Almost 20 years ago, Steven Bochco shocked the world when he created "NYPD Blue". The show was realistic and raw. It pushed the envelope in terms of language, violence, and sexuality. It kept people riveted for years. Then almost 10 years later, Shawn Ryan pushed the envelope even further with his masterpiece, "The Shield." The language was more pervasive. The violence was more graphic. And the sexuality was more explicit. But in taking things to another level, Ryan made a show that will leave impressions with its audience long after the final credits roll. Vic Mackey became the ultimate anti-hero. In the VERY FIRST EPISODE, he shows his true colors when he shoots a fellow cop, who was going to rat him out to the Justice Department. He cuddles up to drug dealers just as easily as he plants evidence on them. Vic and his Strike Team lied, stole, framed people, and even killed. Yet here we were STILL ROOTING for Vic and his crew, despite our own moral dilemmas about doing so. And we loved every minute of it for seven years. Each season just kept us gritting our teeth, watching Vic and his team sink deeper and deeper into an abyss that we (secretly) prayed they might crawl out of. And we felt the pain that they felt when Lem destroyed most of the Armenian Train money, when Vic was being hounded by Lt. Kavanaugh from Internal Affairs, when Shane felt compelled to silence Lem. And the very final episode left us completely breathless, knowing the end is at hand. Some of the "justice" was inevitable (Shane). Some was expected (Ronnie). And some was, as the tagline put it, "twisted" (Vic). The images that perfectly sums up this show are these. Vic telling a perp in Season 1, "Good cop and bad cop left for the day. I'm a different kind of cop." And Vic, Ronnie, and Shane giving Lem his "21-gun salute" at his grave. Bravo, Mr. Ryan. Bravo.
Review of Family Meeting
