I had totally forgot about Claudette reporting on those tainted cases.

Glenn Close seems to be an excellent addition. There isn't much depth in the lead actress category for dramas, so she would seemingly be a shoo-in for a nomination.

I'm really enjoying Glenn Close so far. I've never been a big fan of her, but she seems like a great addition. I just hope they don't play down some of the other characters too much in an attempt to shoehorn her in.

You are correct-it was a public defender that was on drugs. Regarding the Aceveda plotline from last year, he killed one of his attackers in a liquor store shootout. He confiscated the phone with the incriminating picture from him before the cops arrived. He later captured the other one(the one that he blew) and threatened him in the interrogation room. Aceveda told him that he had been stalking him and that he knows all about this guy's family. He told him that he had the phone and that if he told anyone about what happened, he would kick up a shitstorm for the guy's family. The reason why there is tension between Aceveda and his wife is because he told his wife what happened and she wasn't very supportive about it.:)

This Friday at 11 PM.

Great episode. I'm still thinking about it. The only thing that worries me is that by setting up Shane as an uber-corrupt cop, they're going to downplay just how crooked Vic has been for the past three seasons. Even though he beat up the guy in the bar, that felt more like a nod to the old Vic, rather than the way he is now.

Eh, who knows, maybe losing the strike team actually made him mellow out.

As for Julien, we never found out if his wife actually got pregnant. As for identity issues, season 3 only brings it up twice. The first time is a scene in bed where we see he's been unable to perform with his wife. The second time is when he's at the sperm bank and uses gay porn to get his stuff into the cup. After he takes care of the abandoned kid for a day, he performs so voraciously with his wife that it scares her.

It'll be interesting to see how much Aceveda stays in the show now that he's a city councilman. I really like his character.

As much of the ongoing story lines in this series is about power plays between characters....I'm sure Aceveda will play a good part in the ongoing story.

He's in a position of much more authority now...and I don't think he's gonna forget about Mackey anytime soon.

The faceoff between Aceveda and Vic about the letter with everyone around was great. I think Close will do a good job, although I've never been a big fan of hers. I liked how she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty when she went with Vic. She'll definitely garner more respect from everyone than Aceveda did. Also, I can't wait to see what happens with Dutch and Claudette. You could see Dutch was really thinking about what the new captain said about Claudette dragging him down with her. Man, what a great show!!

Wow, the second episode was even better! Don't worry, no spoilers here.. ;)

I've been very anxious for this season to start. It appears that the wait was well worth it. Shane and Mackey, great stuff, this I think and hope will be a whole series of interesting events. I was a bit curious as to how Glenn Close would fit in and I so far would have to say I like it. Great episode. Loved the opening scene with the dog (that reached for his piece first) laying there with the gun by his paws. That was great.

This was the first time I have ever watched an entire episode (I've watched a few minutes here and there). I watched it over at my sister's house because I have been listening to my brother-in-law talk about it all winter long as he has caught up w/ the first three seasons - now they are both hooked. Pretty good ep. My brother-in-law said that it almost seemed like a re-boot episode for the show.

I had goose-bumps every time I saw the commercial-teasers for Bochco's OVER THERE during this season premiere. I cannot wait for that one to start.

F/X just needs to adjust their schedule so they have a show in current runs all year round, this would help boost their ratings. I almost missed the Shield (thank you tvtalk) because I have not watched F/X since the last episode of Rescue Me.

I just can't believe it Glenn close joins the Shield? Is Shawn Ryan desperate for ratings? or is he under pressure from the network to add big names? as for her character the jury is still out I'll watch a few more episodes before I pass judgement. It's good to see the other supporting characters return Claudette and Dutch on the outs with the DA's office because of the ramifications of last season's storyline involving the public defender and those tainted cases. It's a crying shame that Danny and Julien screen time wil be shortened and their storyline will be short compared to last season.

Was it just me or was Vic nervous when he was at the black community meeting when Antwon Mitchell was preching empowerment to the audience? And what is Anton's connection to Shane did he ask Shane to take out Vic's informant before he could talk? I also liked the tension when Shane and Vic met at the informant's home it seems that Shane isn't intimidated of fearful of Vic.

where do tv shows leak? ive been looking all over for it. unfortuantly for me im living on campus at cal poly pomona and we dont get FX!!!!!!! this drives me crazy because up until season 4, every tuesday of the season, ive been glued to the tv!

I FINALLY watched the first episode last night after a very crazy week. It sure seemed paced slowly but I did just finish Season 3 again not too long ago.

Close she is showing her age. *shudder* She didn't annoy me as much as I thought she would but I too need to see more before I make a final decision on her.

My wife couldn't wrap he mind around the fact that Season 4 didn't start right up where Season 3 left off. She's sweet and all but I had to pause the show a few times to explain it to her. Movies like Memento also throw her off because it's not a linear and straightforward story.

Season 4 could end up being better on DVD when it comes out just like Season 3 was for me but I'll give it a few more weeks before I hope for that.

I can't believe that I missed the 1st episode. Anyone know anyplace that I can get it? I just finished S3 and had already Tivoed the 1st two epsiodes but when I checked eps 1 didn't tape. :(