Catching Up: Boardwalk Empire

HBO's Boardwalk Empire is a show that, on paper, has all the makings of a Great Drama. Its central premise revolves around the mafia dealings surrounding the bootlegging industry in the 1920's. It, like most HBO shows, has a ridiculously high production value. It has a terrific cast in Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly MacDonald and Michael Shannon, with scene-stealing moments by Michael K. Williams and Dabney Coleman. Its pilot was directed by Martin Freakin' Scorsese! 

So when it premiered in 2010, why didn't I get into it?

Maybe because, despite everything on paper, I wasn't immediately sucked into the Boardwalk Empire world the way I was for a Sopranos. Maybe because the hype machine surrounding the series could in no way live up to the reality of the series in general. Maybe because, despite being soundly competent in every way, there wasn't one show-stopping scene in the pilot that I could point to as being a "THIS!" kind of moment. Maybe because it is just too sprawling of a show to get fully immersed in after one episode. (Actually, mostly because we cancelled HBO after the third episode of the first season, but the above reasons are valid, as well.)

Now that we are HBO subscribers again, Brigitte and I have given Boardwalk Empire a second chance, and have made our way through the first three episodes once again. Though I still have some minor qualms, it is a series that I am getting to be fully invested in, finally. Here are my main thoughts on the show so far:

• Wow, this show is ridiculously well-produced. I mean, wow. It's as if it takes the period elements of Mad Men that are well produced and throws millions more dollars at the production to make it that much glossier. If anything, I would be on board with a series that is just people dressed in Swinging '20s stuff and singing about how The Dumb Girls Know How To Make Love (episode three, "Broadway Limited".)
• That said, production can't carry everything all the time, but after three episodes, there does seem to be some forward momentum in the plot, even if it's incremental momentum. Through three episodes, we know that Nucky is a guy who is powerful but has a heart, Mrs. Schroeder is afraid but sort of likes the attention Nucky is giving her (AND is totally adorable), Jimmy wants to make a name for himself, and Agent Van Alden is Nucking Futs. Like most serialized dramas these days, the wheels are just starting to spin after three episodes.
• I love me some Michael K. Williams, but could he be a bigger anachronism? I get that it's crazy that he says the word "motherfucker" to Nucky and Nucky doesn't understand it, cuz it's the '20s, but is it just me or does he literally just seem like "Omar, But The '20s"? I mean, I don't have any issue with that cuz he's awesome, but so far he seems less like a character and more like fan service.
• How adorable/heartbreaking was it when Mrs. Schroeder's kids asked when the new baby was coming? Sigh.
• Agent Van Alden seems like he would be a good Crazy Dude Friend to Brother Justin on Carnivale. And they clearly should have tried to take the fat guy who got shot to Doc Cochoran in Deadwood to keep him alive (though the dentist office scene was pretty hilarious.) I'm always looking for HBO crossovers, though (like, HELLO, Will McAvoy's therapist on The Newsroom should CLEARLY be Dr. Paul Weston from In Treatment!)
• What a difference watching Dawson's Creek makes in my enjoyment of this series. Michael Pitt went from the Poor Man's Leo to Dude From Dawson's Creek and made me enjoy his character a lot more.

Season three starts in September, so Brigitte and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Why I No Longer Hate Deadwood

As many of my fans recall, I once wrote this post. In it I attempted to explain why, without ever having actually seen it, I was determined to hate HBO's original series, Deadwood.

Well, it's more than two years later, and I have actually now seen three episodes. And I don't hate it. In fact...I like it. A lot.

It's difficult for me to admit when I've been wrong, but in this case, I was wrong. Dead wrong (get it?!). It's hard to put into works exactly what made me change my mind, but I will now attempt to counterpoint each point I had originally made in order to understand myself and to help you, my readers, to understand why I no longer hate Deadwood.

1. The Old West is my least favorite time period
For the most part, this point is still true. I don't GENERALLY enjoy the Old West as a time period. However, there have been many examples of recent Western era-ish films that have helped me to overcome this dislike, including but not limited to There Will Be Blood, the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit, and most recently Meek's Cutoff (yeah I know, it's not exactly the Old West, but it's the same general time period I think and they are in the western part of the country and hey...wagons and dust and stuff, so it counts). I'm coming around to this particular period, and I guess it's not all bad. Plus the whole "society without laws" thing is kinda interesting. Plus I realized that I used to like Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. So there.

2. Great Example of How Television Need Not be Totally Visually Realistic to be Enjoyable
I've actually found that the show is just visually realistic enough. It's not nearly as icky as I had gathered it to be from the snippets of the show I had seen previously. And now that I've actually sat down and watched a few episodes, I actually really like the visual aspects of this show. There are even some shots that showcase the beauty of this lawless town of no-goods. And I suppose I can appreciate the fact that this show is portraying men and women who are dirty and gritty and probably in many ways truer to the spirit of Deadwood. Meek's Cutoff actually helped me to come around quite a bit on this point, mainly because Michelle Williams can make anything, even dirt, beautiful. 3. Too icky
See above, mostly. I also think I'm developing a higher ick tolerance in my old age.

4. Too Sad
The show is actually not too sad yet. I think this point came from wrongly watching later episodes without getting to know the characters first. In other words, I think I kind of skipped right to the super sad parts. I'm still waiting for this show to get super sad, but so far so good. There are even some funny moments, and I particularly enjoy Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and their relationship. There is a lot of sadness in these characters, but isn't it our sadness that makes us human or something? I like that even Al Swereangen has some sadness--it keeps him from just being a bad guy.

5. That Language!
Yeah, I don't know what my deal was with this point. The language is fine. I was being silly. I actually find a lot of humor in the cursing and again appreciate the show's attempt to capture and represent the culture of Deadwood.

6. Can't tell the characters apart
I can totally tell the characters apart! Al is really ugly in the face but there's something poignant and even charming about his face, too. Seth is handsome, not just for the Old West but for modern times, too. EW is that guy from Newhart, Wild Bill is that guy from Dexter, and Calamity Jane is a woman. And Sol is from that funny show with the baseball player. I'm enjoying getting to know the characters, and can pretty easily tell them apart. My favorites so far are Al, Wild Bill, Jane, and that rich woman from New York City (Editor's note: Alma Garrett, yo!).

In sum, I was wrong. If you haven't given Deadwood a chance, I encourage you to watch a few episodes and not just write it off the way that I did. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, even if you don't like the icky old west.