As the fall TV season approached, it was "Boardwalk Empire's" game to lose. The stakes, not to mention expectations, were sky−high for Martin Scorsese's HBO show, a Prohibition−era drama featuring a thrilling cast that stars Steve Buscemi.
The good news is that "Boardwalk Empire" lives up to those expectations.
The bad news is that you now have another show to watch on Sunday night, and you will need HBO in order to see it.
"Boardwalk Empire," set in Atlantic City, N.J., during the 1920s, hits all the right notes. It is almost disappointing that the show is as good as everyone expected it to be. Although only three episodes have aired to date, it has already been picked up for a second season and is one of the best new shows on TV.
The show is based on the book "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City" (2002) by Nelson Johnson. "Empire" follows the fictionalized antics of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi) — based on real−life politician Enoch "Nucky" Johnson — the treasurer of Atlantic City and quite the crooked politician. In addition to managing his civic duties, Nucky also runs the city's bootlegging business and other illegal hustles.
Through his illegal activities, Nucky comes in contact with a whole host of colorful characters, brought to life by a ridiculously strong supporting cast. From James "Jimmy" Darmody — Nucky's too−bright−to−be−doing−this lackey (played by the ever−enigmatic Michael Pitt) — to Michael Stuhlbarg's Arnold Rothstein — the Jewish New York teetotaler/gangster played to sleazy perfection — and Chalky White (played by fan−favorite Michael K. Williams) — the only character in the show to use the word "motherf−−−−−" — all of the supporting characters are fully realized. The promise of learning more about the characters who inhabit the world of "Empire" is an even stronger draw to continue watching than the ongoing plot.
In the most recent episode (episode three, "Broadway Limited"), we are given our first extended look at Chalky White, who appeared in the pilot for all of a few seconds. Although the episode was the weakest so far, it was completely worth watching for the interactions between Nucky and White.
It is great to see HBO doing what HBO does best: making strong, compelling, beautiful TV with tight scripts and tighter direction. With "Empire," the premium cable channel is looking to reclaim the Sunday night dominance it lost when "The Sopranos" (1999−2007) ended its run, and if the show can keep up what it has been doing so far, the prospects seem good.
Executive producers Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter (of "The Sopranos" fame) have ensured that, at the very least, their show is the best−looking on TV. The attention to detail in each episode is staggering: The set design, costumes, classic cars — everything feels real. For an hour a week, Buscemi and company let us live 90 years ago, and it is spectacular.
To do a full breakdown of the story would really do both the show and the viewers a disservice. What it boils down to is a masterfully executed drama about no−goodniks becoming gangsters and gangsters giving birth to the idea of Atlantic City. It is a rich time period and equally promising subject matter, and HBO is the only logical place for it to be explored.
But the nitty−gritty of the premise does not really matter this early in the show's first season. For now, you are interested in the subject matter and you will watch; you are uninterested and you will watch because you know that with its pedigree, it has got to be good; or you cannot watch because you have "Wife Swap" Tivo−ed and you did not read this review anyway.
There is an incredibly powerful scene at the end of the second episode when Nucky reminds us of his power and stature by placing a single roulette bet — $3,000 on black — and losing. The scene lasts maybe two or three minutes but is unforgettable. That is what a show like this is supposed to do, and if "Empire" can keep its game up, it, like the gangsters, bootleggers and thieves it centers on, might just pull this one off.
