TV's new empire

Sometimes, the hype machine gets the best of us and we’re all suckered in to watching something because everyone else is. Sometimes there’s so much promotion in our faces that we’re practically compelled to tune in to a show that’s only mildly appealing. Oftentimes, we watch stuff just because we don’t know anything else that’s better. In a television landscape that is locally dominated by lazy telenovelas with recycled plotlines and actors and crappy reality shows and teen (or is it now vampire?) dramas from abroad, there has to be something out there that’s actually good, just by sheer law of averages.

I’ve come across one TV show that needs more attention. This is a series that isn’t being constantly shoved down our throats (like Glee) or has a rabid pre-teen following (like Gossip Girl, the Justin Bieber of TV) or is just milking the drama junkies out there (like Grey’s Anatomy) or that doesn’t feature some form of handsome vampire. This is a show that’s built on what a great TV show should have: a good director and producer, multi-dimensional characters and top-notch production values. That is exactly what you get with Boardwalk Empire.

Jersey sure: The sets of Boardwalk Empire adhere strictly to the “spirit” of Prohibition-era New Jersey.

Multi-award winning writer/producer Terrence Winter (The Sopranos) and acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, GoodFellas, The Departed) bring you back to 1920s America, during the days of Prohibition, when the sale of alcohol was made illegal. During those days, if one needed booze, they had to deal with the mob. Only gangsters had the network and firepower to smuggle liquor into the US or bootleg it, as federal agents were hot on the heels of every bar and liquor store. Boardwalk Empire deals with the tension between law enforcement, local government and the criminal underground and how much corruption and greed has blurred the lines between those three entities.

The HBO series centers on Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, the most powerful man in Atlantic City; a government official by title and gangster by profession. Played by the great Steve Buscemi, Nucky Thompson is a powerful figure in Atlantic City not only because he is an elected public servant, but also because he controls the supply of alcohol to a city that thirsts for it. Using his ties to both local and federal government and his connections to shady merchants and businessmen, Thompson manages to be both a gangster and a politician. And while those two professions are hardly the most lovable, Nucky Thompson is beloved by the people and revered as a man of true public service.

Michael and Marty: Boardwalk Empire managed to score Scorcese, pictured here with actor Michael Pitt.

It’s always interesting when the protagonist is in a dishonorable profession, as it’s almost always an uphill battle to have form some sort of emotional attachment to the character. It makes for interesting theater, the way Nucky dances in and out of his duties as a government official to double dip into the illegal trade of liquor and other shady business propositions like casinos and brothels.

The main character is what carries this series, but one should really see the production budget that went into this show. Every detail seems to have been checked off a list to make 1920s Atlantic City come to life. Everything — from the music, the performance arts, the fashion, the language and the popular types of liquor — seem to have been studied and reproduced down to the last pinstripe suit.

Who’s the boss?: Nucky Thompson is the fictionalized version of gang star Nucky Johnson.

All the bright lights of Atlantic City during that era seem to have been replicated in great detail, and every shop along the boardwalk looks like it was lifted straight from a 1920s photograph. The gangsters, down to their three-piece suits, bad haircuts, gaudy leather shoes and Tommy guns, are dressed to the last detail. Boardwalk Empire, for its production alone, is worth exploring.

When a bigshot movie director like Scorsese (who handles the pilot episode) collaborates for a television production with one of the people responsible for arguably the best TV show of all time, you know it’s going to be something to watch out for. When it’s anchored by a fascinating (and historical) character played by one of the most underrated actors of this generation, you’ve got yourself a must-see. Boardwalk Empire has brought in a lot of high-priced and high profile talent to produce something great, and it looks like it’s paying off.

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You may e-mail me at carlfrancisramirez@gmail.com.