The Shield: The Complete Series (2002-2008)

[LexInHD]

My money is on Sony using the International release trims to reconstruct several episodes, as they did different versions of the show for the International market, where they sold it as widescreen and were required to trim stuff for Europe and elsewhere, to appease the censors/rating boards.

[AmishParadise]

The DVD's were produced many years ago. A lot of time has past since then. There could be a multitude of factors at play that resulted in this Blu-ray release being what it is. We just don't know. I doubt it's as simple as some have made it out to be.

And for the price they're selling this for we should be lucky they even think it's worth making available on Blu-ray to start with. This release offers over 70 hours of entertainment value, yet people expect to pay next to nothing for it while at the same time expecting it to be the quintessential release.

Should we really expect anyone to go the extra mile when we're only paying $15 per season out the door for this? Cheapskates run rampant on these forums and they dig their own graves taking the rest of us along with them who would gladly pay more. Some of the comments I read regarding the price of this or that release. The sense of entitlement. It's sad.

Personally I plan to enjoy this release for what it is. I don't plan to watch the DVD's again and won't lose any sleep if the Blu-ray's aren't a mirror image of the DVD's. If I paid $40 or more a season for this I'd expect each episode to mirror exactly what was offered on DVD if possible. If possible I would expect the work to be put in to make that happen.

Well evidently people aren't willing to pay a reasonable price for an entire TV series on Blu-ray these days, so I don't expect a classic TV show that aired it's final season 10 years ago and has never been made available on Blu-ray before to be perfect once released. I'm thankful we continue to see older TV shows released on Blu-ray in any form. I guess you could say my cup is half full. To each his own naturally.

[GiorgioV]

Originally Posted by TheLaughingMann

They would have to hunt down this extra footage that wasn't present within the same medium they used for the Blu-Ray, scan it all, improve on it, edit it into the affected episodes, then print them on disk.

That is so not going to happen. We're lucky this has gotten released at all, since, evidently, Sony did not think it was worth their while. Even with these shortcomings, I'm happy I can hold this set into my hands.
But we keep repeating the same things over and over...

[fatmarco]

So how many confirmed edited episodes are there on the blu ray? Just the one currently? The armadillo stove scene is the full one on the blu-ray correct? I actually have only ever experienced the edited versions I think, as I saw the show originally on the Australian dvds so this is actually a big upgrade for me hahah.

[A Tortured Duckling]

Originally Posted by AmishParadise

The DVD's were produced many years ago. A lot of time has past since then. There could be a multitude of factors at play that resulted in this Blu-ray release being what it is. We just don't know. I doubt it's as simple as some have made it out to be.

And for the price they're selling this for we should be lucky they even think it's worth making available on Blu-ray to start with. This release offers over 70 hours of entertainment value, yet people expect to pay next to nothing for it while at the same time expecting it to be the quintessential release.

Should we really expect anyone to go the extra mile when we're only paying $15 per season out the door for this? Cheapskates run rampant on these forums and they dig their own graves taking the rest of us along with them who would gladly pay more. Some of the comments I read regarding the price of this or that release. The sense of entitlement. It's sad.

Personally I plan to enjoy this release for what it is. I don't plan to watch the DVD's again and won't lose any sleep if the Blu-ray's aren't a mirror image of the DVD's. If I paid $40 or more a season for this I'd expect each episode to mirror exactly what was offered on DVD if possible. If possible I would expect the work to be put in to make that happen.

Well evidently people aren't willing to pay a reasonable price for an entire TV series on Blu-ray these days, so I don't expect a classic TV show that aired it's final season 10 years ago and has never been made available on Blu-ray before to be perfect once released. I'm thankful we continue to see older TV shows released on Blu-ray in any form. I guess you could say my cup is half full. To each his own naturally.

Whatever your opinion on the monetary value of this set may be does not change the fact that, for years, Shawn Ryan himself has been telling his fans that this particular set would be the DEFINITIVE release for this show. He, himself stated that what originally aired is on the DVDs, which is true. This is NOT the case for the Blu-ray. Instead, what we got are censored episodes that were censored solely in order to conform to other countries' ratings. Whether it's Sony, Mill Creek or Shawn himself that pulled the strings on that one, it's a shitty thing to do and it is most definitely not the complete, definitive release were were promised ever since it first came to light that a Blu-ray release was finally on the horizon. So whether the set costs $200 or $5 is irrelevant. Official statements were made (by the creator of the show, overseeing the Blu-ray release, no less) and expectations were set accordingly. The final product is not what we were told it would be. It's as simple as that.

