American Folk Mediums and The Shield

I love television. Unlike many people I know, tv in my opinion is a better medium for entertainment than film. Though much of what is on the tube is crap, there are those rare shows that outshine anything on the silver screen. Mostly comedies like Sienfield, Arrested Development, The Simpsons and 30 Rock, but also a few dramas like The Shield. I have to admitt that when I first saw the sheild I thought that it was another cheesy show about renagade cops. But after I picked up on the threads that were running through the show from the begining, I was hooked. I liked the Wire, but no other show was as compelling from start to finish as the Shield. As the last season became more and more intense, I dreaded seeing the results. I held the last disc on Netflix for a week before I could watch it. My girlfriend thought I was being rediculous, but after watching every episode in order from start to finish i couldn't bare to let it go. And unlike the Wire, I knew it was going to be bad. And it was. At first I was disappointed in the ending, but it turns out that it was an inevitability. The strike team was just too guilty from the beginning, and would have to be caught. I liked how there were those times when the strike team tried to send one of their own off to a farm in Mexico, as if it was the ultimate prize for the corrupt cop. It never worked. Anyway true fans will understand the agaony I felt over the demise of Shane, Lemme, Ronnie, and Vic. Its hard to explain to non-devotees. I hope Shawn Ryan or Michael Chilikas will be able to create a new show of such quality. One thing is for shure though, that almost shakespeareanesque tragedy is rarely presented on the big screen. And for good reason. One needs a lot of time and space to create a dynamic universe that the viewer can immerse onself in and essentially become a part of. Maybe this will create an audience demand for more intense tv drama. So yeah Shield ( and by the way I know the series ended a year ago or so, but it was just recently released on DVD, and I have no cable.)
Thanks and I will be with you next time with the entries "How 30 Rock Save TV Comedy" and "Sarah Palin Must Die"
Cdub

Democrats Need to Stand Up

I hope that Healthcare reform passes and Obama and the Dems rub it in the Republicans' faces. They need to be punished. One problem the Dems have is they do not weild their power in a politicaly useful way. The Republicans are against the American people on this health care issue and are using it to try and derail Obama's Presidency. They are using deplorable tactics that cater to the lowest common denominator. These assholes that stand up and say, "I dont want our country turning into Russia or China" at town hall meetings first off sound like total bigots and secondly have absolutley no idea what they are talking about. And the media portrays these random loudmouth jerkoffs as people who have real concerns about the Obama plan. The Obama plan is not perfect and does not have to be. In fact I am still a little unclear of what it is, but I am in favor of any change that could possibly help the millions of people who are being taken advantage of, and I trust that whatever is done will be better than what we have now and what we will have in the future if nothing changes. The point here is people ranging from the middle class to the poor are needlessly suffering because healthcare is a business and not a service. It does not cater to the people. I have a feeling that a lot of these town hall jerks are being paid by special interests to act as beligerant as possible. This is the Democrat's chance to punish the Republicans (and any phony Democrats.) This really needs to be done, for right now we have a minority group of elite hate mongers who are falsely being labeled in the media as representing a large portion of the public. And what's worse these Rush Limbaugh types are able to hold the Dems hostage even though they are a minority. If we want change as a country, then we need to use the power that we won in the last election to put these people in their place. Obama has been very public, opening himself up to criticism. The Democrats need to act decisivley now or face being on the defensive for the next 3 years. We all built this, lets not let it die before we even get started. Death to traitors. Crush the cowerdly, manipulative haters. Make them pay for the hurt they are putting on the people of this great country. Lets take a lesson from the brave Persians and stand up for Democracy now.
Cdub