Another hit HBO - Enter Boardwalk Empire

I consider myself to be quite the tv-series aficionado. I like to watch a bit of everything…. I decide rather swiftly whether a new show is worth my time or just another wash. Generally there is always an abundance of excellent Sitcom’s to choose from, Reality TV, Doccie’s, Wildlife, Human Interest, Sports, Leisure, Travel, Culinary and Music channels are evolving constantly to ensure that there is something for everyone, these channels tend to target a wider audience. Finding a decent Drama Series that caters to both men and woman between the ages of let’s say 18 and 50 though, can be a rare find. 

There are a zillion drama’s out there all aimed at very specific audiences and yes I know ladies a significant amount of these specifically targeted at us. Some are suited for the entire family but then you get all the good old corny-ness that comes with the territory, loads of them are aimed at the teenie boppers and normally gain an slightly older audience if the lead characters are played by adults  – So when you do find a series that intrigues the entire adult household it’s a mini celebration.

Being involved in production myself I generally assess a new series by focusing on a few areas in the pilot episode: The Production value (set design, wardrobe, make-up, special effects, editing styles, music) The Characters - their individual complexity, are they intriguing, believable, relatable. Obviously on-screen chemistry amongst the cast is essential to success. Whether I watch a new show is not necessarily down to whether the cast is made up of well known celebs or not. (I generally give unknown actors/actresses at least one episode to prove whether they can act). Lastly, quite possibly the most important aspect to me is tum tum tum drumroll: The plot ! –  I want the perfect blend of creativity, humour, realism, suspense, intrigue and a dash of unpredictability! I know my request seems like a tall order but I assure you it is possible. I am so tired of predictable story lines. (this naturally applies to all soapies!) I find myself two steps ahead of a show more often than not, what a buzzkill!  

Don’t get me started on this more recent tendency of Popular shows, having aired several successful seasons, gaining perhaps a global audience, just to have the network execs so driven by greed and money, that the once loved show rolls out a new season regardless of whether it’s on par with prior seasons.(Prison Break, Dirty Sexy Money,Heroes) Subsequently the show returns to our screens, somewhat lacking, it loses a huge part of it’s audience, any chance of future syndication and simply withers away. The writers who once captivated us, have now seemingly ran out of good ideas, they go so completely off the reservation, that all original conclusions are forgone, replaced by ludicrous end scenario’s.

The viewer is left with a complete anticlimax  - hmmm like I dunno LOST is an excellent example, brilliant concepts initially, a fantastic cast, amazing production value.  A plane crash coincidentally somewhere inside the Bermuda Triangle…. parallel universes, a mystical island, the idea of time travel, wormholes, random scientific experimentation, all plausible in this ever evolving world, a limitless scope of script opportunities (I have no idea what went wrong in the writers mind’s, maybe the success of the show was too much for them to handle. There could’ve been infighting over intellectual property, some of the writing staff may have left, or they wanted to be done with the project and needed to ensure that it never got revived, hell at one stage even cast members were wondering where the story was heading! After 4 Years of loyal viewing, practically a year of patiently waiting for answers the final season would bring. A global audience almost over zealous in anticipation and then BLEH -They are all dead!!! The ending so bloody ridiculous! It sucked ass – Contradicting so many of the initial storylines, the ones  that had captivated us in the first place -. EPIC FAIL ABC!

There is still hope though, some shows have got the winning recipe and should be able to achieve longevity. There are still writers with vision, who dare to push boundaries.  Not forgetting of course my generation(the now twenty something person starting out in their careers) The future will be determined by the youth of today. There’s always a fresh, unique new idea, a young aspiring new talent (artist/writer/producer/director/designer) or even an old one – just waiting to be discovered - waiting for the chance to entertain us. Fortunately we have amazing shows from the past (still available to us) a couple still running, in recent years a few new excellent ones that began. These shows bridge the target audience gap – appealing to a much wider audience male, female from a young adult to senior citizen.

I recently got introduced to a fabulous little gem, that I believe falls under this category. A drama brought to us by HBO:  Boardwalk Empire! – In my opinion a smash hit. (Available online if like me you don’t have DSTV/M-NET) This is definitely one to watch!

