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The Shield: Notes From The Barn: The Elite Strike Team Files
This legit guide to the high-powered series takes fans on a ride-along with the most down-and-dirty detectives to hit the small screen: Vic Mackey (played by actor Michael Chiklis) and the Farmington District's elite Strike Team. It puts readers right in the middle of the action with:
€ Police reports and departmental memos
€ Special dossiers and background biographies
€ Internal Affairs write-ups and psychiatric profiles
€ Surveillance photos and wiretap transcripts
€ Case files, and much more
Cast and episode guides get up close and personal with your favorite actors. Exclusive interviews with series creator Shawn Ryan are included.
€ Police reports and departmental memos
€ Special dossiers and background biographies
€ Internal Affairs write-ups and psychiatric profiles
€ Surveillance photos and wiretap transcripts
€ Case files, and much more
Cast and episode guides get up close and personal with your favorite actors. Exclusive interviews with series creator Shawn Ryan are included.
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 13, 2022
The classic cop show is portrayed in this companion book
Anyone remembers Detective Vic Mackey questionable tactics in the 2000s in The Shield? This classic show was portrayed at the time in a companion book written by David Jacobs with photos and fictional case files about the Strike Team, the elite unit at the Farmington precinct (based on the Los Angeles Police Department - LAPD).
For those who are not familiar about the show, The Shield follows a special police unit, the Strike Team, at the LAPD (the name "LAPD" is expressly not used in the series) set up in a precinct in fictional Farmington. That city is infested with gang violence, drug trafficking and other "part I" crimes that the Strike Team must investigate, generating cases they must solve, often resulting in unorthodox methods.
The unit is led by Detective Vic Mackey, joined by Shane Vendrell, Curtis Lemansky, and Ronnie Gardocki. Spoiler alert (this show is long gone, so not sorry for the spoiler!) Unfortunately, most of the team members become corrupt and get caught up in internal affairs investigations. Even Captain David Aceveda, whom I believe was the head of the Internal Affairs Unit, turns the blind eye on some of the team's actions as they help his political efforts to become mayor of Los Angeles.
A fifth member is brought onto the Strike Team but his (good) integrity does not align with Mackey's and his teammates. The pilot episode concludes with Mackey, suspicious of the loyalty of the latest Strike Team member, Terry Crowley, fatally shooting him during an incident and framing their suspect. This sets in motion events that loom over the Strike Team and continue throughout the series.
Notes from the Barn expands on work life at the Farmington precinct. It describes the satellite office as "not for the faint of heart." "It's a place where reputations are made -- and lost," it reads. The neighborhood itself is a high population density with violent crimes. According to the book, it is 83% African American and Latino. The citizens are vastly law abiding but live under a violent criminal element: burglaries, vehicle theft, robberies are not a rarity in the area.
I was a fan of The Shield when it premiered back in 2002. Its theme song from the X-ecutioners is in many fans' minds. I remember a police officer in West Virginia introducing me to the show. We went together while he was on duty at a fire department as it was about to come on FX. I subsequently purchased this book, which was released in 2004, and loved the content. I particularly liked the various fictional photos, all in black and white, and files featured in it. The series creator, Shawn Ryan, writes in his introduction how he learned of his project being approved while pulling up to the FX Studios with his 1997 Dodge Neon, soaked in rain.
The book -- or the show itself or its soundtrack -- isn't for those sensitive to swearing. There's vulgarity. Sometimes, you have to get down to the criminals level of thinking.
Anyone remembers Detective Vic Mackey questionable tactics in the 2000s in The Shield? This classic show was portrayed at the time in a companion book written by David Jacobs with photos and fictional case files about the Strike Team, the elite unit at the Farmington precinct (based on the Los Angeles Police Department - LAPD).
For those who are not familiar about the show, The Shield follows a special police unit, the Strike Team, at the LAPD (the name "LAPD" is expressly not used in the series) set up in a precinct in fictional Farmington. That city is infested with gang violence, drug trafficking and other "part I" crimes that the Strike Team must investigate, generating cases they must solve, often resulting in unorthodox methods.
The unit is led by Detective Vic Mackey, joined by Shane Vendrell, Curtis Lemansky, and Ronnie Gardocki. Spoiler alert (this show is long gone, so not sorry for the spoiler!) Unfortunately, most of the team members become corrupt and get caught up in internal affairs investigations. Even Captain David Aceveda, whom I believe was the head of the Internal Affairs Unit, turns the blind eye on some of the team's actions as they help his political efforts to become mayor of Los Angeles.
A fifth member is brought onto the Strike Team but his (good) integrity does not align with Mackey's and his teammates. The pilot episode concludes with Mackey, suspicious of the loyalty of the latest Strike Team member, Terry Crowley, fatally shooting him during an incident and framing their suspect. This sets in motion events that loom over the Strike Team and continue throughout the series.
Notes from the Barn expands on work life at the Farmington precinct. It describes the satellite office as "not for the faint of heart." "It's a place where reputations are made -- and lost," it reads. The neighborhood itself is a high population density with violent crimes. According to the book, it is 83% African American and Latino. The citizens are vastly law abiding but live under a violent criminal element: burglaries, vehicle theft, robberies are not a rarity in the area.
I was a fan of The Shield when it premiered back in 2002. Its theme song from the X-ecutioners is in many fans' minds. I remember a police officer in West Virginia introducing me to the show. We went together while he was on duty at a fire department as it was about to come on FX. I subsequently purchased this book, which was released in 2004, and loved the content. I particularly liked the various fictional photos, all in black and white, and files featured in it. The series creator, Shawn Ryan, writes in his introduction how he learned of his project being approved while pulling up to the FX Studios with his 1997 Dodge Neon, soaked in rain.
The book -- or the show itself or its soundtrack -- isn't for those sensitive to swearing. There's vulgarity. Sometimes, you have to get down to the criminals level of thinking.
March 28, 2021
Fairly standard in-universe 'fact files', which doesn't really gel with the more social science cerebral nature of the show. Was hoping for behind-the-scenes writing. The DVD commentaries are excellent for that.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews