La 4a stagione puntata per puntata, dal Weblog ufficiale...

Episode 401 "The Cure"
POSTED BY: Glen Mazzara
Writer/Co-Executive Producer
MARCH 15, 2005



Writing “The Cure” was a tall order. Many of us on the writing staff considered season three our finest. We had hit the ground running with the Money Train hanging over the Strike Team. As Vic, Shane, Lemonhead, and Ronnie tried to cover their tracks, they lost their way and eventually fell apart. It was a very satisfying tale in the end and that’s exactly what it felt like – an end. “The Cure” was supposed to be a new beginning, a new pilot designed to bring in new viewers. One of the best ways to do that would be to introduce a new character that the audience could follow. Creator and Executive Producer Shawn Ryan conceived the new female captain with a bold plan. John Landgraf, President of Entertainment for FX, vowed to pursue a major actress and a few weeks later, he, Shawn, and FX President and CEO Peter Liquori had somehow convinced Glenn Close to join THE SHIELD.

As writers, we knew we had a challenge. The easy thing would have been to put the new captain, Monica Rawling, in obvious conflict with Vic Mackey. But we had played that out with the previous captain, David Aceveda – “I’ll get you, Vic Mackey.” We wanted something different and Shawn came up with the idea that Monica needs Vic to implement her new policy. They would be on the same team and we hoped that she would reveal things about Vic that the audience had never seen before. That required them to be together (the ride-along scene) but they couldn’t spend too much time together. Vic did have a crime to solve and it would be weird if the new captain was taking over even before she officially started. So I came up with a few scenes in which Monica, after seeing Vic go after David, thinks maybe he’s not her guy after all. She checks out Dutch, Claudette, David, even Lemonhead, but they just don’t cut it. Vic is her only choice.

The first day Glenn Close walked on our set, it was a very differents SHIELD, a very exciting one. Glenn had never played a tough cop before and Director and Executive Producer Scott Brazil convinced her to just “own it.” Don’t be nervous. Skip the first-day jitters. Just remember, Monica is a cop’s cop who’s worked hard to get this far. Once Glenn incorporated that into her character, it all fell into place. Glenn and Michael Chiklis had an immediate chemistry and I loved seeing them play against each other. Monica gets under Vic’s skin. Vic needs the second chance she’s offering. Monica’s willing to sacrifice everything for her new policy. Vic’s already lost it all and is fighting to get it back. We’re lucky to have such an incredibly talented cast to bounce off both of them. Unless we writers screw it up, THIS season should now be considered our finest.



Edited by vic.mackey - 20/4/2005, 00:01

Episode 402 "Grave"
POSTED BY: Kurt Sutter
Writer/Supervising Producer
MARCH 22 , 2005



The thematic premise behind "Grave" is mentorship. Old mentors: Vic-Gilroy, Vic-Calvin. New mentors: Shane-Army, Monica-Vic. Broken mentors: Vic-Shane, Vic-Lem. Tenuous mentors: David-Monica, Calvin-Cyril. And like that... I wanted to use the death of Ben Gilroy to spin Vic. Ignite his fear. Fear of suffering the same fate as his misguided mentor. It fuels his need to help Calvin, wrangle Shane and secure his job with the new captain. As in life, fear is the great motivator, the common denominator of all our needs and ambitions.

We see those ambitions in our new Captain as well. Series creator, Shawn Ryan, wanted to show Monica Rawling's drive and strong sense of purpose right out of the gate. Even before she's officially captain, she's making changes and bumping heads with out-going captain, David Aceveda. This episode sets up the power-struggle between the new Captain and the new Councilman. Both have a vision. Sometimes, they are so focused on that vision, they neglect to see the things right in front of their face.

What of ambition and fear? We know many of the dark secrets in Vic's closet - killing a cop to name one. We know David's dirty little secret - "Let me see that mouth." This season we will reveal some others as well. Shane. We already see him manipulating Army, testing his loyalty. How far will he go to protect his new family? Lemonhead. How far will Lem go to put his fractured family back together? And Ronnie. Ah, yes, the forgotten son, Ronnie Gardocki. A word about Ronnie: Dave Snell, the actor who embodies Ronnie, is best friends with our Maestro (Shawn Ryan). He agreed to help Shawn out and essentially work as an extra on the pilot. When the series got picked up, Dave came along. Unfortunately there are only so many characters you can service with story, so because Ronnie was never conceived as a series regular, he's often relegated to off-camera footwork. I would like to personally commend Dave Snell of a thankless job well done. He has given Ronnie - with no help from our writing - dimension and personality. This season he is the rock of the strike team. The only constant in an ever- changing, often dangerous, environment. Kudos, Dave Snell, you're "on it".