Terence Winter for those of you not familiar with him he was part of the brilliant team that brought us Mob Drama : The Soprano’s   Winter being a Brooklyn boy himself, read a book ironically called “Boardwalk Empire” by Nelson Johnson. Johnson was an unpublished author, an actual Court Judge, however earlier in his career he was a lawyer.He got a chance to get up close and personal with some of the old school gangsters of New Jersey, New York and surrounds. The one's who came from the 20's-50's  he wrote  the book based on the real life “Rise and Fall” of notorious New Jersey Politician and Racketeer  - Enoch “Nucky”  Johnson. (no relation to author) The man was an old school Gangster – he ran Atlantic City for 30 + years and had a hand in every pie in town.

Essentially he was part of the Original Gangsters, along with the likes of Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, Johnny Torrio(who mentored Al Capone – the world’s most well-known gangster) and several others, they paved way for bootlegging of alcohol and firearms, election rigging, fraud, smuggling, money laundering  i.e - organised crime during the Prohibition era.
The man’s legacy is so vast that it’s a mystery that he isn’t more well known.

There must’ve been no doubt that a show would be successful. I mean come on, I know all too well that the masses are generally fascinated by history -we love both the good and bad game changers of the past. As for the mob and organised crime it has become a huge part of our pop-culture today – I would say about a 60/40 split: Those who romanticize the idea of the Gangster and those who love to hate them. Winter took on the role of Creator and Head Writer for the project, he got Nelson Johnson to sign on as part of the team, they created a  small screen adaptation(utilizing both real-life history and  adding their own set of fictitious tales) then they pitched it, and got the legendary Director Martin Scorsese to sign on as Executive Producer. The show features an excellent ensemble cast, the production value is insane,(wardrobe, stage, lighting, musical score, make-up -truly authentic) the story line absolutely riveting.

Not to giving too much away I’ll set the scene: It’s 1920 Atlantic City the eve of PROHIBITION we are introduced to Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Ed Buscemi) as he attends a meeting held by the Woman’s Temperance League. He has the room captivated as he tells the story of how alcohol nearly destroyed his life and that of his family. He was really piling it on thick – one woman(Margaret Shroeder -Kelly MacDonald) in particular seems to be spellbound, focused on his every move. A quick word is whispered to him by his younger blonde haired associate, James “Jimmy” Darmody (Micheal Pitt) a recently returned WWI vet, that has been appointed as "Man Friday" to the new Chief Clerk of the Fourth Ward and Nucky’s driver (There is clearly history between them). Thompson quickly he excuses himself telling the ladies that he had been called away to attend to “urgent” town affairs.

Flash forward to Babette’s Supper Club -  Nucky walks in with an air of authority, he asks to see his brother, Elias ‘Eli’ Thompson (Shea Whigham) who happens to be the town sheriff , he is directed to a  private room. Upon entering we are met by group men, all prominent members of the City, Council men, Ward Bosses the Mayor. As the men continue in their celebrations Nucky takes lead and reveals to them that Prohibition laws will not only make the need for consumption of alcohol greater but it ensures that they can charge what they want, making boatloads of cash both through importing liquor and the manufacturing and distribution of bootleg liquor.

The feds are watching Thompson - we come to know Special Agent Nelson Van Alden(Micheal Shannon) as a straight laced do-gooder his fellow agent Sebso(Erik Weiner) seems much more duplicitous.

Thompson meets with then Chicago Boss Big Jim Colosimo(Frank Crudele), Johnny Torrio(Greg Antonacci), Arnold Rothstein(Micheal Stuhlbarg) and Lucky Luciano(Vincent Piazza).  Colosimo, invites Nucky to dinner at his restaurant in Chicago. Torrio, Nucky, Rothstein and Luciano get to talking about how they planned to take over New York with cabarets. Lucky asks for all the liquor Nucky could get as much as 2,000 crates a month -- for starters. Rothstein asks for a special delivery for a Judge friend's wedding and Nucky offers him 500 crates of Canadian Whiskey currently on route.

We are introduced to a young Al Capone(Stephen Graham) in the first episode,  he still works as a barman  and acts as driver for Johnny Torrio he ends up making an alliance with Jimmy Darmody (ficticious character) they want to do a job together,  hijack the shipment of Liquor destined to go to Arnold Rothstein’s friend. This sets in motion a series of dire consequence.

I won’t be giving you any more spoilers this was just an amuse-bouche to entice you. The show is currently airing it’s first season on M-Net, I opted to download the entire 1^st  and 2^nd season(Riveting stuff!) From meeting Chalky White an introduction to the KKK, a war vet returned mercenary with half a face, double crosses, Jimmy's mom hooking up with Lucky Luciano...even some lesbian action - heroine trade, federal court cases, the first female attorney general, Van Alden becomes a daddy the storyline is fab and believe you me the show ends on a climatic note.

