The Shield - The Complete Fourth Season (2002) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)At the end of the third season of FX's the Shield, crooked cop Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his strike team split up. As the fourth season opens, the Farmington precinct meets their new captain in Monica Rawling (Glenn Close), and it's not long before she makes herself noticed. With Aceveda (Benito Martinez) on his way to political office, Rawling makes her presence felt re-organizing the force with Vic as her right hand man, and they both put their sights on charismatic drug dealer Antwan Mitchell (Anthony Anderson). In the meantime, Vic's ex-partner Shane (Walt Goggins) works vice, and gets in way too deep with Mitchell, which leads to the reformation of the strike team in an effort to save Shane, and themselves, before it's too late. Sub-plots throughout the season include Aceveda discovering a dark side he never knew he had, Julian (Michael Jace) looking to be transfered as he opposes Rawling's approach to the seizures, and Dutch (Jay Karnes) finding romance with Vic's ex-wife (Cathy Cahlin Ryan) while trying to get both his partner (CCH Pounder) and himself out of the doghouse with the DA. Many agree that the third season was a step down compared to the landmark first two, and the fourth season delivers firing on all cylinders. Glenn Close is perfect casting as the no-nonsense new captain, while Michael Chiklis is excellent as always as crooked cop Mackey, who this season, appears to be searching for redemption. The Shield is back on track, and it's once again the best original drama on cable TV. By the end of the season, there is a big change for all the main players, and it will leave you salivating for what's coming next.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Shield - The Complete Fourth Season (2002)

Heart-pounding. Intense. Gripping. Keeping the streets safe has never been more brutal. Season 4 introduced Glenn Close in a leading role and was the highest rated season yet. Live the suspense with THE SHIELD SEASON 4 on DVD!

Get 59% OFF

Click here for more information about The Shield - The Complete Fourth Season (2002)

The Shield - The Complete First Season (2002) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I love this show! I first got into it after reading some of the reviews posted here on these Season One dvds, so I thought I would give it a try and I purchased this complete season. I am truly glad that I did. I was hooked from the first episode to the last and I am now watching Season 2 on FX. What makes this show far better than all the other cop shows is that the production value is more in line with HBO or a movie than a cable television show. The acting is extremely good as are the scripts and dialogue. Even though Vic and his team are labeled "dirty" cops you can't help but root for them in the end. Michael Chiklis deserved his Golden Globe award for best actor, he takes on this role as if Vic Mackey was himself in a former life. I was also glad this show won the award for best drama series on TV. If you haven't seen the show yet and are unsure if you would like it, give it a try. It's a bit brutal and graphic, but by the time you finish the final episode, "Circles," you will be speechless, praying to catch repeats of Season 2.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Shield - The Complete First Season (2002)

The Road to Justice will blow you away! Detective Vic Mackey is the leader of an elite Strike Team unit, a group of cops effective at eliminating crime but also operating under Vic's own set of rules.But his rules sometimes cross the fine line between legal and illegal.Now the precinct has a new captain who doesn't like Vic's tactics and wants to bust him off the force-even as he finds himself going to Vic for help whenever the going gets rough.There's a reason this show is on cable. It "takes the grit and reality of a 'Homicide' or 'Sopranos' to a whole nother level" (Newsday). "The Shield" also made Emmy history by earning the most nominations ever for a basic cable drama series, with Michael Chiklis winning the coveted Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Now's your chance to experience all the action and excitement of television's most controversial show . . . from the beginning

Get 17% OFF

Click here for more information about The Shield - The Complete First Season (2002)

Third Watch: The Complete Second Season (2009) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a huge fan of Third Watch and learned a while back that the reason it's taken sooooooooooooooooo long for them to come out on DVD in the US is because of copyright issues on the AWESOME music that plays throughout the show. It's been released in Japan for years. Sheesh! I can hardly wait to get my copy!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Third Watch: The Complete Second Season (2009)

Sometimes it seems as if the world is crashing in on itself. It\'s the job of the first responders to hold it together. Police, firefighters, paramedics: The men and women of the 3-11 PM shift called third watch are ready to serve in situations ranging from small (attending to a frequent 9-1-1 dialer) to playful (a football match between fire departments) to harrowingly large and complex (tracking an elusive sniper who targets cops). The original team of heroes returns and an FDNY newcomer joins them in a 22-episode Season Two that combines the rigors of duty with compelling vignettes of life away from work. What kind of person defies a gun-wielding madman or rushes into a burning building? This kind – the people of Third Watch.