Monica's ambition is also fueled by fear - what are Monica's fears? Why has she taken on Farmington? What are the dark secrets in the bloody shoebox buried at the bottom of her closet? All will be revealed. (Writerspeak for "we haven't quite figured it out yet.")

My favorite scene in 402? Hmmm... Mustard motivation? Lose the dresses? The grieving widow? Nope. Although all were brilliantly directed by Paris Barclay, my favorite scene in the episode is the Dutch-Monica scene in the women's bathroom. It's just a simple, real exchange, which does nothing to push the story ahead, yet reveals so much about both characters.

Episode 403 "Bang"
POSTED BY: Jay Karnes
Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach
MARCH 29 , 2005



A central part of being an actor is worrying about your next pay
check. Being on a series solves that problem, at least temporarily,
and gives you a kind of artistic family that helps you in all parts of
your life. The opportunity to play the same character for four years
is one that doesn't come often. For that character to be as uniquely
and exquisitely awkward as Dutch Wagenbach is manna for an actor that may only come once.

Playing a character whose story is evolving presents some
challenges. If you're playing Richard III you know he's going to kill
the kids in the tower, his wife, the others. You know he is going to
lose. So you approach that role asking how and why. Dutch's story is
unwritten and therefore unfinished- it's not just how and why, but if.
So two things happen. The first is trouble creating backstory. For
season one I did what all the acting books teach and fleshed out my
character's past: where he was from, where he went to school, what he
liked to eat besides ding dongs, etc. I decided his family was close
and harmonious; regardless of who was beating him up in high school
that week he could always count on his mom to put on a bandage and his dad to say some sympathtic and useless things about "pluck" and "life lessons." Shortly into season two this was washed away by the writers when Dutch revealed during the Bob and Marcy case that his dad berated his mom constantly and that their household was a pretty unpleasant place to grow up. The problem of course is that while as an actor you want to make clear and detailed choices, the writers in season one don't know if there's going to be a season two, much less what's going to happen in it. I'm sure Shawn Ryan in season one would have thought the possiblity of a season three episode in which David Mamet directed Dutch in his underwear killing a cat was well, unlikely. At least the David Mamet part. So you limp along with what you know and what you think you know and hope your choices don't look too out of place from the vantage point of future episodes.

The second thing that happens is you begin to root for the
character. And not just for the good storylines, which is natural
enough. After all it's the rare Rosencranz or Guildenstern who doesn't
wish he was playing Hamlet. No, the odd thing is that it becomes at
least a little bit personal. You don't just want screentime you want
your guy to do something cool. And with Dutch of course that can be
a long wait. Maybe in season five?

Episode 405 "Tar Baby"
POSTED BY: Walton Goggins
a.k.a. Shane Vendrell
APRIL 12 , 2005




Reading an episode of The Shield for us as actors is much like a fan, an ardent fan, watching an episode for the first time. We have absolutely no idea what is going to happen, but we know over the course of that hour that we will inevitably mouth the words, "OH MY GOD" and leave the experience physically and emotionally drained. Reading episode five was no exception.

I knew when I finished reading this story that it was going to be a dark journey. Words like confidence, arrogance and control, would be replaced with words like fearful, powerless, and impotent. Filming the last scene was so... visceral for me as an actor. It began with me reasserting my power. Five seconds later I was on my back. My badge was stripped and my gun was in another man's hands... For a second I felt angry. I knew that my payback would come. But then Antwon brought out that little girl, that beautiful little girl who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He shot her and there was nothing I could do about it. And yet I was responsible. I remember thinking, "Breathe...don't do anything stupid, just get your partner out of here... be submissive, do what he says, and save your partner's life." AHHHH...these situations are so rich.

