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'the shield' vs. 'sons of anarchy' (potential spoilers)

Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:21 am
Posted by vandelay industries
CSRA
Member since May 2012
2477 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:21 am
both shows have shared some fingerprints (first and foremost, kurt sutter....but also jay karnes, kenny johnson, benito martinez, david rees snell, and walton goggins, off the top of my head), and seem like they could've existed in the same alternate universe. also, kosic's "oh, shite" death in SOA was definitely a 'shield' inside joke, juice was watching 'the shield' while in a holding cell, etc...if you noticed any other callbacks, feel free to post 'em.

which one do you like more? admittedly, i'm still a few eps shy of SOA (should be done in the next day or so), and i enjoy it alot, but i've gotta give the nod to 'the shield'. while not always perfect, the momentum & tension continued escalating throughout the series....while i'm a fan of SOA, the momentum tended to unintentionally go up & down, and some of the characters' decisions seemed disingenuous, as if the writers needed an excuse to advance the storyline further (season 2 finale was a HUGE offender IMO). that said, when shite's going off the rails, SOA is some damn good TV....but 'the shield' is still the gold standard IMO...

edit: apologies if this thread is beating a dead horse....i did a search & it came up empty.
This post was edited on 7/8/14 at 9:24 am
Posted by abellsujr
New England
Member since Apr 2014
35273 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:29 am to
The Shield
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89551 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:33 am to
quote:

and seem like they could've existed in the same alternate universe


Sutter has clearly expressed that they exist in the same universe.

Couldn't stand the kid, so I didn't watch SOA after the first 3 or 4 episodes. I think I made the right choice.

The Shield is my GOAT and in the same league as Sopranos, The Wire and Breaking Bad -

SOA...isn't.

Posted by Sonny Koufax
Member since Aug 2006
1678 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:34 am to
quote:

The Shield

This
Posted by vandelay industries
CSRA
Member since May 2012
2477 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:41 am to
quote:

Sutter has clearly expressed that they exist in the same universe.


i can see that....i just wasn't sure 'tho, since both shows shared so many actors.

do the "one-niners" exist in real life? i noticed they're in both 'the shield' & SOA...
Posted by LasVegasTiger
Idaho
Member since Apr 2008
8066 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:48 am to
To me they both hit the same mark with me. I really really liked the early seasons and then they both just became to way over the top with cheesy action scenes and over the top acting.

Having said that, I still enjoyed both of them and will defiently be watching the final season of Sons.

Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89551 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:51 am to
quote:

do the "one-niners" exist in real life?


No - based on Crips and Bloods - they couldn't use the real names or real colors because they film out in Los Angeles and people would have gotten shot behind that.

So, they combined them to make the One-Niners (although the gang itself is mainly based on the Crips) - and combined the colors (Blue and Red) to make the One-Niner color purple.
Posted by Sevendust912
Member since Jun 2013
11366 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:52 am to
SOA is wayyyy too unrealistic for me to enjoy. I also think the acting is cliche and lame IMO
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89551 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 9:54 am to
quote:

they both just became to way over the top with cheesy action scenes and over the top acting.


I can't speak for SOA, as I said, but you're way off base on The Shield - a little bumpy at times, but it was fairly gritty and realistic, as far as any dramatic show based on cops can be. There were a few heists and a few too many shootouts to be based in "actual" reality, but the way the directors and actors handled the somewhat outlandish situations handed to them by the writers was excellent.

I categorically dispute "cheesy" or "over the top" acting in The Shield. Show was fantastic, top to bottom, start to finish - albeit a couple of bumpy spots here and there (which The Sopranos, The Wire and Breaking Bad all had - with The Wire probably being the most consistent of the 4).

