True Detective - "Haunted Houses" Review

by Lee Padrick, February 24, 2014
True Detective S1E6

Cohle plays shadow puppets

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

After two back-to-back action-oriented episodes, True Detective slows down with some character development.  But a needed change of pace to show why Hart and Cohle split up in 2002.

A lot of stuff that has happened as this miniseries heads toward the penultimate episode.  The internet has been abuzz with wild theories about what the show's two main protagonists have been up to for the past 10 years.  And a lot of those theories were squashed with this episode's revelations.  There is no supernatural (as of yet) stuff going on; this is a character-driven drama about the price that homicide detectives pay as they investigate some of the most horrifying crimes that humans commit.  

Maggie, Hart's wife, has taken the philandering Hart back.  And everything is peaceful in the Hart household.  But Marty, on a maxipad run for the women in his life, stops in to the T-Mobile retailer for a new cellphone.  A pretty young girl helps him find his new device.  And as he's walking back to his vehicle, he spots the Fox and Hound bar.  Holding a bag of maxipads, he gives in to temptation and has a drink.  As he is sipping a beer, the young lady who sold him the cellphone comes in, and approaches Marty.  Turns out its the young prostitute from the Hillbilly Bunny Ranch that Marty gave money and advice to back in 1995 when he and Cohle were investigating the Lang murder.  A few drinks later, and the young salesperson is flirting with Marty.  Marty gives in to his weaknesses, and ends up bedding the young lady.  But he makes the mistake of washing his clothes when he gets home, arousing the suspicion of Maggie, who searches his cellphone and finds a selfie of the younger woman.  This girl was apparently on the cutting edge of sexting.

Maggie decides to explore her value on the singles market.  She visits a local bar and flirts with another patron.  But she does not close the deal, instead showing up at the apartment of a hammered-drunk Cohle, where she seduces him and they have quick, rough sex.  Cohle, in a moment of clarity, figures out what just happened and throws Maggie out of his apartment.  Maggie, mission accomplished, promptly returns home and waits for Marty to arrive, so that she can tell him that she just cheated with his partner.  Marty does not take this news well, and briefly chokes his wife before regaining control of himself.

Cohle is warned by his new boss to back off of the Dora Lang investigation.  But Cohle decides his best career move is to confront Billy Lee Tuttle, after tracking down Theriot and finding out that some hinky stuff was happening years earlier with children at the Tuttle Ministry.  Cohle interviews Tuttle, and a tense scene ensues where Cohle lays down a veiled challenge to the Governor's cousin.  Cohle's boss, after getting a complaint from Tuttle, suspends Cohle. Cohle comes back to the office a few days later, and a fight breaks out between the two partners.

Flash forward to 2012, and Maggie is being interviewed.  Paponia and Gilbough ask a lot of questions about Cohle, but Maggie maintains that Cohle is an honorable man, and she does not understand how her interview can help their case.

Meanwhile, Hart has had enough of his interview with the 2012 detectives, as he figures out that Cohle is their prime suspect.  He leaves the interview, and is flagged down by Cohle, still driving his old F-150.  Cohle invites Marty to have a beer with him, and the episode ends on this cliffhanger.   

The penultimate episode is coming up, and we only have 120 minutes left with McConaughey and Harrelson.  We are now caught up to 2012.  Looking forward to how this show concludes.  I am just enjoying the ride.

Random Thoughts:

- Cohle looked like he let Marty beat him pretty bad before he defended himself.

- Still don't know who the man with the scars is.

- Tuttle makes a "Its hard to trust a man who can't trust himself with a beer" remark.  The Police Commissioner was there when they found the kids and killed the LeDouxs, and I remember as scene where they pour whiskey for Hart and Cohle, and Cohle declines.  And Marty is seen out drinking with his co-workers.  So its common knowledge on the state police force that Cohle doesn't drink.  Is the Police Commissioner the eyes and ears for Tuttle?

What did you think?

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True Detective - "The Secret Fate Of All Life" Review

by Lee Padrick, February 17, 2014
True Detective S1E5

Life is like a box of chocolates.  And sometimes, chocolate sucks, brother.

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

As Pink Floyd once said, "Hey Reggie, leave those kids alone!"

