The Shield - Season 4 [2004] - DVD (Michael Chiklis, Benito Martinez, Glenn Close, C.C.H. Pounder, Anthony Anderson - Dir: Nick Gomez)

With the addition of Glenn Close to its already excellent cast, The Shield entered its fourth season with tensions high and tempers flaring. Aceveda (Benito Martinez) has gained political clout on the City Council, and former Farmington district officer Monica Rawling (Close) is introduced as the new Captain of "the Barn," where she immediately confronts a maelstrom of personal and professional turmoil. His strike team now splintered, Mackey (Michael Chiklis) has returned to routine detective duty, while Shane (Walton Goggins) and new partner "Army" Renta (Michael Peña) are neck-deep in trouble with Farmington's "untouchable" drug-lord, Antwon Mitchell, a new villain played to perfection by actor/comedian Anthony Anderson. This seemingly traitorous predicament places Shane at further odds with former strike-teammates Mackie, Lemon (Kenneth Johnson) and Ronnie (David Rees Snell), and while Wyms (CCH Pounder) resents Rawling's promotion, the "Dutch" (Jay Karnes) makes a selfish backroom deal that causes further friction with Wyms and Mackey. Tensions are intensified by Rawling's aggressive seizure of homes and property paid for with drug money -- an effective campaign that forces "Danny" (Catherine Dent) and Julien (Michael Jace) and the entire police force to take sides in a hotly divisive civil rights debate that culminates in the murder of two Farmington cops.

Although some critics felt Close was too refined for a series as gritty as The Shield, she quickly found her place in the show's tight ensemble, earning an Emmy nomination (along with Pounder) and giving Mackey a formidable boss who earns his respect. And while Aceveda wrestles with psychosexual demons resulting from his humiliation in season 3, the high-stakes threat of Antwon Mitchell embroils the Barn in a cauldron of mistrust and political upheaval. More than any previous season, this 13-episode story arc is character-based and internally driven by clashing agendas. Sub-plots run the gamut of neighborhood killings and gang-banger conflict, but as always The Shield also finds room for plenty of mordant wit and tension-relieving sarcasm. Like all previous Shield DVDs, this four-disc set includes informative episode commentaries from the entire cast (including Close) engaged in revealing discussions of their creative process with creator Shawn Ryan and several primary writers and directors. Best of all, the "Under the Skin" documentary is a way-above-average, 60-minute survey of The Shield's day-to-day production, offering plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and eloquent insight about the challenge of maintaining high-quality drama during a fast-paced guerilla production schedule. It's essential viewing for Shield fans and anyone considering a career in television. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews of The Shield - Season 4 [2004]

The Duffman
Larkhall, Scotland
3rd January 2009

The Antwon Mitchell Season
In my opinion there are only 3 television shows which are better than The Shield. However Season 4 of The Shield in my opinion is the greatest single series of any TV show ever.

The storyline is one of the most gripping i have ever experienced and im not going to go into details for fear of people reading this that have still to see it.

The acting has always been of the highest order in this show but with the introduction of Anthony Anderson as Antwon Mitchell and Glenn Close as new Farmington captain Monica Rawlings it actually manages to surpass previous series of the show.

If your a fan of The Shield and have watched the first three series then this will not disappoint you.

Money well spent.

almighty

13th July 2008

RESPECT!
Not many series that started out great can keep the high standard in later seasons. Well, neither does the shield. It just keeps getting BETTER. Unique acting abilities (I'd give ALL the cast OSCARS for their performances) combined with the best story writers in history, this is the BEST SERIES EVER. AN ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE!

F.Dawson
huddersfield,england
25th April 2008

MONICA RAWLINS V ANTWOM MITCHELL
season 4 of the best ever show on tv...big changes in the barn. aceveda is in office for city council...a new captain, rawlins(glenn close)takes over...the strike team is no more...shane heads for VICE and lem is helping young bangers and families.i have to say (maybe down to big time actress`s and actors wanting to be top dog,i dont know)but it takes a few episodes to start getting in to gear.overall...edge of the seat,gritty, close to the bone...roller coaster ride that is season 4.

SeanLock

28th January 2008

Hmmmmmmmm.....
Imagine my surprise when i read that the average rating for this series was only four stars! I am an accidental fan of The Shield after spotting the first series for a ridiculously cheap price, season 4 is fantastic and as you can guess, seasons 2 and 3 were none too shabby either. Whilst i respect the fact that there is much less strike team action in this series, it is important to realise that for the show to continue and evolve, that the realism remains, there is no way that the strike team would be able to continue without it stretching the boundaries of what is true. This is what is so great about this show, the fact that at no point do you feel it is over the top. The cast are superb and the storylines much more character driven which for me came as a welcome change of pace! However i am now waiting for Season Five which should be arriving any day noe, and if the reviews i have read are accurate it should be mind blowing!

Swampyrat
N Ireland
21st January 2008

Too short but still brilliant!
Firstly I would like to side with the comment about Glenn Close being miscast. I don't believe that her character was given enough time to develop and relied on a 'one horse' facet, seizure policy. In so doing she was left as a mis mash along with Aceveda and never really looked as if she was going to last through to a further series.
That aside all I would say is try and watch the Net and come away with a real panic over getting the next series to see how it all starts to pan out.