The Shield defied the expectations of a cop show right from its very first episode, in which we learn that Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) leads a Strike Team of cops who are, to be blunt, as bent as a nine-bob note. The first episode ends with Mackey murdering a cop who had been tasked with gathering evidence about their corruption, and things only get worse from there. With a suitably rough, imperfect handheld shooting style, The Shield throws us right into the midst of Mackey's crusade against violent criminals, and observing the team's unconventional, often highly illegal methods proves undeniably fascinating. By the fifth season, the show begins to leave behind the crime-of-the-week scenarios and instead opts for depicting how the Strike Team appears to come apart at the seams as the higher-ups begin breathing down their necks. This resulted in the three latter seasons dripping with paranoia and tension in practically every frame, and the addition of an intense Forest Whitaker as an obsessive Internal Affairs agent only cemented that fact. The Shield should also be distinguished for its series finale, which is easily one of the most inscrutably brilliant of all time: dark but true to the characters we'd spent 7 years following, and anything else would've just been dishonest.
16. Lost
There are few TV shows that can stake a claim to being a true pop-culture phenomenon, but Lost certainly can. The undeniable "water cooler" show of the mid-2000s, Lost was co-created by J.J. Abrams, and revolved around the survivors of a plane crash, who are left stranded on a mysterious island. While the first season was considerably more straight-forward than what followed (and some might successfully argue that the show should have ended after one season), Abrams and co. piled on the mythology and built a world that viewers couldn't help but become utterly engrossed in. With a massive ensemble cast, a film-grade production quality and a laundry list of questions viewers couldn't wait to find out the answers to, Lost had everything a hit show needed to keep its fanbase loyal. The quality may have wavered considerably throughout its run, and the series finale in particular was incredibly divisive, but its ambition, its intrigue, and its ridiculous number of insane cliffhangers made it a show you just couldn't turn away from.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