This episode of True Detective offers us some character development on Mr. Reginald LeDoux.  And then, LeDoux is LeDone.  Offed by an irate Marty Hart after finding two children in the shed, one of whom is dead.  Reggie LeDoux and his partner DeWall are two twisted individuals, and Cohle's snatch of Ginger last episode yields a meet-decline-follow meeting with DeWall, who obviously is the business manager for the chemical genius that is LeDoux.  Hart and Cohle follow DeWall back to the meth lab and take down LeDoux and DeWall.  And that story that Hart and Cohle have been feeding the 2012 cops (Papania and Gilbough, they finally have names) about the epic shootout at the 1995 meth lab?  Well, that's all bullshit to cover up for an enraged Hart's murder of LeDoux after seeing what sick stuff LeDoux was up to with the kids.  And DeWall decides to run away and ends up blowing himself up on one of the perimeter booby traps.  So a little cover story later, and Hart and Cohle are celebrated as heroes.

And everything would have been fine.  If only Guy Leonard Francis had decided not to rob a drug store in 2002.  A time shift from 1995 to 2002, and Hart has been promoted and Cohle is the most sought-after interrogator in the state.  So Cohle gets called in to interrogate Francis about a PCP-influenced drug store robbery/murder, and Francis confesses.  Except he mentions at the end that he knows who Cohle is, mentions the Yellow King, and tells Cohle that the 1995 killer is still out there.  Cohle tries to beat more information out of Francis, but is stopped by the cops.

Meanwhile, the older 2002 version of Marty's eldest daughter is caught playing FingerCuffs with a couple of boys in a car.  Hart does not handle the situation well, and he ends up striking his daughter in the face.  There is some dark secret that will unfold concerning his daughter, who has been acting out since her first introduction, but Hart has yet to put the puzzle pieces together.  But he keeps telling the 2012 detectives, "It was right under my nose and I didn't see it."  

Cohle revisits the abandoned school after his visit with Francis, and he finds another of those wicker devil's trap constructions.  And a revisit to the original Dora Lange murder scene yields a circular wicker wreath.  Not sure what the significance of these wicker things are.

Back in 2012, Papania and Gilbrough finally show their hand, and as expected, they suspect Cohle of being the killer.  They even have Hart beginning to doubt his old partner.  But that is too cliche.  We will have to wait to find out the "who" in whodunnit, but I suspect that Cohle is still pursuing this case and using these detectives to gain additional information.

This show is the best thing I have witnessed on television.  I want to rewatch it immediately following an episode, and I find myself thinking about it for hours afterward.  A show that can stimulate that kind of interest is rare.  Looking forward to our upcoming last three hours with Hart and Cohle.

Random Thoughts:

- Hart and Maggie are back together, but the 2012 interviews suggest not for long.

- Speaking of 2002, its about time we found out why Hart and Cohle went splitsville.

- Lawnmower Man at the abandoned school is due to show up again soon.

- Something bad is going to happen to Hart's oldest daughter.

- My money is on Maggie's father as a ringleader in the Satanic cult.  It would explain the doll-gangbang scenario we saw earlier in the season with Hart's daughter (plus the pee pee drawings).

What did you think?

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True Detective - "Who Goes There" Review

by Lee Padrick, February 10, 2014
True Detective S1E4

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

After teasing the audience with a tighty-whitey-clad freak in a gas mask and holding a machete, True Detective comes back after a two-week break.  And does not pick up back where you would expect.  Before we confront the underwear-attired nutjob, we must find out how we found the underwear-attired nutjob.  And that is what "Who Goes There" brings to the table.  At a faster pace that we have seen thus far.  

This episode offers us a quick look at how Hart met his mistress, who turns out to be a court reporter assigned to cases where Hart occasionally is called to testify.  After his previous drunken escapades, Hart is trying to ratchet down their relationship, but his spurned mistress does not fade away.  Instead, she (off-camera) tells Hart's wife Maggie about the affair.  Maggie in turn packs up the kids and goes to stay with her parents.  After reading a "I'm outta here" note from Maggie, Hart tries vainly to convince his wife to come home.  He tries over the phone, and when that avenue does not work, he decides that a drunken visit to her workplace is a good idea.  Luckily, Cohle is called to come get Hart before he gets arrested.  So Hart and Cohle are now crashing over at Cohle's unfurnished apartment.  The same apartment that Hart chided Cohle about previously.  

