Good point, there's no shortage of pulpy things I find entertaining that are simply "cool for cool's sake" to the point of it being vapid escapism, but there isn't much on the Shield that doesn't pay off (or come back to roost/haunt) at a later date.

Friend, if you're about to embark on seasons 4-7, clear off your calendar and strap yourself in tight for one of the all time best reasons to stare at that screen

No they're fucking not

I am all for this account gimmick.

Even Mo' Better Blues

Winter of Sam

Spoken like a true Philadelphian

I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Schraderbrau

that was a wink and a kiss blown at every true blue fan of the Shield

Barn-boozled!

I came around to love the characters of Mara, as well as Corinne, and even the knowledge that Autumn is Vic's real life daughter (the three of them get lambasted constantly for reasons valid and cruel).  I especially stick up for Mara.

I would say that depends entirely on how far you've gotten in the series.

I liked them a great deal this season as an excellent compare-and-contrast to the Strike Team.  It also gives me great pleasure to see Claudette begin her pee-wee Barn leader training, stumbles and all. 

my knee jerk for now is based on my thoughts of "pulp" being cheap (inexpensive) but crammed with the sensational and lurid.  The Shield is certainly sensational to me, but it's also a million bucks of character and story crammed into a cheap and underestimated little package. 

GOOD LORD that was one of the worst comic pages I have ever read

Get used to it Hitler!

Magic & Loss is one of my favorites, for Harry's Circumcision alone, though Sword of Damocles and Busload are noo slouches either.  That whole tape was fantastic tribute

I get all choked up just thinking about it

Nothing is worse on this subject, than Clapton's opportunistic grammy-grab.  I'm referring to the one that he hired someone else to help write by the way, to help him work through all that good grief, choosing the film "Rush" as the premier outlet for the tragedy

I absolutely HATE coming to Puddy's defense, but he had enough respect for Zeppelin, and knew they famously never allowed sampling (see: Beasties), so he personally called Page and asked if he would come in and re-record the song that he wrote live in studio, for the worthwhile endeavor that was the Godzilla movie.