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.
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 1st and 2nd 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 3rd 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.
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