In the meantime, the two detectives have a lead on an associate of Reggie LeDoux, and Hart gets information that LeDoux is exclusively cooking meth for a biker gang called Iron Crusaders.  Cohle happens to have a contact from his old undercover days, so he and Hart formulate an off-the-books takedown operation of Cohle's contact, in hopes of locating LeDoux.

Cohle has to descend back into the underworld, taking drugs, drinking, and generally breaking laws in order to establish bonafides with his old contact and mark, Ginger.  Ginger insists that Cohle help him with a drug heist, and Cohle finds himself in a housing project where the only certainty is that the heist will not success, thanks to the lack of planning by Ginger and his associates.  A 6 minute tracking shot of Cohle making an escape with Ginger as everything around him crumbles ensues, and offers the viewer likely the best scene that anyone will see on television this year.

In just four episodes, True Detective has delivered the most compelling show currently on television, and may well end up as one of the most exciting seasons of any show in recent history.  This is not a television show, but more of an eight-hour film.  And its good.  Very, very good.


Random Thoughts:

- Cohle, after four episodes, has become more likable, and Hart has become more unlikable.  A significant role reversal for these two characters.

- Checking his pulse before the shit hits the fan, Cohle's actions offer great foreshadowing for what's coming.

- As Hart's world collapses, he seems more willing to bend rules and break laws.  Interesting to see where this will lead in the second half of the season.

What did you think?

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True Detective - "The Locked Room" Review

by Lee Padrick, January 27, 2014
True Detective S1E3

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

As True Detective moves along this season, we see that Hart is not bound as tightly as he appears.

Over the past few episodes, Hart and Cohle have offered us a buddy film: a cerebral loner and a gregarious straight man.  But behind the facades of the two protagonists lies something much different than outward appearances.  Cohle, who has come across as a tortured soul, seems to be perfectly content with his place in the world.  Hart, on the other hand, is struggling with responsibility and middle age as he desperately tries to appear as the typical family man.

Last episode's church mural leads Hart and Cohle to a tent revival that is led by a fire-and-brimstone folk preacher, played by Shea Whigham.  Whigham's portrayal yields an Elvis impersonator that lords over his "flock," a collection of down-and-out country misfits.  Hart and Cohle attend a tent service, where they pit nihilism versus a Southern Baptist view of the world.  An amusing and entertaining debate ensues, and we learn more about Cohle's worldview.  

Later, Hart comes home and finds that Cohle is there talking with his wife, after returning a borrowed lawn mower and taking care of the Hart family's lawn.  A not-very-subtle argument takes place, with an angry Hart chastising Cohle for "mowing another man's lawn."  Mrs. Hart still seems to have her eye on Cohle, even going through the trouble of arranging a date for the loner with one of her friends.  The date goes OK for Cohle, but Hart loses it when he sees his mistress on a date with another guy, and drunkenly confronts and attacks her potential suitor later that evening.

The 2012 interviews are a welcome break in the dark world of 1995, as the older Hart and Cohle individually interview with the detectives.  Cohle appears to still be the prime suspect in the modern-day crimes, but you can't help but wonder if he is actually a suspect or a means to get into the killer's mind.  The cliffhanger this week is a shot of prime suspect Reginald LeDoux, who Hart and Cohle see walking around his property in a pair of tighty whiteys, a gas mask, and carrying a machete.  How's that for a parting shot?

No episode next week, as HBO breaks for the Super Bowl, but True Detective will be back on February 9th.

Random Thoughts:

- When a drunken Hart visits his mistress' house, he carelessly runs over a girl's pink bicycle.  Is this related to the death of Cohle's daughter?  Was Cohle the drunk driver of the vehicle that killed his daughter?

- Mrs. Hart's booty call in the middle of the night was odd.  Or was she really checking up on the whereabouts of the philandering Mr. Hart?

- Cohle's speechifying on his nihilism is fun to watch.  But it borders on teenage emo diatribes.  Its fun to watch McConaughey toe that line while spouting the viewpoint of the average troubled teenager.  So far, he is pulling it off.

