The Shield - Complete Fifth Season (DVD, 2007, 4-Disc Set)

Transgressing the seemingly rock-solid boundaries of regular television programming, THE SHIELD refuses the strictures of black-and-white depictions of clear-cut moral dilemmas in favor of an ambiguity that will challenge even the most jaded viewers. Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis, THE COMMISH) leads the elite Strike Team in the fictional L.A. district of Farmington, employing dubious but effective crime fighting methods as a tough, successful, but corrupt cop. The other detectives and cops on the force disapprove of the team's methods, while the precinct head, Captain David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), is just as corrupt as Mackey. The stoic, upright Detective Claudette Wyms (CCH Pounder, ER), who understands both sides of the game, provides a much needed balance and rationality to the mix. The charismatic Mackey strikes just the right pitch so as to be the least sympathetic antihero television has yet seen, while the controversial themes and violent nature of the content manage the effect of making audiences really think about what they're watching. This collection presents the series' fifth season in its entirety.