THE SHIELD lived up to the hype and the preseason forecast by soundly winning the 2003 ALF Cup Final last night against 4-time and defending champ This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
22M stumbled in a manner similar to 3 years ago when they rolled over and played dead with a clip show against Twin Peaks. This time, the clips all tied in with the doings in Iraq, and there were plenty of top-notch anti-Yank zingers, but a clip show is a clip show, and not a good strategy to employ in an ALF Cup Final.
The Shield, meanwhile, stayed right on the schedule that made them the season-long pick to win it all, posting up with an excellent season finale. As soon as it was announced last fall that the 2nd season would wrap up during the week of the Final, Vic and company were a virtual lock to take home the trophy.
"I'm a different kind of cop."
Still, a bit of luck was involved along the way. Sometimes, it's not who wins, but who loses (and when). 22M got to the Final by virtue of a semifinal win over a subpar ep of South Park, which got to the semis by virtue of a win over Royal Canadian Air Farce, which got preempted that week by CBC war coverage.
One surprise: Series star Michael Chiklis was figured to be an easy choice for playoff MVP, but instead that honor went to co-star Walton Goggins. This season was a real tour de force for his character, Shane Vendrell. Let us toast him with a yammy full of Georgia joy juice!
ALF CUP CHAMPIONS (playoff MVPs in parentheses):
1987-ALF (ALF)
1988-ALF (ALF)
1989-ALF (ALF)
1990-ALF (ALF)
1991-ALF (ALF)
1992-ALF (ALF)
1993-Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Michael J. Nelson)
1994-The Secret Life Of Machines (Rex Garrod)
1995-Animaniacs (Rob Paulsen)
1996-Due South (Paul Gross)
1997-Carson's Comedy Classics (Johnny Carson)
1998-This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Mary Walsh)
1999-This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Rick Mercer)
2000-Twin Peaks (Kyle Maclachlan)
2001-This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Preston Manning)
2002-This Hour Has 22 Minutes (Colin Mochrie)
2003-The Shield (Walton Goggins)
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