Posted by vandelay industries
CSRA
Member since May 2012
2477 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:03 am to
quote:

Couldn't stand the kid, so I didn't watch SOA after the first 3 or 4 episodes. I think I made the right choice.


you should've stuck with it IMO. hell, 90% of the shows i like started off bumpy, including 'the shield'....after the ending of the first 'shield' ep, i was like "sheesh, how can they possibly make a series out of this?", and shows how right i was, lol...

over time, i re-adjusted my expectations of the show (SOA), and now i just enjoy it as "pulpy" escapism.
This post was edited on 7/8/14 at 10:04 am
Posted by LasVegasTiger
Idaho
Member since Apr 2008
8066 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:03 am to
quote:

with The Wire probably being the most consistent of the 4).


This might of been my problem and I probably need to go back and rewatch The Shield.

I watched it immediately after I finished The Wire.
Posted by REG861
Ocelot, Iowa
Member since Oct 2011
36419 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:06 am to
The shield is exponentially better.. not even a comparison. I agree with soa being pulpy escapism.
This post was edited on 7/8/14 at 10:09 am
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89551 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:10 am to
quote:

90% of the shows i like started off bumpy, including 'the shield'....after the ending of the first 'shield' ep, i was like "sheesh, how can they possibly make a series out of this?", and shows how right i was, lol...


I can't understand anyone not being blown away by the pilot episode of The Shield. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Part of my problem with SOA was that I had high expectations - Sutter both wrote a lot of Shield episodes, plus played the best bad guy in the run - Margos.

But, I can't stand to watch Charlie Hunnam another minute - so SOA probably wasn't for me.

As an example from The Shield, as much as I didn't like Shane Vendrell, I don't intensely dislike Walton Goggins. The only actor I came close to disliking in The Shield was Cathy Ryan (Corrienne Mackey), and she wasn't on screen nearly as much as Jax.
Posted by vandelay industries
CSRA
Member since May 2012
2477 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:20 am to
quote:

I can't understand anyone not being blown away by the pilot episode of The Shield. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.


oh, i enjoyed the pilot ep....but given the circumstances of what happened in it, i wasn't convinced vic mackey would be able to carry the load for an entire series. yet he did, and dare i say, we probably even rooted for the guy on occasion....

i grew to "like" (relatively speaking...he IS still a repeated felon, after all) jax, as long as he doesn't share the screen with tara, lol...
This post was edited on 7/8/14 at 10:23 am
Posted by Fewer Kilometers
Baton Rouge
Member since Dec 2007
36060 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:39 am to
The Shield is a much better show, but the series didn't keep my interest.

SOA ia a soap opera, but I'm into it 100%.
Posted by CaptainPanic
18.44311,-64.764021
Member since Sep 2011
25582 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 10:40 am to
Sons of Anarchy. It is one of the most suspenseful TV shows out there right now. So much shite happens in each episode
Posted by Korin
Member since Jan 2014
37935 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 12:14 pm to
It's not even close really. SoA has been shite since the S3 finale. The Shield is one of the goats.
Posted by trom83
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Oct 2013
4724 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 1:23 pm to
The Shield is the GOAT. Even though I am a fan of SoA, there is no comparison.
Posted by SoDakHawk
South Dakota
Member since Jun 2014
8584 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 1:37 pm to
quote:

The Shield is the GOAT. Even though I am a fan of SoA, there is no comparison.


This. And I agree with a previous poster about how The Shield kept ratcheting up the tension with each and every season. By the end of the series you could feel the desperation in Vic Mackey. I watched every episode of The Shield and still think it is one of the GOAT.

I gave up in SOA a few seasons ago. It just didn't do it for me, became kind of cheesy, and just couldn't come close to stacking up to The Shield, as hard as the show tries to.
Posted by trom83
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Oct 2013
4724 posts
Posted on 7/8/14 at 2:18 pm to
quote:

By the end of the series you could feel the desperation in Vic Mackey.


**spoiler**





Vic did everything he could to protect himself. Manipulating Ronnie and thinking that they were both getting immunity and fed jobs was Vic doing what he had to do to help himself. That scene where Ronnie finds out has always stayed stuck in my head.
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