- "I think its safe to say that no one here is gonna be splitting the atom, Marty"  - Cohle.  I almost choked on my tongue.

- "Its been that way since one monkey looked at the sun, then looked at the other monkey and said, "He said give me your f-ing share!"  This dialogue is as good as anything on television.  

What did you think?

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True Detective - "Seeing Things" Review

by Lee Padrick, January 23, 2014
True Detective S1E2

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

HBO has a real winner in its stable.

The dark, chilly buddy-cop show should not work.  This genre has an exhaustive legacy, so another cop thriller about a brilliant, troubled introvert and his rambunctious local-boy-made-cop would be expected to yield a watchable "been there, done that" product.

But True Detective delivers.  And much better than you would expect.  Powered by the performance of Matthew McConaughey.  McConaughey is a hot ticket right now, coming off accolades for Dallas Buyers Club.  And he continues his renaissance here.

Detective Rust Cohle is an intense man.  Thanks to the flashbacks/flashforwards, you get that he is a divorced man who lost his young daughter in a traffic incident in front of his home.  This event likely led to his divorce.  You don't yet know whether he may carry more responsibility for his loss.  After his daughter's death, he became an undercover narcotics officer, and he obviously took a few drugs.  Maybe took many drugs, since he is suffering from the effects years later.  

Cohle is also not happy that the politically-charged investigation of the murder of Dora Kelly Lange.  Because of the right Reverend Billy Lee Tuttle, Cohle and Hart must navigate an anti-Christian-crimes task force.  And Cohle expresses himself above his pay grade, leading to conflict with the task force members and his boss, Major Quesada (Kevin Dunn).  But he extracts information during the investigation well, using pressure point moves and hitting people with toolboxes to gain the intel he seeks.  His methods lead to Lange's diary.

Hart is occupied with his extramaritial activities, his job, and his home life, leading to conflict along the way.  He, as suspected, is sleeping with a young court clerk.  And he is having difficulty with his in-laws.  And his wife.  Cohle instigates a confrontation between he and Hart, by chiding Hart on his appearance after spending the evening away from home.  Which leads to a physical altercation where it is strongly implied that Cohle would not suffer the short end of the stick.  

Hart and Cohle follow clues in Lange's diary to an old, burned-out church.  Where they find a mural on the wall of a woman with deer antlers.  Stay tuned.

As I mentioned earlier, this show should not work.  But through the first two episodes, it does.  Carried by the considerable acting talent of McConaughey and Harrelson.  Both actors are demonstrating how compelling television can be, in the capable hands of two A-listers.  But the writing and pace are top shelf as well, and its just fun to sit back and watch these two great actors delivering a fresh perspective on a tired trope.  This is "great show" stuff.

Looking forward to where this show will lead this season, especially considering it should progress as a mini-series.

Random Thoughts:

- No Clarke Peters this episode.

- I like Kevin Dunn as the hard-ass boss.

- The flashback/flashforward is really working for me.  And in a better way than Orange is the New Black.

What did you think?

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True Detective - "The Long Bright Dark" Review

by Lee Padrick, January 14, 2014
True Detective, S1E1

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

We are all living in pessimistic realism.

HBO's new drama series, True Detective, is a show pairing two cops as they track a serial killer.  This genre has been done to death, right?  Well, maybe not.  If Criminal Minds had one too many drinks at the bar and found itself in bed with The Wire, the offspring may look much like True Detective.

This new anthology offers us two A-listers as the leads, as Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey star as Det. Martin Hart and Det. Rust Cohle, respectively.  Hart and Cohle.  Get it?  Say it again, then.  And this is where familiar ground ends.

Hart is your archetypal southern family man, a go-along get-along cop.  Cohle is the aloof loner, who just happens to be a brilliant detective.  Hart has a pretty wife, two kids, and lives the American Dream in a three-bedroom house.  Cohle lives in a spartan one-bedroom apartment with only a mattress on the floor and a cross on the wall.  Except he is not religious; he uses the cross to meditate and ponder his own godless existence.  And he battles an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.  

These two Louisiana CID detectives pull a murder scene, where a young prostitute has been murdered and left posed in some kind of serial killer fantasy crime scene.  With deer antlers.  You have seen this stuff before.  Literally.

