open your eyes

If Day Break was the best single season series of 2006/07, The Black Donnellyswas the tv show I most wanted to continue the next season.  Day Break was more satisfying because we got a solid conclusion whereas TBD leaves us hanging with a cliffhanger which is typical of dramas these days. The guys that brought us Crash and Million Dollar Baby, Robert Moresco and Paul Haggis, are the creators of The Black Donnellys which focuses on four Irish-American in Hell’s Kitchen and their involvement in smalltime organized crime. Here’s a little preview:

So why was The Black Donnellys so good?

1. Different - Really only the Sopranos could be compared to it - nothing on network TV.

2. Emotions - When playing music over dramatic scenes with little dialogue, theres a fine line between a perfectly written scene and the scene that doesnt allow the viewer to connect with the characters because of said music and little dialogue. TBD sets up these scenes perfectly. We really feel what these characters are going through.

3. Graphic - One episode was pulled before it aired and the rest almost seemed out of place on network tv. I’m not one for senseless violence but here it pulls us into this world of organized crime.

4. The Pilot - The first episode was the best single episode on tv last season and the last 5 minutes pull everything together in a way that truly is never seen on tv. Take my advice and watch this one episode even if you dont watch any of the rest.

Of course the season wasn’t perfect. Some of the episodes from 2 - 9 plod along almost like Moresco and Haggis left it on autopilot with another creative team but it does come back very strong in the last couple episodes. Some scenes are hard to watch and one brother is hard to root since he’s such a terrible person at times.

HDNet has been airing the entire season and supposedly is considering a season season based on dvd sales of TBD season 1 which is available now. You can also hit up your favorite torrent website to sample the best new show on tv last season.

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