The unique flexibility of TCV in plasma shaping has been exploited to address different aspects of tokamak physics in which the plasma shape may play a role. This paper summarizes the experiments undertaken in the TCV tokamak ("Tokamak à Configuration Variable") over the last decade in stability and transport and offers a comprehensive and integrated view of the various effects of plasma shape observed. For each of these effects, the relation between experimental results and theoretical predictions is stressed. Many of these topics are related to vital issues in ITER and to concept improvement in view of DEMO.