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Pour me a glass of [Boardwalk Empire]

Namel3ssNamel3ss Registered User regular
edited November 2010 in Debate and/or Discourse
boardwalk-empire-hbo-poster.jpg



I haven't seen a thread about this amazing show yet, so I thought I'd get the ball rolling. Since the True Blood finale this is the next great drama on HBO.

Its set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era. Starring Steve Buscemi, the show is adapted from Nelson Johnson's book, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Emmy award-winning screenwriter and producer Terence Winter of The Sopranos.

Excellent direction from Martin Scorsese really fits the 1920 scene. I really enjoyed the pilot last night.

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I'll look for better pictures later.

May the wombat of happiness snuffle through your underbrush.
Namel3ss on
«13456

Posts

  • Penguin_OtakuPenguin_Otaku Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I thought it was a phenomenal show. I missed the first 15 minutes or so but I DVR'd the second run through so I'll rewatch it.

    Didn't know that it was based on a series of books, going to have to pick those up though.

    Was impressed there were real life characters (maybe Buscemi's character is real too, I don't know) like Capone, that gave me a lot of hope.

    It's like Mad Men on roids.

    Penguin_Otaku on
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  • GogarGogar Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The first episode definitely piqued my interest.

    Even though I saw it coming, I was pretty pleased when they
    Killed the abusive alcoholic husband.

    Gogar on
  • Penguin_OtakuPenguin_Otaku Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Gogar wrote: »
    The first episode definitely piqued my interest.

    Even though I saw it coming, I was pretty pleased when they
    Killed the abusive alcoholic husband.
    When did that happen? I missed this, just saw him stumble away from the house and Buscemi visited her in the hospital.

    Penguin_Otaku on
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  • Namel3ssNamel3ss Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Gogar wrote: »
    The first episode definitely piqued my interest.

    Even though I saw it coming, I was pretty pleased when they
    Killed the abusive alcoholic husband.
    When did that happen? I missed this, just saw him stumble away from the house and Buscemi visited her in the hospital.
    They jumped him, smacked him around good and then you just see them driving off in a motorboat out into the sea with him handcuffed in the boat.

    Namel3ss on
    May the wombat of happiness snuffle through your underbrush.
  • tofutofu Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I thought it was pretty bad, the writing was just atrocious

    The first half of the episode was filled with pointless exposition while the second half was incredibly hard to follow without multiple watches and additional google searching (of the actual events)

    The best part was Scorsese's direction

    tofu on
  • iguanacusiguanacus Desert PlanetRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    tofu wrote: »
    I thought it was pretty bad, the writing was just atrocious

    The first half of the episode was filled with pointless exposition while the second half was incredibly hard to follow without multiple watches and additional google searching (of the actual events)

    The best part was Scorsese's direction

    What did you find hard to follow? I'm really curious here, as I had no problem following along.

    iguanacus on
  • FirstComradeStalinFirstComradeStalin Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Some of the stuff at the end is unclear. There were a lot of similar-looking characters being thrown around and then murdered. I mean I get it, some shit went down, but I'm not entirely sure why.

    FirstComradeStalin on
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  • psycojesterpsycojester Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I found it fairly easy to follow, but at the end i couldn't tell if it was wife beater or back-from-the-wars who was getting beaten to death there. And i wouldn't say the exposition was pointless, it was there to establish the setting, now its been handled hopefully it won't show up again.

    psycojester on
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  • UnbreakableVowUnbreakableVow Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Scorsese, Buscemi and Omar

    Good lord how I want to see this

    But it's HBO which means I'll be waiting for the absurdly-priced DVD

    UnbreakableVow on
  • zeenyzeeny Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I wanted to like this and I didn't.
    Style over substance by a significant margin in the first episode, but the people having difficulties to "follow" took one too many piss breaks.

    zeeny on
  • jkylefultonjkylefulton Squid...or Kid? NNID - majpellRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I enjoyed the first episode, but plan on sitting on the next few episodes so I can watch them all in one big chunk. I think I'll have an easier time following the cast that way (I'd fall firmly into the "there were a lot of moving parts in the first episode" camp, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing).

    jkylefulton on
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  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I thought it was great ... although I can understand the hard-to-follow thing. Especially at the end ...
    Why did the Chicago Italian Restaurant owner get whacked? And more importantly ... who whacked him? The camera lingered on the shooter, so I guess we have seen him before, but I couldn't remember who it was.

