TVSquad

(S06E10) "...but understand, you are nothing more than a fly on one of my many shits." - Pezuela

The beginning of the end. We've got one more season of The Shield to go and I have to say that I'm pretty excited for what's been set up. It's going to be a lot to cover with only thirteen episodes remaining in life of the series. Then again, this season only had ten installments and look how many different stories came out of it. From the aftermath of Lem's death to the biggest conspiracy the Farmington district has ever seen, we got it all in season six.

(S06E09) "Too many shit-heads. Not enough pillows." - Vic

Despite the fact that I love Vic Mackey, I still laugh a little any time he makes some comment about people in jail. The luck this guy has had! He could just as easily be behind bars. But as this episode taught us, it more often than not just falls into his lap. You'd think karma would have come and bit him in the ass by now, but his good fortune never seems to cease.

(S06E08) "We're not clean in this either. And I'm not spending the rest of my life wearing state property." -Ronnie

I'm gonna make a bold statement that'll probably insult some readers: If you don't watch this show, you're dumb. Plain and simple. Nothing else on TV is as well-written, layered, and intricate as The Shield. There's another well-known cable drama with a prominent anti-hero about to end its run. Something about the Jersey mob and its high strung boss. You know that guy I'm talking about? Well, he can't hold a candle to Vic Mackey.

(S06E07) "He's not going to say anything to anybody because I know everything he's done." -Shane

There it is folks. The one thing that can actually make Vic Mackey look terrified. The knowledge in Shane's (apparently not so small) brain. We knew this was coming though. It's almost like watching an episode of Survivor. An alliance has been broken and now it's every man for himself. Who knows what and how they can use it to gain leverage.

I'll be honest though. Shane is proving to be far more effective in covering his tracks than I would have ever imagined. It almost makes you wonder how many times he's gone over this type of scenario in his head, even before the incident with Lem. The guy has put plenty of thought into his actions and it seems like Vic may have a legitimate reason to worry. How do you stop a guy that knows exactly what you know?

(S06E05) "You ever think about just coming clean? About everything?" -Shane

I suppose I should be used to it by now, but with the ups and downs that most great shows go through, it's weird to watch something and never be disappointed at the end of it. The Shield is just always good and I think it's remarkable.

So if that didn't spell it out, I liked this episode - a lot. Just solid from all points. Plenty of vintage Dutch, a blast from the past with the return of Vic's old partner, and a gut-wrenching confession from Shane made for one hell of an hour.

(S06E03) "This thing's gonna get a lot uglier before it gets better." -Vic

Well... it's official. I'm fairly certain I can't say a bad thing about this show. It's too good. Period. I'll even go as far as saying that it might be one of the finest cop dramas ever to be made and there's still 20 episodes (7 this season and 13 in the final) left before it's over for good.

There's just so many layers and subtle things that make this show so great (this episode in particular), that I know I won't recall all of them. That's how you know a show's good.

So we picked up with last week's kidnapping of Nadia (Guardo's girl) and Vic was forced to go to some extreme lengths to find the peace he's been looking for.

(S06E01) This is why I love TV. This was the second time I've seen this episode (you've got to love press screeners) and I was just as riveted as the first time I saw it. With the way last season ended, people have been waiting a long time for this. It was worth the wait because last night's season six premiere of The Shield was arguably one of the best episodes of the series to date.

Picking up just about a week after Shane killed Lem, the late Det. Lemansky has been buried minus the pomp of a proper police funeral. Turns out that Aceveda and his new political cronies made sure that the city knew Lem was "dirty." Naturally, Vic is not thrilled with that and along with Shane and Ronnie (who now has a much more expanded role), they begin looking for whoever killed Lem.

I'll be the first to admit it. I was a latecomer to The Shield. I'd never watched a minute of it until right before the fourth season started and a buddy of mine let me borrow the first three seasons on DVD. He told me it was the best cop show ever. Wait a second. Better than NYPD Blue or The Wire? Yes. So I watched the three seasons... in one weekend. The phrase "glued to my seat" does not begin to do justice to how mesmerized I was by this show. I mean, damn!

So naturally, when I was approached about speaking with Walton Goggins, I practically blew up with anticipation. However, I'm not the only Shield fan here at TV Squad. Our fearless leader Keith is a die-hard too. So we decided to do something different for this interview -- the first ever TV Squad Tag Team. Walton didn't know what he was stepping into... that is, if he could crack through all the codes to get into our elaborate virtual phone-in conference room. I can't say that I blame him. I got confused too.

Keith: Hey man, thanks for joining us.

Walton: (laughing) I'm in the inner sanctum of some imaginary corporate office right now.

Jonathan: I know, it's crazy! You have to push buttons and number sequences and then some computerized voice announces your name.

According to this morning's Ausiello Report, "reliable sources" have confirmed that a sixth season of The Shield has been green-lit. It seems that show creator Shawn Ryan is confident that there's still plenty more story to tell. Of course, at this rate, a sixth season probably won't be seen until sometime in late 2007 or 2008.

The last ten episodes of season five are currently being filmed and won't air until early 2007, which gives FX time to finish out the third season of Rescue Me and the fourth season of Nip/Tuck. No matter how you look at this though, it's good news. The Shield is easily one of the top five shows on TV (in my book anyway) and it's good to know that it'll be around for a little while longer.

During last night's season premiere of Rescue Me, FX ran its first new preview for the second half of season five of The Shield. It's not supposed to return until January 2007 I think, but the promo still said "Coming Soon." They love to tease us. For those who missed it, here's how it played out.

After the obligatory "Viewer Discretion Advised," solid black screens flash with the following slugs:

• Detective Curtis Lemansky
• Born July 14, 1963
• Died March 21, 2006
• Cause of Death

Then it flashes through a quick montage of all the characters. It ends on Shane. Whew, still sends chills down my spine. It wraps with what I'm assuming is the tagline for the rest of the season: "No One Rests in Peace." Neither will I until 2007 rolls around. I can't wait.