Once again, it’s the season of the sociopath on cable TV.
On “The Shield,” the morally murky cop drama that started its third season this month on FX, bullet-headed L.A. detective Vic Mackey is once again pursuing truth, justice and the American way with his own unorthodox methods. The raging pit bull played by Michael Chiklis beats suspects senseless, lies to his superiors and maintains a hidden stash of cash stolen from the Armenian mob.
Meanwhile, on HBO, Tony Soprano is once again trying to conduct himself with honor and respect for the old ways, while his happiness is being hindered by annoying FBI officers, an estranged spouse and a cousin who’d rather be a massage therapist than assume his rightful position in the family business. James Gandolfini’s lovable lug already has blown a gasket upon being rejected by his former therapist by stealing his wife’s home-theater equipment and having one snitch whacked.
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Most of the time, TV makes us feel good about ourselves and the world we live in. As “Sopranos” creator David Chase has said about typical broadcast fare: “It’s all about flattering the audience and making them feel as if all the authority figures have our best interests at heart.”
That’s certainly true of all kinds of broadcast entertainment, from sitcoms such as “The King of Queens” and “Friends” to dramas series such as “CSI” and “Law & Order” that prove our faith in fancy gadgets and earnest prosecutors is well-founded.
These days, though, there’s also a darker heart of television. An appetite for unsettling TV is apparent from the success of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” in which Larry David cast himself as the obnoxious offender of African-Americans, Jews and hotel workers all season long. And there’s the nastiness inherent in every Darwinian reality TV show, with Donald Trump and Simon Cowell the biggest ratings winners.
But if reality shows provide us with a steady stream of backstabbing sneaks we love to hate, shows such as “The Shield” (9 p.m. Tuesdays) and “The Sopranos” (8 p.m. Sundays) go the much harder route of focusing on hateful characters that we must learn to love.
The disturbing thing is that we do love them, in large part, because we envy them, even as we find their actions difficult to stomach. Sure, Soprano and his wise-guy pals are a bunch of cold-blooded killers, but they also have big houses and a lifestyle that allows them to sit around a pork store all day playing cards or drink for free at the Bada Bing club.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Kris Karnopp ([email protected])