Get 69% OFF

Click here for more information about Third Watch: The Complete Second Season (2009)

The Job - The Complete Series (2001) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As a mid-season filler for "NYPD Blue", "The Job" turned out to be one of the best shows aired in a long time. With a sharp-witted irreverant script and a uniformly great cast, it should have run longer than 19 episodes.
Denis Leary, co-creator, co-producer and co-writer (with Peter Tolan) stars as unscrupulous Mike MacNeil, a pill-popping chain-smoking NYC Detective trying to keep his wife/family, 26 year old girlfriend and job all in balance. When the show ended, everything was unravelling in his life....
The rest of the cast is just too good to single anyone out, even with the recurring "guest" roles - with one stand out there being Janet Hubert-Whitten. Although listed as appearing in only four episodes as Bill Nunn's (Pip) iron fisted domineering wife Adina, her presence is felt in nearly every episode looming over the whipped Pip like a dark menacing cloud.
Nothing whatever is sacred whether it be race, religion or severed body parts. Case in point would be Lt. Williams, played in the pilot episode by Richard Gant, who can't remember the two Hispanic detective's names and calls them rice and beans ("I've been a detective for 36 years...I'm too old to learn new names")
While many things in the show would be offensive if they were played straight, the brilliant scripts don't pull it's punches on any topic and delivers dead-pan humor with gleeful zest.
The four DVD set comes nicely packaged and has few, but substantial extras, including interviews and a gag reel. Definitely one of the best releases of the year!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Job - The Complete Series (2001)

The critically-acclaimed, gritty comedy starring Denis Leary now on DVD!All 19 episodes on 4 DVDs!Mike McNeil (Denis Leary) is a self-medicating, hard-drinking, decorated New York City detective with a wife, a mistress and a crush on a coworker. Surrounded by a partner and fellow squad members who are just as colorful, McNeil pursues his uniquely unconventional, yet effective, approach to crime solving while attempting to manage the chaos of his personal life.Originally broadcast on ABC in 2001, The Job was shot entirely on location in New York City, giving the show a gritty look to match its always edgy comedy. Special Features: Interview/Commentary with creators Denis Leary & Peter Tolan Gag Reel

Get 21% OFF

Click here for more information about The Job - The Complete Series (2001)

The Shield - The Complete Second Season (2002) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Critics are a lot like infants. They want new toys, and they want them now, because none of the old ones is good enough. The sophomore backlash against The Shield began on schedule with the first published reviews of Season 2: One-dimensional performances, excessive violence, blah blah blah.
If only they had watched more than two episodes. The first two episodes of S2 were distinguished by brilliant writing and acting, but episode 3, Partners, was the best of the season. Partners is proof positive that Chiklis deserves his Emmy nomination (and that co-star Benito Martinez and guest star Carl Weathers should have been nominated as well).
The critics were outraged over Chiklis' repeat Emmy nomination, but, as rogue detective, Vic Mackey, Chiklis is even better this time around, trying to set limits on a life gone out of control. His scenes with guest stars Weathers and Mark Rolston, Cathy Cahlin Ryan (as estranged wife, Corinne), and Walton Goggins (both appealing and scary as Vic's partner, Shane), were masterful.
Even better is Benito Martinez, subtle, volcanic, and fiercely intelligent as the reviled, ambitious City Council candidate Capt. David Aceveda. Martinez is heartbreakingly adept at letting silence speak for him. The look in his eyes, whether he is defying his campaign manager or having a showdown with his new boss, conveys all the moral struggle, passion for justice, and yearning for something better that are The Shield's major themes. Michael Jace also brings a quiet strength and deep, abiding kindness to his role as closeted beat cop, Julien Lowe. These two were the best actors on the show this season, and my only complaint about Season 2 is that they didn't get more screen time. Both bring awsome natural talent and presence to their roles.
Kenneth Johnson's Lem is likeable, as is new Strike Teamer, Brian White (Tavon Garris), and I look forward to seeing more of these watchable actors next season. Jay Karnes is always on the money as Dutch, the squad room scapegoat with daddy issues.
The Shield has always featured outstanding guest performances and S2 is no exception. The astounding Jamie Brown as hooker/informant, Connie; Danny Pino as the relentless drug lord, Armadillo; Weathers as Vic's down-and-out ex-partner, Joe Clark; the terrific Camilla Sanes as Capt. Aceveda's pragmatic, politically savvy wife, Aurora; and Rolston as a P.I. who turns emotional baggage into a contagious disease, are all superb.
The Shield's music supervisor, Evyen Klean, is in top form, too. The S2 soundtrack features brilliant scene-to-song matches, and other, larger networks are taking notice. The transcendent 'Aleluia Melisma', from unsigned artist, Steve Edwards, isn't available commercially. Yet, a few months after it was featured in S2's soundtrack, it showed up on one of the hottest new shows from one of the Big Three networks. S2's final montage -- set to Live's "Overcome" -- is every bit as good as last season's capper, and recalls Miami Vice in its brilliant fusion of music and images.
As usual, The Shield was there first. Ignore the critics and check it out.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Shield - The Complete Second Season (2002)

Various.