But what you have not seen, at least in enough depth, is the effect that investigating crimes such as this has on the detectives.  Hart has to drink himself to sleep; Cohle has to buys some Quaaludes off of a criminal informant.  Sleep is a valuable commodity to those folks working the front lines between the psychotics and the rest of us.  And sometimes, some of that psychosis can rub off on those front line grunts.  

The show vacillitates between 2012 and 1995, and the depositions of Hart and Cohle, taken by detectives investigating a murder much like the one that former partners Hart and Cohle investigated and allegedly solved 17 years earlier.  As the season progresses, the story of what shaped these two men into what they are today will evolve.  And further development of McConaughey's Cohle will be fun to watch.

McConaughey and Harrelson bring some world-class acting chops to this show.  You have seen good actors with great scripts working other shows well, but this show (at least the pilot) is bordering on 'masterpiece'.  These two guys, within minutes, have you invested in Cohle and Hart, and you forget all about "Mr. Alright, Alright, Alright" and Billy Hoyle.

HBO appears to have hit another home run with this series, as it ranks up there with contemporary fare such as Rectified and Top of the Lake.  Its one of those shows that is made for binge watching; waiting a week between episodes just seems patently unfair.

Random Thoughts:

- So Hart isn't a faithful family man.  How long before Cohle has Mrs. Hart over to his apartment?

- Love the cinematography!  Rural Louisiana looks both beautiful and depressing.

- McConaughey's weight loss from Dallas Buyers Club is obvious, but his gaunt appearance sells his portrayal of tormented Cohle even better.

- Michelle Monaghan's role as Hart's wife seems pedestrian, compared to the other well-written characters in the show.

- A Clarke Peters sighting as a local preacher!  

What did you think?

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Boardwalk Empire - "Farewell Daddy Blues" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 25, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E12

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Witness the ebb and flow of organized crime.

Going into the season finale of Boardwalk Empire's fourth season, the viewer knows that someone that is germane to the series is going to die.  The second double-cross of Nucky by his brother Eli suggests that Eli is not long for this world, set in the 1920s.  And Eli does everything in his power to earn a bullet between the eyes.  He has turned on his brother, not once, but twice.  One more time, and we have a Roaring 20's Peter on our hands.

Boardwalk Empire - "Havre de Grace" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 18, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E11

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

A great penultimate episode, as Chalky finds shelter with his mentor.

About this time every year, a war in brewing in Atlantic City.  And its usually resolved by the end of the penultimate episode.  But not this year.

Boardwalk Empire - "White Horse Pike" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 14, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E10

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

The endgame of Season 4 is in sight, and all of the various storylines are coalescing.  There is going to be a war in Atlantic City (as there is this time every year).

Narcisse and Chalky want each other dead.  Chalky tries to take out Narcisse at the Universal Negro Improvement Association office, but Narcisse escapes.  Mainly because Chalky did not see the job through, and he gets a shot in the shoulder for his failure.  And Narcisse wants Nucky to trade Chalky for a third of the proceeds of the heroin that Masseria is shipping alongside Nucky's Florida booze.  Nucky plays along with Masseria and Narcisse in an effort to give Chalky some time to get out of town.  But Mayor Bader is no longer on Team Nucky, and sends two police officers to "help Chalky get out of town," which turns into an attempt on Chalky's life.  An attempt that goes badly for the police officers, as Chalky takes them both out, while Daughter gets the car stopped.  

Boardwalk Empire - "Marriage and Hunting" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 8, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E9

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

The return of Nelson Van Alden!

Lots of stuff happens during this episode of Boardwalk Empire, fairly important stuff to the season's story arc.  But everything shades in comparison to the return of Nelson Van Alden (Michael Shannon).

Boardwalk Empire - "The Old Ship of Zion" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 2, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E8

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Lots of danger comes to Atlantic City.  And not everyone will survive.

This episode delivers that slow burn tension that is the hallmark of Boardwalk Empire.  There are many dangers in this gangster life, and not all of them involve an underling with a gun and a contract.  

Boardwalk Empire - "William Wilson" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 2, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E7

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

The return of Mellon, Remus, Esther, Means, and Torrio.  That's good Boardwalk Empire.  

