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« The Black Donnellys
February 26, 2007: Where Are the Bodies? (Pilot)
NBC is finally rising from the dead. First, they saved the cheerleader, now they’ve sucked us into family drama at its finest.
Did everyone love Joey "Ice Cream" — “because under pressure, I’m like ice” — as much as I did? He is the greatest, most unreliable narrator I’ve ever listened to. The year of his story changed not once, not twice, but three times. He definitely has a talent for exaggerating the story to his advantage by placing himself into every situation as if he is the fifth Donnelly brother. I especially liked his description of the Irish: “The Irish have always been victims of negative stereotypes.... People think we’re all drunks and brawlers. And sometimes that gets you so mad all you want to do is get drunk and punch somebody.” I have a feeling the detectives will eventually lose their patience with Joey. The book across the face is definitely going to leave a mark.
So, how much does Kevin owe the Italians? Even after he kidnapped Louie “Downtown,” Kevin remained loyal to his gambling addiction. (By the way, the character nicknames are a bit cliché, but I’ll go with it for the benefit of the show.) Kevin now owes over $5,900 — not like I was keeping tabs or anything. But that was before Jimmy shot Louie and Tommy (played wonderfully by Jonathan Tucker) massacred Sal Minenta, Sal’s men and Hughie Farrow. And now that Hughie is gone, the Donnelly brothers not only have to worry about defending each other, but the fate of the entire Irish neighborhood rests on their shoulders. I didn’t know a few card games could cause so much trouble!
While testosterone flows through nearly every aspect of the show, there is one sparkling gem of estrogen to be found in Jenny Reilly (played by the lovely Olivia Wilde). When will Tommy confess his love for Jenny? The attraction between the two is undeniable. “I thought what if he dies and he never knows that I loved him... I’m a married woman. Nothing’s ever going to happen.” So when is someone going to tell that poor girl that her husband is dead? That officially makes her a vulnerable widow. And who better to comfort her than Tommy?
Jenny’s plea to Tommy still doesn’t prevent him from getting into the elevator. He knows what had to be done for his brothers. I got chills when Kevin followed him. Tommy: “Where are you going?” Kevin: “Wherever you are.” The simplest of words can have so much meaning. All of this is happening as Jimmy is arrested and sent to rehab (thanks to Tommy’s talk with “Frankie”). We’re told that this was the day that will chang Jimmy’s life. Will he come out of rehab a changed man? Will he be the new Tommy in the Donnelly family?
The flashbacks held strong throughout the story line, especially at the end where it showed the driver of the car that ran over Jimmy’s leg. You have to have sympathy for the guy. Although Jimmy spends his time shooting needles into his arm and hatching plans to kidnap Italians, he's still willing to do anything for his brothers. The flashbacks gave us insight into the guilt he carries. But the brother with the most guilt is Tommy. He was the one driving the car.
The ending of this episode was fantastic! I applaud Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, the award-winning writers of Crash and Million Dollar Baby, for creating a remarkable story about the paths we choose when facing the choice between right and wrong. I also have three brothers, so I found myself admiring Tommy for the actions he took. Tommy Donnelly is prepared to throw his entire future away for his brothers. How far would you go for family?
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Feb 27, 2007 12:11 AM
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A terrible program that, hopefully, will not last. Let's hope viewers have better taste than to keep watching this piece of trash. Yea, way to solve problems folks.
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Feb 27, 2007 12:28 AM
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I wanted to hate it since it took over Studio 60's spot, but it was quite a ride. It could get depressing (the never-ending revenge back-and-forth of mobster movies usually gets me down), but they did have enough humor in this episode to lighten it up a little bit. I'm not sure I have all the characters' names straight yet, but Tommy, I think, seems a little young to be running the neighborhood. I look forward to seeing how he handles it.
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Feb 27, 2007 12:52 AM
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i really liked it. it took me the first half an hour to get all the brothers names down. this should be an interesting show. i want to know which bodies they were talking about.
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Feb 27, 2007 12:54 AM
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How is it terrible? Sure the sterotypes are everywhere but the show was a great ride and story sucked me into it and it was be far better then the boring pieces of garbage Studio 60 has been putting out lately
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Feb 27, 2007 12:57 AM
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I really liked this. But then I'm a huge fan of mobster movies and tv shows.
I hope they can sustain the quality.
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Feb 27, 2007 2:01 AM
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I enjoyed it. Now I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. I was completely hooked right from the beginning.
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Feb 27, 2007 2:20 AM
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the first 10 minutes was a little confusing..But by the middle of the episode when Jimmy shot the italian i was hooked...and the end was excellent..Does anyone know the song playing during the final montage...
I'm hoping NBC will have another hit with this show..
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Feb 27, 2007 3:07 AM
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As I always do I watched with an open opinion and no pre-judgements, and this show left quite an impression on me. This was a really good debut and left a lot of doors open for what should be an exciting limited run.
Even if it doesn't show up in the ratings NBC has had a great season of TV. Heroes, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, Studio 60, the Thursday night comedy block, and now this. Hopefully this is only the beginning.
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Feb 27, 2007 4:40 AM
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Great show, I loved the line about the Irish drinking and brawling. True and so funny. My only issue is that they screwed up by using a four-headed clover and not a three-headed shamrock. St. Patrick used the three leaf shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost/Spirit) and anyone that is Black Irish (like me) knows the difference.
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Feb 27, 2007 5:06 AM
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I'm not sure how I feel about this show yet. I found it engaging, yet I also found the end troubling. How can a man who tried to live a "good" life in a bad neighborhood so easily throw himself away? How can he murder three people with such calm? How can I now sympathize with this man and his family?
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Feb 27, 2007 8:16 AM
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> now they’ve sucked us into
> family drama at its finest.
>
Wow, I am amazed at the positive response to this show. How far would you go for family? This ground was thoroughly covered 30 years ago in "The Godfather" and follow-up movie.
This show gave me no reason why I should care about any of the brothers and even worse is filled with cliche after cliche. Hmmm, we have "the violent one", "the smart one", "the unlucky one", and "the cute one".
Now lets add in a love story with the characters refusing to admit their feelings for each other.
Heroes is great because it is something new. I didn't see a single thing that was new about this show.
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Feb 27, 2007 8:18 AM
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NBC really brought its A-game this year. With this and Friday Night Lights, they have two of the highest quality shows I think I've seen on network TV in a while. I love this show more than words can say after one episode, who knows how much I'll love it after the rest start airing (which they'd better.)
One of the best hours of TV I think I've ever seen.
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Feb 27, 2007 8:45 AM
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Hated this - and I'm usually indifferent at best.
All we need - with the world we live in today - is to show people that it's OK to kill other people if it shows loyalty to your family or if they hurt your family.
Sorry, folks, but I try to live to a higher standard than that. And I hope you do, too, or we are all in a lot of trouble.....
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Feb 27, 2007 8:47 AM
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Wow. I really liked this. Of course I was massively confused as to who was who between the present and the flashbacks and all the brothers for about the first hour. I agree once Johhny Downtown was shot and that Snow Patrol Open Your Eyes song started playing it had me. I'll be tuning in weekly. That ending was just stunning. A great start.
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Feb 27, 2007 9:00 AM
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