These are the kind of stories that actors live for. You feel a certain sense of accomplishment, like you've given something back. You learn something about yourself in a story like this and so much more about the person you're playing. I believe that we learn our greatest lessons thru pain and humility. Hopefully Shane will be humbled in a way that he previously didn't know existed.... Maybe he will, maybe he won't. You'll have to keep watching to find out. I hope you enjoyed the show.

cavolo, ma non potevano essere in italiano
Vabbé, mi metterò d'impegno per tradurre tutto...
Grazie tante per gli spoiler... ih ih ih

Attached Image: therock_072302.jpg

Episode 406 "Insurgents"
POSTED BY: Liz Craft & Sarah Fain
Co-Producers
APRIL 19 , 2005



*The comments and opinions expressed below are solely those of their respective writers, and not those of FX Networks, LLC, Twentieth Century Fox, or their related and affiliated entities.*

We've been fans of The Shield since our agent smuggled us a crappy dub of the pilot episode nearly four years ago. By the time Vic shot Terry in the final moment, we were hooked. So the prospect of writing our first episode was a little like heading up to the Big Drop on a rollercoaster--exciting and fun, but also massively terrifying. As the new kids on an incredibly talented writing staff, we went into it with one goal: don't suck.

We started with the premise that in "Insurgents" Vic and Monica were going to make the tough decision to "invade" a church. It was cool idea, with lots of possible pit falls and ramifications for Monica's seizure policy. After weeks of the working on the story--breaking and re-breaking how Vic and Monica get to the church and what happens afterward--we went off to write a first draft.

Then the real work began. While we had an intellectually interesting story, there were few "goose bump" moments. What makes The Shield so riveting is the complex, layered relationships between characters--now three seasons in the making--and our story wasn't capitalizing on those intricate dynamics.

After several drafts and many hours of discussion with Shawn and the other writers, we honed in on Lemonhead as the emotional core of this episode. In the wake of Angie's death, Lem is raw and angry and full of guilt. He knows Shane is somehow involved, but feels thwarted in his efforts to prove it. Last season, Lem developed an ulcer and suffered in relative silence as he grew increasingly regretful of taking down the Money Train. But here, Lem bypasses Vic and takes his suspicions straight to Shane, which is, in a sense, a rite of passage.

Of course, Vic is the master of this universe, always two steps ahead of everyone else. Even as he tries to reassure Lem and Monica that there's no "leak," he's taking steps to get a hold over Shane by placing a Garage Sting camera in Shane's car. In the final scene of the episode, Lem shows up and demands that Vic let him come back to the Barn. Does Vic agree because he's persuaded by Lem? Or had he planned to bring Lem back all along as a way to keep him reigned in? We'll never know for sure... but we do know that Vic Mackey does little that's not by his own design.

Once we finally had a script, it was time to shoot. Our director, Vondie Curtis Hall, was also new to The Shield... so the three of us weren't quite sure what we were getting into. This is where we have to give major props to the entire cast and crew. Everyone greeted us new guys with open arms... and, damn, they're good at their jobs. Like the show itself, the shooting of a Shield episode is fast-paced and intense. And the results of this skillfully controlled chaos speak for themselves.

So now the rollercoaster ride begins again...

Episode 408 "Cut Throat"
POSTED BY: Catherine Dent
Danny Sofer
MAY 3, 2005



*The comments and opinions expressed below are solely those of their respective writers, and not those of FX Networks, LLC, Twentieth Century Fox, or their related and affiliated entities.*


So what's up with the sex on the show?

Actually, before we get into sex, let's just talk about this episode.

I know, I know, typical... just like a woman. I want to talk first.

But I'm really proud of this show and I think the work that everybody is doing is fantastic. Walton and Michael's dynamic is fascinating and terrifying. Anthony and Glenn are bringing so much... Dutch found the coffee bandit!!!

OK, ok, okay.... SEX-----

Sometime around the shooting of episode six I was approached by Glen Mazzara and asked how I felt about doing a sex scene with Michael Chiklis. He wanted to know if I'd be comfortable with it.... Could it get crazy and intense?

I was totally fine with the idea; actually, because I had been frustrated with the lack of development for my character Danny, and thought this might be a good opportunity to see more of her (no pun intended) and follow up on story lines I felt have just been dropped.

Remember the cute con guy, Taylor, from last season that kept trying to pick up Danny, but she blew off? Well they brought him back, and Danny and he hooked up in the script for episode two of this season. We shot three or four pretty good scenes getting Danny to knocking on Taylor's door for a little booty call. I was jazzed about the story line because not only is Ronreaco Lee a terrific actor and fun to work with (you can catch him on NBC'S COMMITED ), but I think being a female cop must be a lonely job and a girl has needs, right? It wasn't until I was watching the show that I even knew they had cut out the entire story line. I was bummed. When I went to Shawn Ryan to talk about why, he said it was a "writing problem." (As an actor, you always think it's your own fault.)

