Here it is, it's the big enchilada. The show that I feel is the best out of all the ones I've seen.

1. The Shield (2002 - 2008)

"Remember, the Team comes First" - Vic

6 Seasons aired, one final 7th seaon to come in the Autumn.

Starring:
Michael Chiklis as Detective Vic Mackey
Walton Goggins as Detective Shane Vandrell
Kenny Johnson as Detective Curtis "Lemonhead" Lemansky
Benito Martinez as Captain David Aceveda
CCH Pounder as Detective Claudette Wyms
Catherine Dent as Officer Danielle "Danny" Sofer
Jay Karnes as Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach
Michael Jace as Officer Julien Lowe
and David Rees Snell as Detective Ronnie Gardocki

Guest starring:
Glenn Close as Captain Monica Rawlings
Forest Whitaker as Lt. John Kavanaugh

The Shield first exploded onto our screens in 2002, inspired by The Rampart Scandal (a great read by itself) the show portrays the actions of a small group of corrupt policemen who work in a special detail named "The Strike Team". Through it's six seasons The Shield is a rollercoaster ride of gritty action, hard cops, dubious morals, politics, gang warfare and cop killings. This is a show which has taken the gloves off and covered it's fists in broken glass. The Shield pulls absolutely no punches and Michael Chiklis is simply phenomenal as Vic Mackey, he's easily the biggest badass on modern television.

But The Shield is not just about drugs, guns and machoism. It's also about other crimes and even family life. Detectives Claudette and Dutch are the main characters involved in the more 'normal' detective work (al la Homicide, CSI, etc) and Dutch in particular is a very sympathetic character as he's the bottom rung nerd in a station that is essentially a giant boys club. But while he's insecure in his personal life he's simpley phemomenal at detective work. Jay/Dutch's perfomance in the first season episode "Dragonchasers" is simply outstanding and worth watching even as a stand alone episode.
Vic himself has a softer side in his family life, he supports his wife and three children with a lot of caring and devotion. Also we get to follow the lives of Captain Aceveda, Officers Lowe and Sofer and many other aspects of the police station.

But there should be no mistakes made, this show is as macho as it gets. It's fast, smart, hard hitting and brilliant. Of particular note is the excellence of plotting, while it is possible to see the logical chain of events and sometimes notice upcoming plots the show is a master at twisting and turning in unexpected directions. There is an amazing amount of subtley in the show considering how brutish it appears to be at first glance.

The reason The Shield pipped The Wire to the top slot is it's accessability. While The Wire is in many aspects a superior show, The Shield is far more accessable. It's possible to dip into The Shield at any point and enjoy it without knowing what's gone on before hand. The Shield is a more traditional show with an unusual spin on the subject of police drama.

With the final season airing in October, now is the time to get into the show as even the slowest of watchers would be able to get through all 6 seasons in time for the final season. And considering how season six ended I can't wait to see what happens.

imdb: 8.2
tv.com: 9.1