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 The Black Donnellys 
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Hatchling
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Post The Black Donnellys
I can't wait for this show to come on air, it's going to be AMAZING! It's done by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, the makers of crash so i think it'll have that same movie aspect to it. 1 more week till its on!


Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:08 pm
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It looks fine and I think Haggis can be a very good writer at moments, so I'm interested.

Unfortunately I fully expect huge critical acclaim with all of 5 million viewers of ratings. It's getting easy to predict the majority of critical smashes that don't make it with audiences.

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Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:23 pm
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i was really lucky and actually got to see the first episode. It completely blew me away, the acting is excellent and the story line is one that yes, has been done before...but its very unique in the way that it correlates with these characters lives. also it's going to be on the time slot right after heroes, definitely gonna make a big pull off of those viewers!


Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:47 pm
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It REALLY feels like a show that should probably be on HBO or Showtime, least thats the vibe I get before even watching the show.

It's suppose to be Mystic River mixed with Godfather, so thats a big positive, another show for me to tivo.

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Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:59 am
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warrenfish wrote:
i was really lucky and actually got to see the first episode. It completely blew me away, the acting is excellent and the story line is one that yes, has been done before...but its very unique in the way that it correlates with these characters lives. also it's going to be on the time slot right after heroes, definitely gonna make a big pull off of those viewers!


So how much does nbc pay you?

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Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:55 pm
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I loved it. I didn't really expect to -- I wasn't all that crazy about Crash -- but it came on right after Heroes, so I figured I might as well tune in. I'm glad I did; while I liked Studio 60, I would much rather watch this show. At least for now. We'll see how it unfolds.


Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:07 am
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It picked up near the end, but enough to get me to watch another episode? I'm not sure.


Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:11 am
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I was a fan of tonight's episode, especially the ending. Am I disappointed Studio 60 was put on hiatus in favor of this show? Yes, but I understand NBC's decision since this show is much cheaper. But if they can shell out more episodes like tonight's, I'll quickly get over that.

As for Studio 60, if Donnelly's works, I hope they at least give 60 a shot on a different timeslot. If not, I'll at least see the final few on DVD, or maybe a cable network will pick this up.

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Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:10 am
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So far only seen the first 20 minutes(will tape the rest), but this is a REALLY good show. I only wish that they did air it on HBO or Showtime like Kill said so it could have more than half a season before cancellation.

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Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:23 am
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Y'know a gangster show after Heroes, a show that's big in the 18-25 male demographic, might not be a total flop. At least I hope not, because the pilot was excellent. It definitely took some time to pick up as it went along and there were a few very Haggis (in a bad way moments), like all things Jenny, although the actress that plays her sure is beautiful. Looks like a young Angelina Jolie. However, as pieces came together I really was impressed, although I wonder if this show might be a bit too ambitious for it's own good. Oh yeah, and the Snow Patrol music at the end was a great choice.


Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:29 am
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Wow, I'm shocked at the positive response here. I completely skipped the show, after reading the less-than-favorable reviews from critics. I guess I'll have to try and catch it somewhere. Is it repeating on NBC?

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Tue Feb 27, 2007 9:55 am
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Paul Haggis, I never thought was a shit writer like alot feel strongly about but this show does pretty much prove what kind of hack he can be.

He watched all the mobster films on the face of the planet and then wrote a script and made a show thats Sopranos LITE: Tween Boppers Edition (and thats putting it kindly) Everything is by the books, he didnt bring anything new to the table or interesting, it's the same shite and with less sex, drugs, and cursing.

The last half hour they just threw in practically everything except the kitchen sink without giving us anytime to connect to the characters and get us to give a rats ass about what was going on. Lets not get into how the main characters arent believable worth of shit and that part where we find out who was in the car..... OKAY.

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Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:41 pm
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Meh, I thought it was OK, probably wont catch it again unless it is on in the background while Im playing WoW.

Things that bothered me. The narration style. He's telling this entire story in an interrogation! I think the Cops would have steered him away from such a long narrative a while ago.

Also, Tommy is going places cause he can DRAW?! "Don't stoop to the level of your brothers' Tommy, you got talent, you can go places... with your drawing ability."

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Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:06 pm
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I thought it was actually really good. Some flaws, but overall I really like it.

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Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:33 am
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Mr. X wrote:
Wow, I'm shocked at the positive response here. I completely skipped the show, after reading the less-than-favorable reviews from critics. I guess I'll have to try and catch it somewhere. Is it repeating on NBC?


they're rerunning it on USA and on Bravo. They're reshowing it on USA this Thursday.

Squee, I'm actually a fan of the style of narration. I think the Joey Ice Cream character is really interesting since he is a pathological liar. You never actually know where he is going with his narrative and whether or not he is even telling the story truthfully. I think he's a really unique character.


Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:09 pm
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warrenfish wrote:
Mr. X wrote:
Wow, I'm shocked at the positive response here. I completely skipped the show, after reading the less-than-favorable reviews from critics. I guess I'll have to try and catch it somewhere. Is it repeating on NBC?


they're rerunning it on USA and on Bravo. They're reshowing it on USA this Thursday.

Squee, I'm actually a fan of the style of narration. I think the Joey Ice Cream character is really interesting since he is a pathological liar. You never actually know where he is going with his narrative and whether or not he is even telling the story truthfully. I think he's a really unique character.


Well my problem with the narration style doesn't have anything to do with the character, just the fact that he's going on and on and on with tons of backstory that wouldn't be needed in an interrogation about where "bodies" are. It isn't believable that the cops would let him keep talking like that!

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Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:37 pm
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I really liked tonights episode. The only problem I had was with, what's his name, Johnny Ice Cream? When he says, "Oh, I was there," and just inserts himself into the story. It's just awkward that he pops out of nowhere and is inserted into the scene, and to me, it breaks the flow. Other than that, I loved it again. Plus, seeing Johnathan Tucker in nothing but his underwear was not a bad way to spend a half hour.


Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:44 am
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I gave up on it tonight. I caught the first 30 minutes and then switched over to Apocalypse Now: Redux. Tonight's episode just wasn't very interesting. I'll give it one more try next week.

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Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:11 am
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Only caught first 20 minutes so far, but yeah, vastly sub-par compared to the pilot.

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Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:28 am
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Definitely a step down, but yeah, like others I'll give it one more shot next week. It's not like it's as bad as The Nine (the last show I bailed on), but I keep feeling more and more Haggis moments as it goes on.


Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:33 am
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greasedlightning wrote:
I really liked tonights episode. The only problem I had was with, what's his name, Johnny Ice Cream? When he says, "Oh, I was there," and just inserts himself into the story. It's just awkward that he pops out of nowhere and is inserted into the scene, and to me, it breaks the flow. Other than that, I loved it again. Plus, seeing Johnathan Tucker in nothing but his underwear was not a bad way to spend a half hour.



i noticed that about the joey ice cream character too. but i the reason why he's always putting himself in the story is because of his pathological tendencies, which does make him a really interesting character(especially since he's the one telling the story) but hard to follow at times.


Tue Mar 06, 2007 1:48 pm
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The more I think of it, the less I like what Haggis did with the pilot. It was a great watch true, but he went through way way too many developments and events for a single episode... Tommy killing Sal should've came at least halfway through the season, if not in the season finale itself, considering the 12-13 episode half-season it would hope for at best.

As it stands, none of the characters got much development past 'Bad brother!' 'Gambling brother!' 'Pretty brother!', and thus when something like the guys beating up pretty brother happened, it had no resonance or effect, because that character had barely opened his mouth in the show. Ditto the Tommy and Jenna thing, they had all of 1 scene together before the I love you speech and hook-up? I just don't care when you give me no background or set-up. Sal was just a random face, ditto that Huey guy, or the unknowingst Italian(?) speaking at the top of this episode.

The other problem it brings is when the first episode is incredibly action-packed, and the second reverts to the characters spending the first third of the episode getting new clothes, it's a massive slow-down that causes the show to feel very dull. You don't care about these characters at all, they haven't had any development, so when the action dies the show has nothing.

I'm beginning to hate this show.

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Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:27 pm
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I wanted to like this.

Pros: The actors who play Jenny Riley and Joey Ice Cream were pretty good and hopefully will get good parts in other shows after this one gets the axe.

Cons: Where to begin? They basically, as Shack and others elsewhere have said, blew their season arc in the premiere. They even blew the romantic arc in the premiere, with having Jenny say the three little words about 10 episodes too early. The show also suffers from a lack of anyone to root for, who cares if these scumbags get caught or not. The show might have worked better if it was set a long time ago, maybe even in the Gangs of New York era.

The bottom line is I actually miss Studio 60 now and hope it comes back though hopefully with less Sarah Paulson and more Lucy Davis.


Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:56 pm
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And I'm done. I said I would give it this week, but four minutes into the third episode and it's very clear that you have to know what happened in the second episode to understand most of the third. If I didn't know anything about the show I might stick around to catch up, but for someone who couldn't get into last week's episode, watching this is kind of pointless.

Haggis probably could've made a decent screenplay for a film out of this, but like Shack and Archie said, he blew it all in the first episode.

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Mon Mar 12, 2007 10:10 pm
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The show is officially a turd for me, yeah im done.

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Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:50 pm
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