    TheBigEasy on
  • Mr ObersmithMr Obersmith Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    I thought it was great ... although I can understand the hard-to-follow thing. Especially at the end ...
    Why did the Chicago Italian Restaurant owner get whacked? And more importantly ... who whacked him? The camera lingered on the shooter, so I guess we have seen him before, but I couldn't remember who it was.
    I don't remember seeing him earlier. My guess, though I'm not terribly familiar with the real life events, is that Capone's behind it.

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  • wwtMaskwwtMask Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I'm pretty sure I'm gonna follow this show. It pushes all the right buttons for me.

    I suppose I can understand the slightly confusing finish to the episode. It was all related to resolving the fallout from
    the hijacking. Nucky and the police captain knew that Jimmy had set it up, and they knew they'd need to pin it on someone, so the abusive husband became a convenient fall guy to keep Jimmy from being killed in retaliation. I'm guessing that the Italian guy was killed to put some pressure on Nucky. Alternately, he was killed to cause further confusion amongst the people who made the deal for the shipment.

    wwtMask on
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  • Psycho Internet HawkPsycho Internet Hawk Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I'm pretty sure the guy was killed just because
    Capone is an ambitious sonofabitch and the quickest way for him to get a promotion is by taking out of guys above him.

    Psycho Internet Hawk on
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  • [Tycho?][Tycho?] As elusive as doubt Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I basically want this to be The Wire, 1920's style.

    Perhaps my hopes are too high, but I should be able to watch the first episode tonight.

    [Tycho?] on
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  • rational vashrational vash Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    [Tycho?] wrote: »
    I basically want this to be The Wire, 1920's style.

    Perhaps my hopes are too high, but I should be able to watch the first episode tonight.

    Omar's in it!

    rational vash on
  • RUNN1NGMANRUNN1NGMAN Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    TheBigEasy wrote: »
    I thought it was great ... although I can understand the hard-to-follow thing. Especially at the end ...
    Why did the Chicago Italian Restaurant owner get whacked? And more importantly ... who whacked him? The camera lingered on the shooter, so I guess we have seen him before, but I couldn't remember who it was.

    He didn't want to get into the liquor business--thought they'd make enough with the gambling and whores. Capone mentions it when he and Funny Games guy are meeting for the first time outside.

    RUNN1NGMAN on
  • Namel3ssNamel3ss Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I really liked it; I'm surprised at a few of the substance critiques, its the pilot. The wire (amazing show) took at least 4 or 5 episodes to build the characters, it wasn't one that really established itself just from the pilot. Same goes for the Sopranos (overly talked about, but still one of my favorite shows of all time).

    Namel3ss on
    May the wombat of happiness snuffle through your underbrush.
  • Captain TragedyCaptain Tragedy Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    That was fast...

    Boardwalk Empire renewed for a 2nd season.

    I really liked it, personally. The only thing that confused me was what TheBigEasy brought up - I didn't remember who that guy was.

    Captain Tragedy on
  • iguanacusiguanacus Desert PlanetRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I have to wonder how much this is costing HBO. Budget concerns were the number one reason behind the cancellation of Rome and Deadwood, owing to the fact that period pieces are expensive to produce (costume and set design).

    iguanacus on
  • Namel3ssNamel3ss Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    iguanacus wrote: »
    I have to wonder how much this is costing HBO. Budget concerns were the number one reason behind the cancellation of Rome and Deadwood, owing to the fact that period pieces are expensive to produce (costume and set design).

    Rome was so awesome.

    This is what worries me about Game of Thrones. I bet its going to cost a fortune to make. It could also be the best show of all time.

