Channel Hopping

Marguerite McGrath reviews this week’s television

COOL, calm, collected are just some of the words which describe Golden Globe winner Steve Buscemi’s performance in the highly acclaimed Empire Boardwalk, the new HBO series from the US.
Steve plays Enock ‘Nucky’ Johnson, the Treasurer in Atlantic City during the 1920s. He is without question the most powerful man in the party town and everyone loves him and he loves everyone, as long as the price is right and his cut is in cash.
In 1920, the great experiment was passed in Congress in Washington DC and prohibition was enacted, banning the sale and production of alcohol nationwide. It was intended to clean up the streets of America and sober up a newly arriving immigrant population. It was also to ensure the rich stayed rich and the workforce were on time and stayed on the production line.
Prohibition lasted many years and although it was successful in some states, in cases like Atlantic City, a city built on entertainment and fun times, prohibition did not exist largely due to the influence and control of Nucky Johnson. Bootlegging was rife and Nucky always got his cut. He saw prohibition as an opportunity and as the former Sheriff and brother to the current Sheriff, Nucky was as connected as he needed to be and he ensured that they party raged on. In short, he gave the people what they wanted and although it cost them twenty times what it had cost previously, people paid because when you’re in Atlantic City, you’re on holiday.
Johnson may not have been a gangster in the traditional sense. He was a politician, a corrupt Republican who ensured votes by granting jobs in return for party support. A larger than life character, he was a man of the people but he kept his criminal buddies close and gave them a safe haven in Atlantic City. He did business with all the big names of the time including the infamous Al Capone and it was these relationships that drew the attention of law enforcement agencies. In the late ’30s, having held the position as Treasurer for many decades, Johnson was arrested, tried and found guilty of income tax fraud. He served four years and is quoted as saying “for the life I have led, four years ain’t bad”.
But what about this new drama series based on his life? Directed by Martin Scorsese and boasting a wealth of talent including the wonderful Scottish actor Kelly McDonald of Intermission and Trainspotting fame, Boardwalk Empire is an interesting take on the times. The pilot, the launch show for Sky’s new channel Sky Atlantic (the new home for HBO on this side of the ocean) introduced the characters, the city and the plot with excellent pace and great deftness of touch. It was beautiful to watch as the glory and splendour of Atlantic City was recreated. It showed the quirky side of the city that thrived on entertainment of all types from fortune tellers to incubator babies, prostitutes to diving horses – if it was believed people would pay for it, it was there.
Scorsese treats each shot like a movie and does not truncate the story by trying to fit too much in. Pilots are usually shocking bad and often stand-alone from the rest of the series and while this can stand on its own two feet, it really sets up the storyline of what is to come and just how far these characters are willing to go for money and power.
Boardwalk Empire is on Wednesday nights at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.
Another new series which has begun on Sky Atlantic is Blue Bloods. This drama tells the story of the Regan family with a history of law enforcement with the New York City Police Department, stretching from the grandfather, a former Police Commissioner right down the ranks to their youngest son and new recruit. Tom Selleck plays the current commissioner and head of the Reagan household. Donnie Wahlberg plays the older brother, a hot-head who has returned from Iraq and a detective on the force. He is a kind of ‘catch the bad guy at any cost’ kind of cop. Another son, who was also a cop, has been recently shot and killed in the line of duty but as the first episode continues, it becomes clear there is more to the account of his killing than meets the eye. The only girl in the family is the recently separated assistant district attorney who is committed to the job.
At first, this seems like another cop show and a fairly unremarkable one at that but as you watch you believe there must be more to it, afterall two of the executive producers who brought us the wonderfully gritty The Sopranos are involved. Although it gets warmed up once the Feds arrive in their trench coats explaining to new recruit Jamie that his brother was shot because he was working with them to uncover information on a secret society within the police department called The Blue Templar, you realise there is going to be more to this than ‘bang, bang get your man’. However, it is a slow-burner and not half as interesting as Boardwalk Empire but having said that, it is enjoyable and considering one of the first shots is of Donnie Wahlberg’s character having one of these Blue Templar badges, you just know by the end of the pilot that the rollercoaster is only beginning. Tune in Tuesday nights at 10.30pm to Sky Atlantic.
One to watch: We are spoiled for choice at the moment with all the new series beginning. However, mark your diary for a date in Hawaii this Sunday. The updated and hugely popular Hawaii 5-O is returning to our screens on Sunday night on Sky. This cop drama in sun has gotten a reboot and looks very slick indeed. Tune in if only to hear those cracking cop one-liners.