The 3^rd season returns to the screen in the US in the fall and will  be available on download bi-weekly. Do yourself a favour and give it a try.

Villians among us....

Recently I found myself watching an episode of Dr. Phil, normally I would just change the channel as I personally find the good doctor to be a complete douchebag. But on this occassion the interview he was having, simply drew me in. He was asking a middle aged man, whether he regretted the jury's decision - in this case "Not Guilty" with regards to his daughter's trial. Astonishingly the man broke into tears...Yes he said..... WHAT! I thought not really knowing who this guy was or what the case was that he was referring to. I had to watch and find out more - I mean come on what parent would rather see their child in jail than out???? Only a parent who's child has become a danger to either themselves or society - I needed to know...what could be so horrible as to drive a grown-ass man to tears.
What I found was something that shocked me, appalled me, offended me.... and hell even prompted me to blog about it.

I study Psychology so I realize that the human mind is fragile, some people are broken in ways that don't make sense to the rest of society - disturbing and depraved criminal behavior is an example of this. The truth is that a history of violence has brought mankind to where it is now. It's all there in the History books, I suppose we have become less savage as a whole - people in most countries are no longer sentenced to death and in the minority where they are still are, it has become more merciful. No more sentences of public decapitation, hangings, or people being stoned to death. Now we lethally inject - and that only happens years after sentencing has been passed down. Yes I know that hangings and people being stoned to death still occurs but this is mostly in developing countries and is generally frowned upon. Personally I am pro death penalty - unfortunately I have issues with the accuracy of convictions but that's a blog for another day :-) 


Today I want to talk about Caylee Marie Anthony's story - It's been a year since the verdict "NOT GUILTY"

Dr Phill continued and I learned that he was interviewing George Anthony and Cindy Anthony, parents of Casey Anthony. She had been on trial for the homicide of  her daughter, their 2 year-old granddaughter Caylee Marie Anthony. The charges brought against Casey Anthony were: "First Degree Murder, Aggravated Child abuse, Aggravated Manslaughter of a child and 4 counts of providing false evidence to the police." The Trial concluded on 5 July 2011 - The jury came back with a Not Guilty verdict on all 3 first counts i.e First Degree Murder, Aggravated Child abuse, Aggravated Manslaughter of a child. - She was however found guilty on 4 misdemeanour charges of providing false evidence to police.




The episode featured, candid individual interviews with both George and Cindy and finished off with a joint interview. One thing was clear as day: The 2 parents had complete opposing views on the outcome of the trial, George was clearly distraught and felt that the verdict had been wrong. Cindy appeared to be a flake, she was not forthcoming in her interview with Phil and was delighted at the fact that the jury came back with the "Not Guilty" on the 3 major counts.

The interview highlighted the fact that Casey's "Defence Team" lead by Jose Baez, a Florida criminal defense attorney, had given the jury misinformation to create reasonable doubt! They had made statements that George Anthony had molested Casey as a child, they also fabricated a scenario where George(former Detective) had actually been there on the day of the death Caylee ( according to them an accidental drowning) and that he had helped to cover it up. When Phil asked Cindy directly whether she believed any of this she stated with certainty that it was a lie! There were also reports during the trial that Cindy Anthony(Mother of accused) had perjured herself regarding a computer search done from their home computer for chloroform. The search was done on the home computer, while Cindy who claims to be the one who did it was at her office..... Phil directly asked her if she perjured herself...her answer no. A blatant lie - it was on a technicality that the Attorney General could not pursue these Perjury charges. There were several fabricated stories from Casey Anthony on what exactly had happened to her daughter.

This was simply not going to do for me, I had to know more.  I started searching online for old news reports anything that would give me more facts. This is what I found:


In 2008 Casey Anthony (then 22) and her daughter Caylee(2 and a half) lived with her parents George and Cindy Anthony in their Florida home. On June 16th 2008 Casey Anthony left the family home with her daughter Caylee, she allegedly went to Tampa on a "work assignment". For weeks neither grandparent had seen Caylee, they had asked Casey about their granddaughter repeatedly and was either told that Casey was to busy with the work assignment to come over or that Caylee was with the Nanny who Casey identified by the name of Zenaida "Zanny" Fernandez-Gonzalez, or at theme parks or the beach. 
On July 13, 2008, while doing yard work, Cindy and George Anthony found a notice from the post office for a certified letter affixed on their front door. George Anthony picked up the certified letter from the post office on July 15, 2008, and found that his daughter's car was in a tow yard.When George picked up the car, both he and the tow yard attendant noted a strong smell coming from the trunk. Both later stated that they believed the odor to be that of a decomposing body.When the trunk was opened, it contained a bag of trash, but no human remains Cindy Anthony reported Caylee missing to the Orange County Sheriff's Office on the 15th of July 2008. A 911 call was made during which Casey also admitted that she had not seen her daughter in 31 days, she proceeded to fabricate stories about Caylee's whereabouts including that she had been kidnapped by "Zanny". It was eventually determined that a woman named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez did in fact exist, but that she had never met Casey Anthony, Caylee Anthony, any member of the Anthony family, or any of Casey's friends.With the child still missing in October, Casey was charged with first degree murder and pled not guilty. 

On  December 11, Caylee's skeletal remains were found with a blanket inside a trash bag in a wooded area near the family home.Investigative reports and trial testimony alternated between duct tape being found near the front of the skull and on the mouth of the skull.The medical examiner mentioned duct tape as one reason she ruled the death a homicide, but officially listed it as "death by undetermined means". 

The trial began on May 24, 2011,In the opening statements, lead prosecutor Linda Drane Burdick described the story of the disappearance of Caylee Anthony day-by-day.The prosecution alleged an intentional murder and sought the death penalty against Casey Anthony. They stated that Casey used chloroform to render her daughter unconscious before putting duct tape over her nose and mouth to suffocate her, and left Caylee's body in the trunk of her car for a few days before disposing of it. They painted Anthony as a party girl who killed her daughter to free herself from parental responsibility and enjoy her personal life - this could be seen as the prosecutor's had access to CCTV footage of Casey and her boyfriend shopping merrily on June 16th 2008, during July of 2008 with Caylee "allegedly being kidnapped by Zanny" Casey was entering Hot Body contests at Fusion nightclub and also went to have a new tattoo done: the words "Bella Vita" which means "Beautiful life" - Now I'm thinking what kind of sick bitch can go out partying and get tattoos whilst their child has been kidnapped(Casey's first story to police)or even for that matter recently lost a child to drowning?????

The defense, claimed in opening statements that Caylee drowned accidentally in the family's pool on June 16, 2008, and was found by George Anthony, who told Casey she would spend the rest of her life in jail for child neglect and then proceeded to cover up Caylee’s death.( Firstly a detective would know that DA's rarely prosecute parents in the event of an accidental drowning) Jose Baez argued this is why Casey Anthony went on with her life and failed to report the incident for 31 days.(Ja she was so happy and content she went partying). He alleged that it was the habit of a lifetime for Casey to hide her pain and pretend nothing was wrong because she had been sexually abused by George Anthony since she was eight years old and her brother Lee also had made advances toward her.(Utterly ridiculous as Casey often left Caylee unattended in George's care - No woman who has been a victim of sexual abuse, will EVER allow their child(daughter) to be close to that person.

Baez admitted that Casey had lied about there being a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzales and questioned whether Roy Kronk, the meter reader who found the bones, actually had removed them from another location.  He alleged the police department botched the investigation because of their desire to feed a media frenzy about a child’s murder rather than a more mundane drowning.

Cindy Anthony testified that her comment to 911 that Casey’s car smelled "like someone died" was just a "figure of speech". K9 handler Jason Forgey testified that Gerus, a German shepherd cadaver dog, certified 2005, indicated a high alert of human decomposition in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, saying the police dog has had real-world searches numbering "over three thousand by now". During cross-examination, Baez argued that the dog’s search records were "hearsay". Sgt. Kristin Brewer also testified that her K9 partner, Bones, signaled decomposition in the backyard during a search in July 2008. However, neither K9 partner was able to detect decomposition during a second visit to the Anthony home. Brewer explained that this was because whatever had been in the yard was either moved or the odor dissipated.

The prosecution called the chief medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia to the stand, who testified that she determined Caylee's manner of death to be homicide but listed it as "death by undetermined means". Garavaglia took into account the physical evidence present on the remains she examined, as well as all the available information on the way they were found and what she had been told by the authorities, before arriving at her determination. "We know by our observations that it's a red flag when a child has not been reported to authorities with injury, there's foul play," Garavaglia said. " ... There is no child that should have duct tape on [the lower part of] its face when it dies." Additionally, Garavaglia addressed the chloroform evidence found by investigators inside the trunk of Casey Anthony's car, testifying that even a small amount of chloroform would be sufficient to cause the death of a child.

