The Shield - The Complete Series (Mill Creek Entertainment)

Post-tony Soprano and pre-walter White, Vic Mackey (an electric, buffed-up Michael Chiklis) advanced the cause of the deeply flawed (okay, outright bad) TV “hero” in FX’S seminal police drama, The Shield. Raising brutality and corruption to an artform, Mackey led a special strike force gathered to clean up a particularly nasty part of L.A., but quickly resorted to tactics beyond the law and succumbed to some wholly ignoble temptations, too. The ceaselessly compelling Chiklis is backed by an extraordinary supporting cast and guest stars such as Glenn Close, Forest Whitaker, and Franka Potente, along with some equally impressive guest directors.

The Shield was originally composed for widescreen despite being squeezed into the boxy 4:3 shape used by many TVS in the early ‘00s, and the choice of 16mm film for production imparts a signature gritty look. Creator Shawn Ryan has personally overseen the rare 4K remastering of all 88 episodes across seven seasons. This beautifully packaged 18-disc set features exclusive new bonus content, which joins a host of vintage content including commentaries, deleted scenes, and minidocumentaries.