This episode covered a lot of ground, from Chicago to New York.  Al Capone (Stephen Graham) is trying to provoke a war in Chicago with the cops!  And he wants O'Bannion's head on a stick.  Johnny Torrio (Greg Antonacci) puts a leash on the vengeful Capone and continues to work a deal with O'Bannion.  Torrio buys a brewery from O'Bannion, but as he is closing the deal, the cops show up and arrest everybody.  When Torrio gets out on bail, he orders O'Bannion's demise to a gleeful Capone.  Something tells me that George MuellerAlden (Michael Shannon) will be updating his LinkedIn account soon.

Boardwalk Empire - "The North Star" Review

by Lee Padrick, November 1, 2013
Boardwalk Empire S4E6

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

Nucky (Steve Buscemi) is in a different place, and not just geographically.  He is looking for something in Tampa, and it appears he may have found it in Sally Wheet (Patricia Arquette).  

He meets with Margaret (Kelly MacDonald) in New York City as he is travelling to Tampa, and the reception he receives from his estranged wife is lukewarm, to be kind.  He leaves her the gift he bought for Teddy's birthday, then continues his journey.

Boardwalk Empire - "All In" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

This episode of Boardwalk Empire established the rise of one Meyer Lansky.  We see Agent Knox, Hoover, and the FBI charting the gangs that run criminal enterprises throughout the northeastern portion of the country, and we know historically that Lansky, along with Lucky Luciano, is credited as the founder of organized crime.  

Boardwalk Empire - "Erlkonig" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 14, 2013

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.


Well, I didn't see that coming.  Maybe there was lots of foreshadowing, but I somehow missed it.  So I was surprised at what transpired at the end of this good episode.

Clayton's being charged with the murder of Bucky!

Boardwalk Empire - "Acres of Diamonds"

by Lee Padrick, September 27, 2013

WARNING - This review contains spoilers

Change of venue!  We're in Tampa this week.

Our anti-hero, Nucky, goes down to Tampa to hear a proposition about expanding his empire, without newly minted consigliere, Eddie.  Nuck meets up with Bill McCoy, who has set up a meeting with Gus Tucker, the local Tampa crime boss.  While he's enjoying a drink, he overhears Skeeter, a young real estate hustler, closing a deal on a lot in a new subdivision.  He strikes up a conversation with Skeeter and finds out about the residential development that's happening in 1920's Tampa ($1,000 lots, I'll take 10!).  Armed with this information, he attends his meeting with Tucker, a rather unsophisticated (i.e. redneck) gentleman.  The plan is to bring in the liquor by boat, and ship it via trucks to distribution points.  Nucky's concerned about the influx of new residents flocking to the area, and turns the deal down.  

Boardwalk Empire - "Resignation"

by Lee Padrick, September 19, 2013

WARNING - This review contains spoilers!

Richard Harrow has lost his desire to kill!

Our favorite disfigured psychopath has developed Dexter-like feelings.  We find out from his visit with his pregnant sister that their father died last April, and it appears Sis is in danger of losing the family homestead.  Also, the folks he killed last week from the Old Mission Title Insurance company were targets identified by a Harrow acquaintance, and Richard was hired to dispatch them.  But Richard, who throughout the show's history has always appeared to long for a normal family life, is having difficulty with killing.  First, he can't put the suffering family dog down, and then he can't take care of his target after finding out the man has a family.  What a difference a week makes!  But we all know that he will likely be drawn back into the assassination game before this season concludes.  His character development will be fun to watch.

Eddie wants some R-E-S-P-E-C-T!  He's being passive-aggressive at first, then demands that Nucky either accept his resignation or give him a "promotion."  The scene where Nuck asks Eddie his opinion in front of the Mayor is priceless!  Nucky extorts a cut of the Mayor's new construction project with the assistance of Eddie's soliloquy and by the end of the episode, Eddie has been given a more active role in the financial dealings of the Nuckster's racket.  He's even going to get a safe deposit box in his own name.  I don't think that bodes well for him, but we'll watch to see how that plays out.