University of Florida professor and human identification laboratory director Michael Warren was brought on by the prosecution to present a computer animation of the way duct tape could have been used in the death of the child, which the defense objected to hearing. Judge Perry, after a short recess to review, ruled that the video could be shown to the jury. The animation featured a picture of Caylee Anthony taken alongside Casey Anthony, superimposed with an image of Caylee's decomposed skull, and another with a strip of duct tape that was recovered with her remains. The images were slowly brought together showing that the duct tape could have covered her nose and mouth. Baez stated, "This disgusting superimposition is nothing more than a fantasy ...They're throwing things against the wall and seeing if it sticks." Jurors were seen taking notes of the imagery, and Warren testified that it was his opinion that the duct tape found with Caylee's skull was placed there before her body began decomposing.

The defense called two government witnesses who countered prosecution witness testimony about the duct tape. The chief investigator for the medical examiner stated that the original placement of the duct tape was unclear and it could have shifted positions as he collected the remains - Wowie it shifted, why the fuck was there duct tape on her mouth if she "drowned"

Cindy Anthony testified that their family buried their pets in blankets and plastic bags, using duct tape to seal the opening.(Yes Mother's should love their children unconditionally but HOLY HELL where do you draw the line)

Baez called Cindy Anthony to the stand, who told jurors she had been the one who performed the "chloroform" search on the family computer in March 2008. The prosecution alleged that only Casey Anthony could have conducted this search and the others because she was the only one home at the time. When asked by prosecutors how she could have made the Internet searches when employment records show she was at work, Cindy Anthony said despite what her work time sheet indicates, she was at home during these time periods because she left from work early during the days in question.

(WHAT THE FUCK - surely people she worked with could've been called to verify that either she wasn't there as she claimed, or that she was there and is perjuring herself to get her daughter off!!!)

The defense then called Roy Kronk, who recounted the same basic story he told police about his discovery of Caylee Anthony's remains in December 2008. He acknowledged receiving $5,000 after the remains were identified, but denied that he told his son that finding the body would make him rich and famous.The next day, his son testified he had made such statements

On June 30, the defense called Krytal Holloway, a volunteer in the search for Caylee, who said, she had an affair with George Anthony, had told her that Caylee's death was "an accident that snowballed out of control." Under cross-examination by prosecutors, they pointed to her sworn police statement in which she says George Anthony believes it was an accident, rather than knowing that it was. In her initial report, Holloway reported George Anthony saying, "I really believe that it was an accident that just went wrong and (Casey Anthony) tried to cover it up." She said he had not told her he was present when the alleged accident occurred.During redirect examination, Baez asked Holloway if Anthony told her Caylee was dead while stating publicly she was missing, and she said yes.

After Holloway's testimony, Judge Perry told jurors that it could be used to impeach George Anthony's credibility, but that it was not proof of how Caylee died and/or evidence of Casey Anthony's guilt or innocence.

On July 5th, 2011 the Jury found Casey Anthony : NOT GUILTY on First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child, or Aggravated Child Abuse. She was found guilty on four misdemeanor counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. There are a lot of things "Lacking" in South-Africa but this WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IN A SOUTH-AFRICAN COURT!!! Here we look at physical evidence, motive you know the basics.

It absolutely boggles my mind :The prosecution provided solid evidence backed by science, the defense provided at the very least hear say - they DID NOT offer any explanation as to how the drowning occured, nor a valid reason as to why Casey showed no signs of loss (footage of her partying mere days after supposed drowning). They created a malicious lie to create distraction.



This case was a huge media whore because of the controversy it created in the public, mainly because anyone with half a brain could see that the jury got this one wrong. Several rappers used this case as lyrics,

"The shit I’m doin’ this year? Insanity/ Made the beat then murdered it: Casey Anthony," said comedian Donald Glover, under his hip-hop moniker Childish Gambino.
Eminem has a profanity-laced smackdown about Anthony in a few lines of "Shady 2.0 Cypher."


"Is puke luke warm? Should Casey Anthony do porn?/ Can that chick fit a newborn dead baby inside a freakin' shoebox/ With a shoehorn, smothered in chloroform so she can go get her groove on?"

 The public was more than outraged. So much so that the juror's names were kept quiet for a while after the verdict for fear of public vigilantism against them.

Casey Anthony is currently fighting various charges, let's hope the bitch goes down for at least one of them!