I thought of many ways to begin my first blog for The Shield and I think the best way is for you all to join me in saying two words hell yeah Honestly Ive never been this excited for a new season of a show I certainly havent watched every show in existence but of the ones I have this might be the only one without a misstep somewhere along the way So youll have to pardon me if my emotions get the best of me at points What can I say Im excited But first before we chat a moment of silence for Lem Whew It felt like an eternity between the time we saw Lem take a grenade and the start of this season didnt it Its all worth it though to see the absolute gore the unmatched anger on Vics face and to feel your eyes swelling as the show opens and closes with Johnny Cashs stark cover of Stings I Hung My Head I certainly ran the gamut of emotions with this episode I mean first how can you not feel for Lem He was extremely loyal to his crew and wasnt about t
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It's been 12 long months since Shane killed his buddy Lem with a grenade in The Shield's explosive season finale. Although FX won't bring back the dirty cop drama until April 3, fans can finally get their fix by watching a 15-minute webisode (at BudTV.com), which flashes back to the Strike Team two years prior to Lem's shocking death. TVGuide.com caught up with Shield creator/executive producer Shawn Ryan to get the scoop about tapping into the Internet, Lem's demise, and what's in store for Season 6.
TVGuide.com: What inspired you to do a webisode?Shawn Ryan: It was actually a suggestion from the powers-that-be at FX. They were looking for an unconventional way to promote the show. We knew that there would be a long hiatus between Season 5 and 6, so this gave us a good opportuni
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Question: Forest Whitaker and Kenny Johnson should be shoo-ins for best-supporting-actor Emmy nods. And if I could choose anyone to play Lem's replacement, I'd suggest Christian Kane. He's got the chops, he's in the right age group, and his time on Close to Home just came to an end. Answer: That's an interesting idea about Kane taking over for Johnson. Farmington could certainly use some eye candy. And I'm with you re: Whitaker getting an Emmy nod. Johnson, on the other hand, is a long shot. I just don't think he's on Emmy voters' radar. Heck, he's not even on FX's radar. The network's "For Your Consideration" ad in Variety this week only spotlighted Michael Chiklis, CCH Pounder and Whitaker. (Ironically, those are the same three we singled out in our Dream Emmy Ballot, which, BTW, will be posted in
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Still reeling from Lem's shocking death at the hands of Shane on Tuesday's explosive mid-season finale of The Shield? Well, you may want to brace yourself for another major loss: the show itself. In the following Q&A, series creator Shawn Ryan reveals why he decided to whack Lem, what other character made their final appearance on Tuesday, and whether Season 5's next 10 episodes — slated to debut in early 2007 — will be the cop drama's last.
Ausiello: First of all, this season has been insanely good. Phenomenal, in fact. Shawn Ryan: Thank you very much.
Ausiello: But I have to ask — why'd you do that to poor Lem?Ryan: We just started thinking in terms of the classic tragedy and we came up with this idea. I didn't really commit to it until right before Christmas, because I love Kenny Johnson so much as an actor and as a person, and I didn't want to do it if I felt like it was just for shock value. I felt like we ha
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Question: I just finished watching The Shield finale, and holy &%*$ — Shane killed Lem!
Answer: I still can't believe it happened. Seriously. I mean, I knew someone was going to die, but I never in a million years imagined it would go down the way it did. I watched an advance screener of the episode Sunday night, and the sight of Lem sitting in the car all bloodied and lifeless is still haunting me. Short of popping six Xanax, the only thing I could think to do was to call exec producer Shawn Ryan and ask him, "Why did you do that to poor Lem!?!" "We just started thinking in terms of classic tragedy," Ryan says. "And we came up with this idea, but I didn't really commit to it until right before Christmas, because I love Kenny Johnson so much as an actor and
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