The Shield: Season Four (www.the-usher.com)

The Cure
Vic is no longer the cop he used to be, acting adrift after his past actions have caught up to him. The strike team has dissolved, leaving Mackey to menial busts that keep him off the streets. When Aceveda moves on to his new City Council position, Captain Monica Rawling takes over the Barn and empowers Vic to implement her controversial anti-gang policies.

Grave
Mackey tries to help an old acquaintance find a wayward teenager, but the search quickly turns ugly when the missing teen appears to have been involved in a shoot-out. Meanwhile, Shane heads out into the field with his new partner Army, teaching him shady police tactics and seeing how far he'll go to be partnered up. Plus, Aceveda spends his last day trying to bury Vic for good, which makes things difficult for Rawling trying to take his place.

Bang
With Farmington on the brink of a gang war, Monica and Vic race to find the catalyst and stop the bloodshed, enlisting Antwon's help along the way. Still in the doghouse, Dutch decides to take action in thawing the relationship between Claudette and the D.A. Danny and Julien get up close and personal with the Farmington 1-Niners, while Monica looks to Vic for support when the implementation of her property seizure policy challenges her morality.

Doghouse
When Monica puts Vic on the trail of an escaped fugitive in Farmington, he must continue to prove his worth while playing it straight. Claudette gets suspicious of the D.A's motives when she and Dutch are assigned to investigate a major drug dealer who ends up being a minor offender. David seeks an illicit outlet for the troubling feelings caused by his rape. Vic decides to bring Shane closer as his fears about Shane's connection to Antwon Mitchell rise.

Tar Baby
A tip from Lemonhead's juvie would leads Vic and Monica to take down a major heroin operation with connections to Antwon Mitchell. Monica continues to battle Aceveda as she tries to sell her new policies to the community, and Julien begins to doubt her methods. Claudette loses trust in Dutch when she suspects he made a backroom deal with the D.A. And Shane and Army find themselves over their heads with Antwon when he blames them for Vic's heroin bust.

Insurgents
Vic and Monica strike a deal with the DEA to shut down Mitchell's tar heroin operation. When the bust comes up empty, Vic's suspicions of Shane grow, until Shane proves himself by coming up with a key piece of evidence that reveals a large stash of tar being stored at a local church. Meanwhile, Dutch and Claudette's friendship continues to feel strain as they try to tie a young woman's murder to a suspected serial killer. Plus, Julien takes a stand against Monica's policy, then goes to David for support when she suggests he consider transferring out of Farmington.

Hurts
Just as Monica and Vic get close to a big break in the Garage Sting, Chief Phillips unexpectedly hands over the bust to the Organized Crime Unit. He blames the decision on an emerging PR scandal involving a videotape of Vic at the church bust that was leaked to the Assistant Chief through Aceveda's office. Vic uses his leverage with the Byz Lats to find a Russian mob leader before the mobster flees the country. Monica threatens two foster care social workers with jail after a young girl is found close to death in her foster home, then tells Julien if he doesn't put in for a transfer, she'll request one for him herself.

Cut Throat
Monica and Vic rush to get their informants off the street after two C.I's are found brutally murdered. Meanwhile, as Dutch and Claudette investigate a brutal beating and robbery, a case from the past forces Dutch to take one in the line of duty. Plus, Vic suspects he's being set up when Shane comes to him after his situation with Antwon and Halpern spins out of control.

String Theory
Monica orders her units to turn the streets of Farmington inside-out when two officers mysteriously disappear after answering a 911 call. Shane tries to make amends with his old crew after Vic agrees to help him get out from under Antwon, but things don't work out as planned. Dutch and Claudette convince Monica to let them take active roles in the case of the missing officers, but soon find themselves at a dead end with the only witness being clinically insane.

Back In The Hole
Vic and Monica go head to head with Antwon, and do everything in their power to get him to admit to being involved with the cop killings. Monica is shocked when Vic and Shane confront her with the information they've been hiding regarding Antwon and Angie's body. Shane and Army wonder if they'll be able to pass the lie detector test Monica is forcing them to take. Meanwhile, after another young black woman is murdered, Dutch and Claudette hope to prove their suspicions correct with their recently relocated Texan.

A Thousand Deaths
Vic and the Strike Team use their leverage on the One-Niners to track down anyone involved with the cop killings. Their hunt leads them down an unexpected path with the Russian mob. Monica puts pressure on the team to come clean about any of their dealings with Antwon. Dutch and Claudette investigate a gang shooting and soon realize their key witness is close to the Barn, and has something to hide.

Judas Priest
Vic and Monica discover a connection between Antwon Mitchell and the murders of the police officers. With his political career threatened by the man who assaulted him, Aceveda brokers a deal between Antwon and the DEA. Claudette and Dutch investigate a fake ID operation and its connection to the death of a recently released ex-con.