Agent Knox is undercover for a young J. Edgar Hoover!  Nice twist from the writers, especially considering this is only the second episode of the season.  We should have known that the "simpleton" persona was just an act.  But there's more going on with Knox than his undercover work.  Last episode, he set Sawicki up when Van Alden's old partner walked into a booby trap.  I like the way Knox has been introduced and developed so far, and the addition of Hoover will give the show some new creative avenues to pursue.

Speaking of simpletons, we get our first look at Van Alden, presently in the employ of O'Bannion.  He is loaned to Capone and is part of the goon squad that shows up at a mayoral candidate's campaign rally.  Sadly, Van Alden appears to be the only thug that gets bloodied, as the campaign event crashers take bats, pipes, and fists to the candidate's supporters.  Gotta love democracy in the 1920's.  And Van Alden's wife is still spunky and doting.  I can't figure out where Van Alden's story is going; he was much more ominous early in the series, now he just serves as comic relief.  Let's hope his character gets a more prominent role as the season progresses.  

Lastly, we get an introduction to Dr. Valentine Narcisse, played by veteran character actor Jeffrey Wright.  Dr. Narcisse is a Marcus Garvey accolate, and to quote the great Slim Pickens:

"You use your tongue prettier than a $20 whore."

Likely this season's antagonist (we'll see), the voluble Narcisse approaches Chalky about the killing of Dickie, who was Narcisse's employee.  And he has the missing Mrs. Dickie with him!  Chalky feels inferior around the literate and educated Narcisse, and acts out when Narcisse asks for Dunn, in retaliation for Dickie.  Nucky intervenes and gives Narcisse a 10% cut of the Onyx Club, much to the chagrin of Chalky.  Then Narcisse eliminates Mrs. Dickie after her usefulness is exhausted.  And where does he dispose of the body?  Why, the Mayor's construction site, of course.

This season is shaping up nicely, and I'm looking forward to how Narcisse will mix with the main characters.  Plus, we're going on a vacation to Florida with the Nuckster soon, so Boardwalk's world will expand.  So far, so good.


Random Thoughts:

- Gaston Means gets a cameo!

- No Margaret so far, we'll have to see if she's still a player.

- Who is the mystery man that kills Harrow's target at the end?

What did you think?

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Boardwalk Empire - "New York Sour"

by Lee Padrick, September 16, 2013

WARNING - This review contains spoilers - WARNING

Boardwalk Empire kicked off their fourth season on September 8th.  This fall period piece, for me, is fun to watch.  Not only does it take place in an interesting time in American history (the 1920s, pre-Great Depression), but it contains some of the best developed characters of any contemporary show.  The creator/executive producer is Terrence Winter of Sopranos fame, and he brings a similar level of intensity that David Chase used to make TV history about ten years ago.

The season kicks off with two guys at a bar in a nondescript midwestern town.  These two unknowns (because of the dark lighting, I thought one of the guys was Van Alden; thankfully not) are delivering an envelope from Old Mission Title Insurance to Ohio.  We quickly get a Richard Harrow sighting as he dispatches the two gentlemen, courtesy of a Columbian necktie and a bullet, respectively.  Later, our favorite disfigured sociopath kills the President of Old Mission.  Then shows up on his sister's doorstep.  Why?  I dunno, but any Richard is better than no Richard.

Gillian is trying to sell the mansion and herself ($30 for the regular, plus $10 for oral gymnastics, don't know how much that comes to in present dollars), possibly to support her new heroin habit that Gyp introduced her to last season.  I don't know much about disclosure laws back in 1924, but she should probably mention to potential buyers that the property was a Bunny Ranch precursor and the site of the infamous Richard Harrow massacre.  And she's also in court, fighting a custody battle for young Tommy against the Sagorsky lady.  But she meets a potential buyer that will likely be with us all season, in the form of Roy Phillips (Ron Livingston from Office Space and Band of Brothers), a Piggly Wiggly executive that is in charge of expanding operations in the Northeast.  

Al Capone is bringing his brothers in on his operations, and one of them is Herc from The Wire!  Al's complaining that a local reporter spelled his name wrong, so he goes down to the newspaper's office and slaps the young 22 year old writer on the back of the head.  A tense scene, but the young Jimmy Olsen-wannabe faired very well in the exchange, considering he gets to keep writing and breathing.  If Stephen Graham had shown this kind of moxy in Snatch, I bet Brick Top would have shown him more respect.  Also, his brothers call him "Snorky."

