When the city runs dry, the streets will run with blood.
When it comes to ambitious drama series, no other channel can do it as well as HBO. Band Of Brothers
Set in Atlantic City on the eve of prohibition we are introduced to the main character Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Buscemi) a smooth talking politician making a profitable career as a bootlegger on the side. With the police on side Nucky becomes a powerful contact for Chicago mobsters who are looking get booze to their city and of course he makes a good profit out of the deal. We see a softer side to Nucky when he helps out a pregnant woman married to drunken violent gambler. Meanwhile Jimmy (Michael Pitt) a World War I vet with the horrors of war still fresh in his mind, returns to Atlantic city to find everyone else has climbed the ladder of success and he has been left behind, frustrated he teams up with a young Al Capone to make a name for himself.
This is an impressive show in a league of it’s own, with a $20 million budget the production values make it feel more like a movie than a TV series, the attention to detail in the buildings, costume and language create a vivid picture of a fascinating time in American history. Director Martin Scorsese has certainly put his mark on this film with clear echos to his other gangster flick Goodfellas
The question is, in Enoch “Nucky” Thompson do we have our new Tony Soprano sized anti-hero? The Sopranos set a very high bar for all shows, not just those appearing on HBO and comparisons are bound to be made, however what made Sopranos such a perfect show is what is missing here. Tony Soprano was at heart a family man, he may break the law and have affairs, but ultimately his children and his mother ruled his actions, his discontent with how the American dream had played out for him was something that everyone could identify with. Boardwalk Empire is an incredible achievement with a great cast of characters (make no mistake Steve Buscemi cuts an imposing presence), but currently it lacks an emotional core that I can identify with. Nucky’s relationship with a pregnant Irish immigrant seems placed to provide that core, but it felt so separate from the central plot that it failed to resonate with me.
Overwhelming positive reaction to series has already led to talk of massive Emmy wins and a mere two days after the premier a second series was ordered. This is a show that is going to be around and I am sure you will be hearing much more about it.
Written by: Terrence Winter
Based on the Book by: Nelson Johnson
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham
Date premièred: 19th September 2010
UK Details: TBA
. Using the traditional 3 camera set up and a live studio audience it was a bold choice when many other comedies had switched to the single camera format. However after a single series HBO said “no more”, this was not due to ratings, as the show had a strong cult following, but because the critics didn’t like it and HBO’s image was more important (Sadly my rage at 
has not led to a similar fate for that show). Anyway Louis when back out on the stand up circuit, picking up a roll on Parks and Recreation before FX finally offered him a new show.
and Party Down have enjoyed a moderate amount of success, but their latest addition is 
.
to cover manhood or lack there of. Starz looking to make a name for it’s original drama has created a series that promised much violence and plenty of full frontal nudity from both sexes.
, a 225 if you will, but this is only one piece of the puzzle – the slow motion fights. For dialogue they have thrown in the original Spartacus, while HBO’s 
provides influence for the explicit sex. Finally 
provides a great deal of influence for the series’ title character; Spartacus was a slave turned Gladiator turned leader of an army, here we have husband warrior sold into a Gladiator school. The Spartacus in this series has no bonds with slavery, there is no hint of what the man shall become which seems very short sighted. Away from the sex and violence the series feels like a movie of the week with melodramatic emotions and swearing thrown in just because they can.
and 
and 
, a 30 minute comic drama about a high school sports teacher who uses his God given gift of a huge dong to supplement his income. In the pilot episode Ray Drecker narrates his way through his dilemma, a jock in high school, he married his sweetheart and had a promising career as a professional athlete. However he is now divorced with 2 children, his house is falling down and an injury has left teaching his only option with the limited skills he has. Desperate for money he turns to a class in starting up a business and is told that everyone has a talent others will pay for. Ray struggling to find what he has to offer comes to the conclusion his wang holds the answer and decides to become a male a jiggalo. A woman in his business class loves the idea and takes on the role as his pimp, dressing him up, teaching him how to act and running a marketing campaign.
and has similar sensibility of people making the best of a bad situation. A slightly heavy handed pilot in terms of being spoon fed information, but this is a promising start and unlike other HBO shows which has seen characters enjoying wealth, this is a story about a man in a situation that more people can identify with. There is a fair amount of struggle for the main character to reach his goals and there are many, many issues left to explore. This could be the headline grabbing show HBO has been looking for, so much so that a second series has already been ordered.
