getting laid while trying to put a tv deal together (give me a fucking break) I this this was a great creative season and I look forward to more.
Grade: B +


TRUE BLOOD (Season Finale’- HBO)
What a great season. Unfortunately, they had built to so much, that this last hour felt very workmanlike in tying up most of the loose ends. We knew from the previous week who the killer was and this hour made no attempt to further twist the story. There was also a bit of cheese as the makeup job on Vampire Bill in the daylight was kind of…Troma-like. Still – this is a great show – they did some nice set ups for next year. I don’t think the “2 WEEKS LATER” thing worked all that well. I really am not up for a storyline that has Jason Stackhouse being “born again” because frankly – I’ve seen that particular story on TV about 132,234,254,234 times. What made this season so great is that most of the show was unexpected, and as long as they can keep tapping into that unexpected place, I look forward to the new eps. That said – the final hour was a bit of a let down – but I still love this show.
SEASON 1 GRADE: A
Season 1 Finale’ grade: B +


30 ROCK (NBC)
“Gavin Valour” – Steve Martin stars as a guy who comes to really fuck up 30 ROCK and have it go from a smart show about something real to a fake show about something fake. He almost got the job done. The producers might do well to watch WILL & GRACE witness firsthand how “special guest stars” destroyed a once promising show.


THE OFFICE (NBC)
“The return of Toby. Frame Toby!” Another episode that seems to have needed a laugh track. You know, so people would…laugh.


Me and my niece recently watched every PEANUTS holiday special – the GREAT PUMPKIN, CHRISTMAS and the THANKSGIVING special. Peanuts is so good – the dialog so good – that Xmas special is so good….those kids are so smart - and so cold. It's the best.
Peanuts: A +
(highest recommendation.)


The trailer for THE WRESTLER seems fucking amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61-GFxjTyV0&feature=dir


YOUNG @HEART (DVD)
I’m only 10 minutes into this and I already love it.


Random thoughts as I watch the American Music Awards (ABC)
Christine Aguilera performed a great medley of her hits. She looked and sounded awesome.
Jimmy Kimmel was solidly hilarious while rocking a particularly well worn black suit.
Jamie Foxx – Not funny, not tuneful, not (fill in your own adjective here.)
New Kids On The Block – not bad.
Scott Weiland (presenter) – H for Heroin
Pink – pretty awesome – didn’t love the song. Though it was ironic to hear Weiland say “Here performing sober…”
Kanye West – what’s up with him?
Leona Lewis – I still don’t get it.
Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend (I mean, her father.) She’s cool. I don’t know how to grade something like this – it wasn’t exactly a song – more like a kid’s performance. Which I guess – I don’t know. This is lost on me.
Coldplay – A + Yeah!
Umm….Alicia Keys CD beat the Eagles? Hmmm….I mean – “No One” is a good single – but – she beat The Eagles “Long Road Out Of Eden?” Her marble mouthed acceptance speech only made the win more horrifying.
What a night for Mariah Carrey. So deserving. So….when did pleasant ballads sung in a helium tinged voice and a comically exaggerated smile and way-too-small outfits become THE GREATEST THING EVER???
Kanye West won something and gave it to Lil’ Wayne…I think? I don’t get that guy. I think he’s troubled. I think he spends nights arguing with himself. I think he’s up right now, not having slept, still arguing about something.
Wow, T-Mobile is really stepping it up to be an awesome part of the music scene. Rock and fucking roll, baby! T-Mobile shredded it!!!!!
I look like all three of the Jonas Brothers. How did that happen?
Their song sounded like a leftover cut from the ROCKY 4 soundtrack. I could see Stallone training to fight the Russian while that played.
If you play the Pussycat Dolls in fast forward – it looks like the Kardashian family.
Kimmel was hilarious when he presented Justin Timberlake as “the most attractive man in the world.”
He might be right.
I liked the thing for Annie Lennox – she’s the best.
Most underrated Lennox song ever: I SAVED THE WORLD TODAY.
And Lennox was the best performer of the night – hands down.
Daughtry looked a LOT like Popeye’s retarded cousin. God bless how far he’s gotten with his pitch-perfect Eddie Vedder impression.
So – there you have it – the acts were okay, Jimmy was hilarious and sharp in that black suit – Justin Timberlake is sexy/cool – Annie Lennox and Coldplay rule and Kanye West is great and/or Insane - and Billy Cyrus has a serious thing for his daughter.
All in all, a great night for music. A great night for cell phones.


DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
Who's the worst actress on TV? I'll give you a hint. She plays Dexter’s sister. Jennifer Carpenter. That’s her name. If ever there was an actress who makes every right choice – Ms. Carpenter is not that actress.


I woke up the other night thinking that, like Dexter, I had killed people and now I was trapped in hell for all eternity – then I realized – it was just Chelsea Lately interviewing Jenny McCarthy. Whew. But almost as bad.

Then again I thought I was in hell only to realize I had awoken to the sounds of Jay Leno interviewing Miley Cyrus. Jesus.

Speaking of Leno, why is he ONLY funny when being a guest of Jimmy Kimmel’s? Jimmy was very funny with Jay, and it’s probably the only 2 times in the last 5 years that Mr. Leno has made me laugh – both times he’s been sitting on Jimmy’s couch.


SONS OF ANARCHY (FX)
I’m finally unspooling these from my DVR – I’m on episode 8 and they keep getting better and better. I'm completely hooked. Completely.
Grade: A


LEONARD COHEN – I’M YOUR MAN (SUN)
Halfway though – Nick Cave singing “I’m your man” rocked the fucking house. This is a great documentary full of great Leanord Cohen tunes sung by people who love them.


Happy Thanksgiving!