Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The Shield Finale

Now any of you who know me know that I love this show. The final episode was the best ending to any TV series I've seen, and the party proved pretty jaw-dropping as well, particularly when the head of FX read off the list of accolades that the show gathered over its 88-episode run.

My favorite character was Lem, and when Lem was killed off, I was so angry with Shawn Ryan (the show's creator and a buddy of mine) that I refused to speak to him for days. I mean - how could you kill Lem? Even years later, the injustice still smolders. So I began a running joke with Shawn -- "Hey, I have an idea. You should have an episode where Lem comes back from the dead and solves crime!"

"Ever think about giving Lem his own spin-off?"

"Do you think Lem will go with me to prom?"

Et cetera.

So at the finale, where the last episode was presented on the big screen at the Hollywood Arclight, I took my seat, and then left to grab some more popcorn. When I came back, someone was hiding under my coat. I thought it was someone fooling around, so I gave him a good smack and when the guy lowered the jacket from over his head, it was.....Kenny Johnson, the actor who plays Lem! Despite years of harassment from me, Shawn had brought him over to meet me -- an indication of Shawn's graciousness, and proof that no bad deed (harassment) goes unrewarded.

It was also great to see other cast member buddies - Jay Karnes and David Rees Snell in particular - enjoy this time looking back at what they had created. I met Walton Goggins, who was exceptional throughout the show, and I had a good talk with Michael Chiklis about Shakespeare (or as he likes to think of him, Edward de Vere). Thanks to Jason Ryan for the photo.

All in all, it was a remarkable night capping one of the most remarkable shows in the history of television. Congrats to all the cast and crew for what they accomplished here.

7 comments:

Sam said...

Lucky bastard. I just watched the last episode today. I'd been saving on my Tivo until the semester was over. Unbelievable ending. Shane... Claudette... Andre 3000 even... And the last five minutes with Vic? Un-frickin-believable...

If you get a chance to do another arc on Punisher, keep up the good work. I really like what you've been doing.

GreggHurwitz.net said...

Thanks, Sam. Glad you're digging the Punisher. And yeah, the whole confluence of the characters in that final episode was pretty amazing.

Sam said...

And a Golden Globe snub for their troubles. The Wire got shut out too. It's unfortunate, but at least these shows have a home on cable and are able to tell a good story over several seasons.

Aquaryan said...

I had never did see this show. The problem with living in Canada is that many of these great shows on HBO are released six months to a year later.

Unknown said...

awesome finale it was now i am dying to watch it again so i just wanna download the shield free finale episode if i could.

Anonymous said...

Its really a great show I have ever seen on television. Its all episodes are great. Cast is superb and plot is interesting. Overall The Sopranos TV Show is the best show.

Anonymous said...

The Shield TV Show is a good show. The plot of the show is interesting and I always watch this show online. And the finale episode was really rocking.