You're okay with that? Cool. I really hope you're happy with the set. That said, many of us are not okay with it, and for good reason. It really isn't fair, nor necessary, to be calling us "cheapskates running rampant" and to be accusing us of having some false sense of entitlement. It's honestly a pretty trashy way to talk about people who bought into this based on what we were told it would be and are upset about the fact that it isn't.

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by Autumn Shroud

You're okay with that? Cool. I really hope you're happy with the set. That said, many of us are not okay with it, and for good reason. It really isn't fair, nor necessary, to be calling us "cheapskates running rampant" and to be accusing us of having some false sense of entitlement. It's honestly a pretty trashy way to talk about people who bought into this based on what we were told it would be and are upset about the fact that it isn't.

It is a false sense of entitlement. Shawn has already stated that he was unaware of any cuts. If anything, mistakes were made with the elements that were used, which is not the same as "censorship". One man can only control so much. It's not like he was gathering the elements and scanning them himself. If you're unhappy, I get it. Don't buy the set, then, or sell it if you've already purchased it.

[Jlouisbarrett]

This forum goes through the exact same cycle of arguments and posts whenever someone discovers an error with a release. I’ve been watching it for the past 2 or 3 years now, and it’s kind of fascinating. Folks literally say the same things and get into the same arguments every time.

[Renascent]

Well... in terms of what they said pre-launch... Mill Creek did EU a huge favor by releasing it region free. It could have been region A, like many other releases are. It bugs me to no end that a tv-mini-series produced with the BBC (And then there were none) is a region A only release.

[GiorgioV]

Originally Posted by Jlouisbarrett

This forum goes through the exact same cycle of arguments and posts whenever someone discovers an error with a release. I’ve been watching it for the past 2 or 3 years now, and it’s kind of fascinating. Folks literally say the same things and get into the same arguments every time.

... over and over...

[A Tortured Duckling]

Originally Posted by mrlanphear

It is a false sense of entitlement. Shawn has already stated that he was unaware of any cuts. If anything, mistakes were made with the elements that were used, which is not the same as "censorship". One man can only control so much. It's not like he was gathering the elements and scanning them himself. If you're unhappy, I get it. Don't buy the set, then, or sell it if you've already purchased it.

Indeed, he did. After the set released and people approached him about it. Throughout the years leading up to the release, however, he repeatedly stated to be personally involved every step of the way. Many of his tweets are a direct contradiction to his most recent "I am unaware of any cuts" statement, and that's exactly what is upsetting about this. We all know the guy loves his shows, he loves his fans, and he knows just how much his fans love his shows. It's easy to see why people took his word on this, and equally easy to see why people are upset about the final outcome of the product.

And I never stated that the censorship was intentional. But let's not forget that even if it was a mistake, the fact remains that the affected episodes are indeed the censored versions that aired in Germany and the UK. These episodes didn't even air in the US, nor were they included in the domestic DVD sets.

[Batman90]

Originally Posted by mrlanphear

It is a false sense of entitlement. Shawn has already stated that he was unaware of any cuts. If anything, mistakes were made with the elements that were used, which is not the same as "censorship". One man can only control so much. It's not like he was gathering the elements and scanning them himself. If you're unhappy, I get it. Don't buy the set, then, or sell it if you've already purchased it.

How did Shawn not know that there was extended episodes and episodes that wasn’t censored? Creators of shows know if there’s things that have been added or not. 6 hours ago he said he is looking into it and if he doesn’t decide to fix it and do a disc replacement program I’ll just throw my set away. No point in owning a censored version of a show. I know they had to censored the show and shorten episodes when it aired in Europe cause he said so but this is not Europe.

[Batman90]

Originally Posted by AmishParadise

The DVD's were produced many years ago. A lot of time has past since then. There could be a multitude of factors at play that resulted in this Blu-ray release being what it is. We just don't know. I doubt it's as simple as some have made it out to be.

And for the price they're selling this for we should be lucky they even think it's worth making available on Blu-ray to start with. This release offers over 70 hours of entertainment value, yet people expect to pay next to nothing for it while at the same time expecting it to be the quintessential release.

Should we really expect anyone to go the extra mile when we're only paying $15 per season out the door for this? Cheapskates run rampant on these forums and they dig their own graves taking the rest of us along with them who would gladly pay more. Some of the comments I read regarding the price of this or that release. The sense of entitlement. It's sad.

