Don't even try to predict what happens tonight on "The Shield."
You're not up to it, even if you've watched every episode for 4 1/2 seasons and believe you know Vic Mackey and the rest of this show's characters like you know your own family.
This show is impervious to speculation. Just when you expect it to zig, it almost always zags.
And tonight (10 p.m. on FX), as "The Shield" closes out the first half of its fifth season, it zigs and zags with such intensity that it just might leave you dizzy and out of breath.
Fans of "The Shield" know that feeling. They've been experiencing it every week since the season began Jan. 10. That's when Mackey (Michael Chiklis) first started to tangle with John Kavanaugh, the creepy LAPD Internal Affairs investigator played by Forest Whitaker whose pursuit of Mackey and his unorthodox, corrupt Strike Team has come to resemble Capt. Ahab's obsession with Moby Dick... < SNIP >
This was already the best show on television, but Forest Whitaker has really kicked it up to a new level. He is an absolutely amazing actor (Bird, Ghost Dog, Crying Game), with the hardest-working lazy eye in Hollywood.
He also made a mint of money for directing the chick-flick "Waiting to Exhale" (made for $15 million, it grossed about $100 million).
I remember Whittaker in 'Good Morning Vietnam' and a whole lot of other supporting roles over the years. He is a great, great actor.
You'd think these people would take a lesson from Glenn Close's captain last season, who basically said, "Don't do anything illegal, and if you do, don't tell me. Now go get bad guys."