    Namel3ss on
    May the wombat of happiness snuffle through your underbrush.
  • TheBigEasyTheBigEasy Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Well ...
    It's said to be one of the most expensive TV shows ever created,

    from this article: http://www.examiner.com/film-geek-in-national/martin-scorsese-debuts-his-boardwalk-empire-tonight-on-hbo-set-your-dvr-s-scorsese-fans

    TheBigEasy on
  • HeartlashHeartlash Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    The writing was ham-fisted and predictable, really disappointing actually.

    The set-design, acting, and overall presentation were top fucking notch.

    Overall I enjoyed it and will be watching more.

    Heartlash on
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  • taoist drunktaoist drunk Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Heartlash wrote: »
    The writing was ham-fisted and predictable, really disappointing actually.

    The set-design, acting, and overall presentation were top fucking notch.

    Overall I enjoyed it and will be watching more.

    Hey guys, did you know that going to war is, like, really psychologically damaging?

    I've done things. I've seen things.
    Oh, brother.


    Didn't stop me from loving it, though.

    taoist drunk on
  • HeartlashHeartlash Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Heartlash wrote: »
    The writing was ham-fisted and predictable, really disappointing actually.

    The set-design, acting, and overall presentation were top fucking notch.

    Overall I enjoyed it and will be watching more.

    Hey guys, did you know that going to war is, like, really psychologically damaging?

    I've done things. I've seen things.
    Oh, brother.


    Didn't stop me from loving it, though.

    That and I'm just really tired of seeing
    fat Italian men get shot while opera music is playing.

    Heartlash on
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  • tofutofu Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    [Tycho?] wrote: »
    I basically want this to be The Wire, 1920's style.

    Perhaps my hopes are too high, but I should be able to watch the first episode tonight.

    Way too high, The Wire this ain't

    I just don't understand why they wasted so much time going over "prohibition for dummies" in the first half of the episode. The deluge of characters they introduce in the second half is just too much to keep track of

    tofu on
  • ZeonZeon Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    How long was the episode on HBO. My friend had a copy of the first episode, but it was 1:15. They actually showed the husband getting beaten in the boat and then dropped in the ocean? And then he gets fished up. Not sure how it was possible to miss that. I didnt find anything really hard to follow, maybe i saw an uncut version or something? I have no idea.

    I kinda like this show so far though, but yeah, ill agree, way too many people look the same. I was thinking the Prohibition guy was one of the gangsters from the beginning, but he wasnt, along with not being able to keep track of the guys from the party with the guys they meet later. Itll probably work itself out later though as people get killed off or just stop showing up though.

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  • FirstComradeStalinFirstComradeStalin Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Heartlash wrote: »
    Heartlash wrote: »
    The writing was ham-fisted and predictable, really disappointing actually.

    The set-design, acting, and overall presentation were top fucking notch.

    Overall I enjoyed it and will be watching more.

    Hey guys, did you know that going to war is, like, really psychologically damaging?

    I've done things. I've seen things.
    Oh, brother.


    Didn't stop me from loving it, though.

    That and I'm just really tired of seeing
    fat Italian men get shot while opera music is playing.

    Yes! I get it's Scorsese, but that type of montage happens in nearly every one of his movies. It's still pretty greatly executed, but it comes off as a bit formulaic. Maybe he's hitting the point in his professional career where he might be a bit tapped out.

    It doesn't really matter long-term, though, since he's done after the pilot, and a lot of the confusion (which I attribute more to the casting and costume design) is pretty irrelevant (they're dead, they're gone from the show).

    I'll definitely watch the second episode and see how it goes from there.

    Also, I'm actually still not quite sold on Buschemi. The other characters are great, I just don't feel like he's quite setting the mood of a 1920s politician. He always comes off as a bit too real and modern (like the only sensible character in a crazy sitcom) in his tone and speech.

