I have no idea what the producers of The Shield were trying to do, but the result speaks for itself: The Shield is practically unwatchable.Supposedly the performances on The Shield are great...In reality, the show is so badly put together that you can't even really see the performances. For instance, the editing cuts away from reaction shots before they've had their full impact.I don't know what intellectual rationale there is for that, but it robs the show of all emotional impact.I'll give The Shield one point for ambition in its subject matter, but that's pretty much all I can give it.It's a shame to see a number of talented performer waste their gift on something so strangely badly filmed.