Personally I plan to enjoy this release for what it is. I don't plan to watch the DVD's again and won't lose any sleep if the Blu-ray's aren't a mirror image of the DVD's. If I paid $40 or more a season for this I'd expect each episode to mirror exactly what was offered on DVD if possible. If possible I would expect the work to be put in to make that happen.

Well evidently people aren't willing to pay a reasonable price for an entire TV series on Blu-ray these days, so I don't expect a classic TV show that aired it's final season 10 years ago and has never been made available on Blu-ray before to be perfect once released. I'm thankful we continue to see older TV shows released on Blu-ray in any form. I guess you could say my cup is half full. To each his own naturally.

Considering they are asking almost $200 for a series that’s over 10 years old yes they should go the extra mile and do a good job. I have no problem paying the asking price but when I do I don’t want a censored version. Clealy they gave us the censored version so the can sell 1 set everywhere cause they had to edited it for Europe.

[GiorgioV]

Originally Posted by Batman90

Considering they are asking almost $200

? It has been closer to 100$ for months.
I understand the disappointment, but we should really save the outrage for some more deserving issues. There's plenty to choose from, you just have to turn the tv on.
Other than that, just don't buy It.

[Brownie023]

Originally Posted by JHCubs

Tbh, even though I have watched The Shield completely twice, the last time was years ago and I am confident I would never notice small cuts to episodes on the BluRay, like the cuts to the season 5 finale (although considering it leads into season 6 it’s possibly a can’t-miss-it cut) or the episode “Posse Up” but that scene in “Mum” was one I definitely would pick up on the cut. Such a significant scene in the series. So although I personally wouldn’t pick up on the majority of the cuts it is still a bit disheartening to hear it.

First episode I will be watching when I crack open the box is “Mum” to see it for myself.



Cool to hear that. So my next scan should hopefully be in Melbourne. Still in Sydney at the moment.

Just received my copy this afternoon, looking forward to digging into it. Hope yours is either delivered or very close mate.

[JHCubs]

Originally Posted by Brownie023

Just received my copy this afternoon, looking forward to digging into it. Hope yours is either delivered or very close mate.

The RR Donnelley website is showing that’s it is still in Sydney, however, I can use the same tracking number on the Australia Post website (so I assume the local sender) and they’re showing that it arrived in Melbourne this morning. So not long now hopefully.

Very happy to hear you got yours.

[mrlanphear]

Originally Posted by Autumn Shroud

however, he repeatedly stated to be personally involved every step of the way. Many of his tweets are a direct contradiction to his most recent "I am unaware of any cuts" statement, and that's exactly what is upsetting about this.

You're overestimating what it means for a creator to be involved in a project like this. He didn't go into Fox's or Sony's vaults and pull the film himself. I'm sure that he depended on the production team to pull the episodes, and it likely didn't occur to him to check every episode to make sure it had the "correct" runtime. That's ridiculous. He's a human being and mistakes happen. I'm sorry you're upset, though. Just enjoy the show, or don't and move on.

[The Sovereign]

I'm well into Season 2 of this, and so far have enjoyed every single minute. It looks better than I remember, and I've seen no edits that disrupt the flow or intensity of the show. When I think of disruptive changes, I think of George Lucas, or what Walter Hill did to The Warriors. Nothing even slightly resembling that has happened here. Sorry everyone didn't get what they wanted, but I'm damned pleased with it.

[The Herbinator]

Originally Posted by Jlouisbarrett

This forum goes through the exact same cycle of arguments and posts whenever someone discovers an error with a release. I’ve been watching it for the past 2 or 3 years now, and it’s kind of fascinating. Folks literally say the same things and get into the same arguments every time.

I concur.

[DVD Josh]

Originally Posted by The Sovereign

I'm well into Season 2 of this, and so far have enjoyed every single minute. It looks better than I remember, and I've seen no edits that disrupt the flow or intensity of the show. When I think of disruptive changes, I think of George Lucas, or what Walter Hill did to The Warriors. Nothing even slightly resembling that has happened here. Sorry everyone didn't get what they wanted, but I'm damned pleased with it.

The cuts to Mum absolutely disrupt the flow of the episode. But ultimately whether it disrupts your enjoyment of the series is a far more personal question.

Right now as a DVD series owner its the price that's stopping me, and out of curiosity as to whether they will reissue the disc with the proper cut of Mum.

[CouncilSpectre]

“Dear Mill Creek, WTF? Can you please make it possible for me to see Aceveda playing MORE one-holed skin-flute?”

I’m not a fan of any other cuts, but I can live with that one just fine...