    FirstComradeStalin on
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  • ins0mniacins0mniac Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    It would have been awesome if at the end of their little gangster dinner the bill came and buscemi said:

    "I don't believe in tipping."

    ins0mniac on
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  • HeartlashHeartlash Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Heartlash wrote: »
    Heartlash wrote: »
    The writing was ham-fisted and predictable, really disappointing actually.

    The set-design, acting, and overall presentation were top fucking notch.

    Overall I enjoyed it and will be watching more.

    Hey guys, did you know that going to war is, like, really psychologically damaging?

    I've done things. I've seen things.
    Oh, brother.


    Didn't stop me from loving it, though.

    That and I'm just really tired of seeing
    fat Italian men get shot while opera music is playing.

    Yes! I get it's Scorsese, but that type of montage happens in nearly every one of his movies. It's still pretty greatly executed, but it comes off as a bit formulaic. Maybe he's hitting the point in his professional career where he might be a bit tapped out.

    It doesn't really matter long-term, though, since he's done after the pilot, and a lot of the confusion (which I attribute more to the casting and costume design) is pretty irrelevant (they're dead, they're gone from the show).

    I'll definitely watch the second episode and see how it goes from there.

    Also, I'm actually still not quite sold on Buschemi. The other characters are great, I just don't feel like he's quite setting the mood of a 1920s politician. He always comes off as a bit too real and modern (like the only sensible character in a crazy sitcom) in his tone and speech.

    I actually loved Buschemi, but I don't know if it was for rational reasons.

    Heartlash on
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  • taoist drunktaoist drunk Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I think Buscemi is perfect for the part, but I've always thought he had kind of an old-timey look about him, which is not exactly rational itself.

    taoist drunk on
  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    ins0mniac wrote: »
    It would have been awesome if at the end of their little gangster dinner the bill came and buscemi said:

    "I don't believe in tipping."

    And I'm waiting for someone to say "Shut the fuck up Nucky" or "You're out of your element"

    Raiden333 on
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  • HamurabiHamurabi MiamiRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I liked it.

    Re: the Scorcese film cliché:
    I feel like this being the pilot was the reason for the inclusion of that bit. I guess it's to send the "Hey you dumb viewers, this will have a Sopranos motif of people getting whacked while saccharine music plays in the background." I thought the scene where the drunk guy was beating his wife did this gimmick slightly better.

    And as to Jimmy's wartime memories haunting him: I feel like that was thrown in to give him an inflated sense of self-importance, to make it seem like he thinks he's much more mature now than he actually is. I mean, Nuck's response to that line is:
    "Killing? Larseny? These things make you a man?"

    Hamurabi on
  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    So am I the only one who watched the 2nd episode?

    Still enjoying the show, myself.

    Raiden333 on
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  • RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited September 2010
    A friend of mine just told me to start watching this show pronto.

    Yea or nay. Should I?

    Rikushix on
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  • Namel3ssNamel3ss Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I like it, the second episode was really good up until the end when
    the gold digger starts giving him a begrudging handjob and the 5th man from the liquor road heist wanders out of the woods right then. I mean, seriously? What are the odds?

    Still good though; I think what happened is that they both had scenes that were going to be in the pilot, but had Scorsese direct the one wholly for the publicity. I expect things to get more on track from here on out.

    Namel3ss on
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  • Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Rikushix wrote: »
    A friend of mine just told me to start watching this show pronto.

    Yea or nay. Should I?

    I'm watching it specifically because I love Steve Buscemi, but I'm actually really enjoying the show. It's kind of like a more modern Deadwood.

    Raiden333 on
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  • Hung BunnyHung Bunny Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    Just watched the first episode yesterday and really enjoyed it, I'm a big fan of both Steve Buscemi and Steven Graham. I recently finished a book detailing the American Mafia's rise to power up until 1950 so it was cool seeing all these characters featured that I read about.

    Hung Bunny on
  • Capt HowdyCapt Howdy Registered User regular
    edited September 2010
    I'm digging this so far, but I'm a sucker for this sort of period piece. So far my only complaint was the rapid introduction of characters in the first episode.

    Capt Howdy on
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