Viewers of The Sopranos might be used to a familiar feeling - watching an eagerly-awaited season premiere of their favorite show, only to be totally and utterly confused as the story continuity has been completely lost for them over the painfully long period between seasons.

But never was I so unprepared to digest a beloved television show as while watching last night’s season premiere of The Shield. (“Honey, why is Shane chopping off that guy’s feet?”).

Seriously - the last episode was 15 months ago - the day Scooter Libby was indicted (not pardoned - indicted!).

The characters seemed to be talking faster than ever - rattling off unfamiliar Armenian names and slinging extra savvy street-speak. It was like watching The Wire slightly fast-forwarded.

The critically essential plot point - why Shane put Vic’s family in a locked van last season, what his situation with the Armenian mob was, and how much he was telling Vic was true - was a jumble. Oh, and did Dutch and Danny hook up? Don’t remember that either.

I should have had a The Shield Season 6 DVD marathon last weekend. It is probably the first time I had seen a season premiere of The Shield without one. Which brings up a great point - if an avid fan who has seen every season 2-3 times cannot figure out the season premiere, where does that leave everyone else??? I feel your pain.

I do like the setup at the end of this episode - that Shane and Vic have ignited a massive Latino-Armenian gang war in LA. The scenes from next week look solid, and hopefully I can get that marathon in before I see it.

The Shield is getting long in the tooth visually - it is just plain weird watching a top TV drama that isn’t shot in high-definition in 2008, especially since FX is now in HD. I mean, even all of my local news is in HD now. The argument for The Shield’s continuity of gritty visual aesthetic and agile hand-held camera shots isn’t really doing it for me anymore.