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Jan 25, 2011 02:27

So here's why boardwalk empire isn't the best show on TV. Spoilers, ahoy. I'm writing this to see if my opinion changes over the last two episodes of the season, which I'll be watching tomorrow.

What makes a television show great is getting to know your characters. You can have all the interesting settings, plotlines, twists, turns, and cinematography in the world but the best shows are the ones where you feel like you know the characters like friends.

A couple recent examples that spring to mind are Lost, the Wire, Mad Men. What separates these shows from others are the range of depth found in just about every character. The definition of characters happens over the course of the arc and shouldn't be found in the "big" moments. You get to know Don Draper by how he acts with his kids, around his wife, the way he talks to his associates and clients, his intimate moments with his lovers. When it culminates in his decision to get divorced, or to start a company, or how he copes with death, you find yourself understanding or shocked. It's your capacity to understand their truths in how they see them that makes you love them or hate them. It's a slow build up that requires extensive writing and thought on the writers' part to make them seem genuine people. When McNulty keeps hitting the bottle, you cringe but you know what he is. When he keeps fighting against himself in his personal and professional life you feel for him, only to be surprised when he doesn't and let down when he goes back to his old ways. The Wire should be the first thing shown to any class of students who are studying contemporary drama. Every character has the capacity to provide disappointment or surprise.

Here's what Boardwalk Empire does well. Superb storylines. Wonderful acting. Overall, good writing. The problem is that I don't have a feel for Jimmy, who should be the most important character. I don't feel for Mrs. Schroeder. I understand these characters too well and they never once surprise me. There's such a focus on writing period piece characters that sometimes the fact that they're real characters gets lost. The best character that the show has is Agent Nelson (followed by Nuckie). Nelson does many things that seem shocking but within his scope, they make sense. He seems like a living, breathing person plucked out of the 20's. Nuckie is well written and very intriguing and the performance by Buscemi is spot on. But the 2nd and 3rd leads of Jimmy and Margaret seem more like caricatures of interesting people that existed in the 20s. They aren't hollow, they aren't boring, but they seem like staples thrown in. I was never once surprised by a single thing they've done and could have predicted or written everything myself. Certainly not as well, but it's an A-Z of soldier returning home and doing whatever dark deeds are needed and immigrant who has succumbs to the riches of the socialite life. It isn't that they're bad characters, on the contrary, they're good. But they aren't GREAT.

Throw in the fact that Omar is stealing literally every single moment of screentime as Chalkie White and I ask why the bar isn't set higher for more of these people I see.

Another problem is that the show tries sometimes too blatantly the development of character. The most recent episode I saw had Al Capone playing pranks, then go to a bar mitzvah and here about becoming a man, and then say "i'm ready to grow up." That could have been done far, far more subtely so I didn't feel like I was being beaten over the head by it with a billy club. The comment about the hat that he wears being a child's hat would have been enough, it was a fantastic line. It's as though the show doesn't always respect the intelligence of it's characters because they're from this time period so they're sometimes viewed too two dimensionally.

The other big problem is the fast advancement of time, which hinders your ability to understand characters development on a micro level, so everything is taken into account on a macro level. Also, and this is a minor gripe, but I hate seeing "New York City" or "Chicago" pop up like I'm an imbecile and don't know where events are taking place.

It's a wonderful show still, I have more thoughts but just felt like jotting down this because I forgot how great lj is for rambling. I can't wait to finish the season and I'm sure I will like it more after that. But has a way to go before it tops Mad Men or FNL or Walking Dead as my favorite drama.
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