We check in on Nucky, and he's meeting with Joe Massiera, Lucky, Arnold Rothstein, and Meyer Lansky.  Lucky is now firmly the Number Two in the Massiera organization, and Lansky is A.R.'s Assistant Gangster In Charge (AGIC?), so it will be interesting to see how the Lucky/Lansky partnership develops under these constraints.

Eli's oldest son, Billy, is now attending Temple, but he's homesick and wants to get a gig in the family business.  And he has a mancrush on his Uncle Nucky.  He admits to Nucky that he now smokes, and Nucky warns him that college and smoking is where his own bad habits originated.  So let that be a warning to you kids out there, a cigarette today can lead to a future RICO indictment.  

Also, Nucky is Margaret-less and has his eye on a new starlet in town, who's willing to trade her womanly wiles for a shot at a starring role on Broadway. Once she admits her intentions (post-coital, of course), Nucky has a recovered-but-disabled Eddie show her the door.  

But let's not forget Chalky's new adventure.  He's running the Onyx Club (formerly Babette's) and he's working with Dickie, a talent manager.  Dickie's perky wife has the hots for Dunn Purnsley, even playing Charades on a cocktail napkin to illustrate her willingness to engage in pre-Depression kama sutra with the Chalkster's Number Two (I think I like AGIC for Number Two).  AGIC Purnsley engages in the tryst, only to get caught in the middle of some odd voyeurism thing that Dickie and his wife engage in.  After suffering a racial slur and Dickie touching himself while Dunn re-engages the Mrs. Dickie, Dunn snaps and kills the talent scout with a broken bottle.  Chalky gives him a lecture about playing well with others, and the two of them with Nucky and Eli dispose of the body somewhere on the frozen tundra of the greater Atlantic City area.

Boardwalk Empire is back and the season looks promising.


Random Thoughts:

- The bartender in the opening scene looked familiar, but I can't place him.

- Did I mention Dickie's wife was perky?

- No Van Alden (boo!), Jeffrey Wright, or Margaret in the opener.

- Is $40 a good deal 60 years prior to the invention of aciclovir?


What did you think?


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Fall 2013 - What's In The TVPhile Zone?

by Lee Padrick, Friday, September 13, 2013

The mornings and nights are getting cooler, the leaves are turning brown, and football season has started.  What does that mean?  The fish are feasting for the winter ahead and TV shows are premiering.  Its a beautiful time of the year.

Fall, just a few years ago, meant the broadcast and cable networks kick-started stalwarts and unveiled new scripted fare.  That "new show/fall" mentality has been upended somewhat over the past ten years, but this is still the time of year that most networks refresh themselves. 

Between now and the Christmas break, I'll be reviewing some select shows.  Those on my list include:

- Homeland (Season 3)

- Masters of Sex (Season 1, new on Showtime)

- Walking Dead (Season 4)

- Boardwalk Empire (Season 4)

TV shows often are at their peak in seasons three and four.  Many theories abound, but I believe that networks, producers, writers, actors, and fans have sufficiently built a world with well developed characters within the show by 24 - 36 episodes, and all are at their creative peak.  We'll test this theory over the next 3 months together.   

I'll also be talking about shows that are finishing up their seasons, like Dexter, Ray Donovan, The Bridge, and The Newsroom.  I have a few Tivos full of stuff I've been trying to find some time to watch, like Hell on Wheels, Low Winter Sun, Broadchurch, and the History Channel's Vikings (which has been sitting in a folder on a Tivo, only gotten through 4 episodes thus far). Plus, I'll be watching random stuff on Netflix and I'm sure I'll feel compelled to write about it.

So keep checking back regularly and enjoy some of the best TV that we may ever see.  The Golden Age of TV is here!


Random Thoughts:

- Had to edit Broadchurch because I spelled it "Broadchuck."  Did I mention I'm going to miss Yvonne Strahovski when Dexter ends?

- Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) deserves a spin-off.

- Jesse "Todd Landry" Plemons is cast in a potential HBO project called The Missionary.

- Scandal is going to be my guilty pleasure this fall.   

What will you be watching?  

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