Ain't That A Shame
Monica, Vic and the strike team work together to put Antwon Mitchell back behind bars after his deal with the DEA released him from prison. When Vic reveals his suspicions of David's connection to both Antwon and an inmate's murder, David must protect his political future at any cost. When the murder of an over-protective father leads Claudette and Dutch back to a foster home they had previously investigated, Monica makes an unpopular decision that helps seal her fate.

Vic Mackey returns to the streets of Farmington for a fourth season but this time a Hollywood star is joining him.

In the past, television was considered the realm of lesser actors, whose who couldn't make it on the silver screen or by treading the boards. Now television shows have just as good production values and scripts as any Hollywood or West End/Broadway play. This has drawn huge audiences worldwide for hit shows and turned the actors that perform in them into superstars. Now film and theatre actors are starting to take notice and the move to the small screen is becoming an acceptable risk. For season four of 'The Shield', an Oscar nominated actress has joined the cast, Glenn Close.

Coming to replace David Aceveda as the new boss of the Barn, Farmington's police precinct, Glenn Close plays Captain Monica Rawling, a commanding officer with a no nonsense approach to the gang culture that is gripping the district. Implementing a seizures programme, which takes all of the property and real estate brought with ill gotten gains from criminal activities, sells them and then feeds the money back into community projects, the captain rattles a few cages with both the gangs and authorities. It is Close's power and presence as an actress that makes Captain Monica Rawling such great character for the season.

It is the chemistry between Glenn Close and star Michael Chiklis that makes this season so memorable. First hatred, then cooperation and then mutual respect, Captain Monica Rawling and Vic Mackey become a formidable team to take on the biggest threat that Farmington has ever faced, local gang kingpin Antwon Mitchell. Best known for his comedic performances on the big screen, Anthony Anderson reveals a dramatic side to his acting and makes an excellent foil to Mackey and Rawling. The season also sees growth for the returning main cast. Benito Martinez's David Aceveda has a troublesome first year in politics. Claudette and Dutch struggle with the repercussions of season three. Shane gets in way over his head and becomes a puppet for the criminal gangs. There is much, much more from this tightly written, brilliantly acted cop show.

The fourth season of 'The Shield' proves again that Shawn Ryan and his team have created a cop show that is extremely different from the norm. Vic Mackey is a character that you should deplore but you are enthralled by his activities and quickly drawn into his world. With a supporting cast that is second to none and star names becoming drawn to the quality of the show, 'The Shield' is essentially one of the best shows on television.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the series looks great.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentaries
Series creator Shawn Ryan, writers/executive producers Glen Mazzara, Charles H. Eglee and Kurt Sutter, writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, director/executive producer Scott Brazil, producer Adam Fierro and stars Michael Chiklis, Glenn Close, Anthony Anderson, CCH Pounder, Brian J. White, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, Vincent Angell, David Rees Snell, Michele Hicks, Jay Karnes, Kenny Johnson, Michael Jace, Catherine Dent and Michael Peña provide commentary on the episodes 'The Cure', 'Grave', 'Bang', 'Tar Baby', 'Cut Throat', 'Back in the Hole', 'A Thousand Deaths' and 'Ain't that a Shame'.

Deleted Scenes
Watch deleted or extended scenes for the episodes The Cure', 'Grave', 'Bang', 'Dog House', 'Tar Baby', 'Hurt', 'Cut Throat', 'String Theory', 'A Thousand Deaths', 'Judas Priest' and 'Ain't that a Shame'.

Under the Skin: Documentary
Series creator Shawn Ryan, writers/executive producers Glen Mazzara, Charles H. Eglee and Kurt Sutter, writers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, director/executive producer Scott Brazil, producer Adam Fierro and stars Michael Chiklis, Glenn Close, Anthony Anderson, CCH Pounder, Brian J. White, Cathy Cahlin Ryan, Vincent Angell, David Rees Snell, Michele Hicks, Jay Karnes, Kenny Johnson, Michael Jace, Catherine Dent, Abby Brammell and Michael Peña take you behind the scenes of the fourth season of 'The Shield'. Looking at the differences between acting on film or in the theatre than that of television, the style of the show, the character development for the season, the new big name stars and the approach taken by the actors, writers and directors of the award winning drama.

Trailers
Previews of 'Walking Tall: The Payback', 'Perfect Stranger' and 'Vacancy'

OVERALL

The DVD presentation of the fourth season of 'The Shield' is exceptionally good. With commentary tracks for most of the episodes and deleted scenes as well, the extras are very good already but when you add to this the documentary then you have a package that fans will be overjoyed with.

DVD

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