They felt that there was no reason for Danny just to hook up with this guy that easily. In fact they were holding the story line possibly until episode ten when some bad stuff goes down with some other cops, and Danny is in a rough space and may need a little somthin'-somethin'.

"So you're telling me a woman has to be vulnerable and needy to want to have sex?"

The men on this show have sex with abandon, with little consequences. (Sex with women, that is) But the women have to be vulnerable? Not a cool message, I thought.

So yea, I was down with Danny and Vic hooking up because at this point in the show Vic was the one with some emotional need, and what are "friends with benefits" for anyway? And I also wanted to show a woman who knew what she wanted, and she knew how to get it. No big thang.

Which brings me to what I think is interesting about The Shield and it's portrayal of sex. It's mostly portrayed as a power thing. And more often than not, it's about humiliation. This is not "LOVE AMERICAN STYLE." Or, yikes, maybe it is....

The writers seem to be very interested in male on male humiliation. And I've been riveted by the stories... Anton making Shane his "bitch." .... Aceveda having to blow that guy, ...Julian's' conflict with being gay and it's total unacceptability.

But how do we feel about female humiliation?

At first I was fascinated by what is going on with David's character psychologically, and only mildly invested emotionally in his prostitute girlfriend, Sarah, and all the hell she must be going thru. Was her story, and /or past not as compelling to me because she has a "choice?" In other words, it was coercion and illegal to put a gun to David's head and make him go down on that guy. But does slipping a few hundred dollars into Sarah's purse make what she's doing consensual and therefore not humiliating? She's getting money for it and that's her 'power,' right? But now I'm wondering is Sarah a woman who also knows what she wants and how to get it, or a person, like David, without choice? And why am I finding it harder to watch than before?

But really, the bigger question is; if she were not getting money, would she need to talk first?

Seriously, the Shield won't tell you what you should think about these things. But we want you to watch. Look closely. We want you to feel a little queasy.

It's good to be uncomfortable.

It's also good to talk.

TRADUZIONIIIIIIIII PLEASEEEEEEEEE

Episode 409 "String Theory"
POSTED BY: Benito Martinez
David Aceveda
MAY 17, 2005




*The comments and opinions expressed below are solely those of their respective writers, and not those of FX Networks, LLC, Twentieth Century Fox, or their related and affiliated entities.*

The exploration of the human condition is what we do as actors. We set off on a journey to embody the character and its emotions, without judgment, without prejudice.

In this episode we had to deal with the horrible murder of two well liked cops who seemed to be the sacrificial slaughter of the street gods without any real reasoning as to why or how. Indeed, the most tragic of losses is when we the grievers are robbed of closure.

For David Aceveda, the Barn is still his, the people in it his and the problems they have his. David knows what its like to lose men under his command. David knows what its like to steady the ship and prepare for the counter attack, but mostly David knows the feeling of not being able to do something, the hell of impotency.

Playing Aceveda is a tremendous opportunity of being able to explore all parts of the human spirit, with all its flaws and imperfections. Does David's ego make him put back on the uniform and take to the streets? Is it his thirst for power and control that he can't quench in the office that makes him come marching up to Captain Monica and offer his "help?" Or is it that, more than anyone, David knows the feeling of needing help and no one got there in time?

The best part is the audience gets to decide what it is for them.

CITAZIONE (SgAndrea @ 23/5/2005, 02:27)

TRADUZIONIIIIIIIII PLEASEEEEEEEEE

...se non sbaglio, Kitty era disposta a tradurre, nonostante i contenuti fossero anticipazioni



Edited by vic.mackey - 23/5/2005, 17:53

per chi capisse poco l'inglese come me ecco un piccolo riassunto puntata per puntata della quarta serie the shield
Ciao

in italiano è meglio!

http://www.tveffe.net/shield-st4.htm


ciaoo

donmario mi ha anticipato pardon eheh

Eh si segar peccato che si capisca poco anche in italiano vabbè

ragazzi mi dispiace ma non posso trattenermi.... e siccome so che alcuni di voi si inca.....o parecchio quando trovano spoiler in giro ... ho pensato di scrivere qui il titolo della puntata di The Shield del 27 ottobre...... si intitola FERMATE SHANE!!
mamma mia !!!!! che cavolo combinerà???!!!!! ecco ora che mi sono sfogata sto un po meglio....