Get 37% OFF

Click here for more information about The Shield - The Complete Second Season (2002)

Mad Men: Season One (2007) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)It would be hard to imagine a more absorbingly intelligent American TV series--in terms of writing, acting, and visuals--than MAD MEN. Just before the final season of THE SOPRANOS began in late 2007, AMC presented us in the summer with the thirteen episodes of this marvelously atmospheric series created by one of the main writers of the series, Matt Weiner, that HBO insanely took a pass on. Ostensibly the series is about a group of advertising agency working for Madison Avenue advertising agency, the fictitious Sterling-Cooper, in 1960, during the Nixon-Kennedy presidential contest; yet on a deeper level the show wrestles with much larger questions about the meaning of obsession with having (and marketing) happiness in mid-20th-century America. The series centers primarily around four characters whose lives are inextricably linked with one another: Don Draper (Jon Hamm), a handsome advertising executive at Sterling-Cooper of few words but enormous creative gifts who hides a mysterious past; his beautiful but childlike wife Betty (January Jones), whom he keeps entirely separate in the suburbs from his work life and his mistresses in the city; Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), Don's new secretary, whose naive affect and kind heart belie her tremendous ambition; and Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), the smarmy account executive who trades on his ties to the Old New York "Knickerbocracy" to get him ahead. The four central actors are absolutely first-rate, as are several within their near orbits: John Slattery as Roger Sterling, the roguish partner who is both Don's friend and his competitor; the gifted Christina Hendricks, as the firm's femme fatale head secretary; and Robert Morse, as the firm's wily and eccentric senior partner.
Morse's presence ties the series to his famous work in both the Broadway and Hollywood production of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, and the episodes make intelligent reference also to any number of important American fictional works about the NYC business and suburban domestic worlds of the post-War era, including THE APARTMENT and THE BEST OF EVERYTHING. (Richard Yates's REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and the films of Douglas Sirk are also repeatedly evoked too, if in less direct ways.) One of the pleasures of this fine DVD set are the superb extras which allow us to see the especially thoughtful work done by the series' set designers, hairstylists, and (particularly) its head costume designer. The commentaries are generally excellent, and it will come as no surprise to fans of the series that not only the series creator, Matt Weiner, and its writers are especially eloquent but so too are its actors, especially Hamm and Kartheiser. The eye-catching design of this DVD package (fashioned to look and open, naturally, like a classic American manufacturer's product: a Zippo lighter) has been rightly praised for its innovation but also rightly criticized for its unwieldiness.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Mad Men: Season One (2007)

MAD MEN SEASON 1 - DVD Movie

Get 34% OFF

Click here for more information about Mad Men: Season One (2007)

The Shield - The Complete Third Season (2002) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)"The Shield" seems to up it a notch with every season. I remember watching the very first season and thinking to myself that there was no way this show could get any darker, more intense or more outrageous. I was proven wrong when I saw the second season, but yet again I made the wrong assumption and thinking there was no way in the world that the next season would be more devastating and brutal.
After seeing Season 3, I have finally learned my lesson and will no longer make that silly assumption. This is because "The Shield: Season 3" takes you even further down the rabbit hole that is this amazingly dark and take-no-prisoners cop drama that pretty much breaks all of the rules. You are given some deeply flawed characters... and yet, we still want to learn more about them and even care what happens to them.
After successfully robbing the money train, the heat is on the Strike Team more than ever. Vic needs to keep his team in line until the dust settles, but that proves to be an impossible task as emotions and paranoia run high among the other participants. Captain Aceveda is still trying to maintain his political career while taking care of The Barn, but something horrific will happen to him that will leave him never being the same again. Claudette is still striving for the position of the "top dog" at The Barn and doesn't make things easier for Vic when she decides to include a Decoy Squad, while keeping a close eye on Vic and his team. Still, Vic has other problems to deal with, and I'm not even talking about his family issues. The Strike Team is in constant danger of being the latest victims of the Armenian Mob, who is willing to kill anyone involved with the whole money train robbery. This is only a small part of the fun that lurks in this explosive third season.
The show is still extremely dark and brutal at times, but it still gets in a lot of the ironic humor in it as well. Fans of the first two seasons will most likely enjoy this new season, as each episode is engaging and addicting. The great writing and execution is still there and by the time you finish these 15 episodes, you'll want more. Michael Chiklis does an excellent job of playing "Vic," and even though there are times you really hate him, there are also times where you cannot help but root for him.
This show is not for those who get offended easily or are extremely sensitive. Just like the other two seasons, these guys pretty much get away with ANYTHING (the only exception I've seen is the usage of the F-word). This is definitely something you'd think you would catch on HBO. There's a lot of violence, language, disturbing situations and content, and there is a pretty horrible rape scene... but it's not what you would think. Anyways, just be cautious. If you can handle the first two seasons, then you shouldn't have too many problems dealing with Season 3. Extras included are commentary on selected episodes, deleted scenes and a making-of documentary.
"The Shield: Season 3" delivers the goods when it comes to addicting and mesmerizing TV. All of the episodes are highly entertaining and you will find yourself having a hard time putting the DVDs away. Once you start, it is VERY hard to stop watching. If you haven't seen the other seasons, then I'd recommend checking those out first, although it is possible to get the gist of what's going on without doing so. "The Shield" has definitely kept its edge, and Season 3 proves that big time. -Michael Crane

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Shield - The Complete Third Season (2002)

"The Shield" made history with the most Emmy nominations ever for a basic cable drama.It won a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series and star Michael Chiklis won the Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Get ready as this hard-hitting, award-winning cop drama returns with a vengeance for a pulse-pounding third season.

Click here for more information about The Shield - The Complete Third Season (2002)