If the Fall 2011 TV season left you little to choose from in new drama series - if yet another police procedural or a coven of simpering teen-aged witches leaves you uninspired - then 'Boss' may be the one to hold out for.
I found it to be rough, moody, gripping, violent, sexy. It's the political heir to 'The Sopranos'. There are a lot of interesting actors - Martin Donovan, Connie Nielsen, Hannah Ware, Kathleen Robertson, Jeff Hephner - whose roles hold the promise for compelling, divergent story lines. And as for the central character of Mayor Tom Kane, it's Grammar's best work in years. In fact, not once during the pilot episode did I ever think of Frasier Crane.
If you have the Starz premium channel, I'd suggest checking this out when it debuts on October 21.......
Now, for the report more specific to my Toobworld interests....
Unlike the televersion of New York City, in which the current mayor of the City MUST be Mike Bloomberg (because of his appearances as a League of Themselves member in shows like 'Law & Order', '30 Rock', and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'), Chicago's mayor isn't as nationally known to the average TV viewer. This could all change with an episode of 'Happy Endings', which I think may be the only other Chicago-based series on the air now. 'The Chicago Code' from last year did have John Heard playing Mayor McGuinness in two episodes. Depending on how long Tom Kane has been in office, maybe the timeline splainins can be toyed with.
For example, this series may be taking place in 2013, because Kane talked about the Reverend Jeremiah Porter's arrival in the Chicago area as having taken place 180 years before. Since that occurred in 1833, it's either 2013, or Kane just like to round off his figures.
Perhaps McGuinness was a deputy mayor acting as the temporary mayor under emergency guidelines while Kane was hopitalized. (It would be this treatment that first clued him in to there being something seriously wrong with him physically....)
So, unless some wild Zonk rears its head to negate the ruling, I think 'Boss' can remain in Earth Prime-Time, the main TV dimension. Otherwise, this is a show worthy of inclusion in the alternate TV dimension of 'The West Wing'.
At the very least, its depiction of the uses for a kitchen sink garbage disposal and of the enforcement of the Hyppocratic Oath will send a chill up your spine.
Now....
I'm trusting this works - at the site where I saw the preview for 'Boss', they had an embed code to be copied. I'm hoping this code brings that first episode to you, Team Toobworld, as well:
BCnU!
3 comments:
I would be inclined to disagree with your assessment of how well known the mayor of Chicago is to people who watch TV. For example I know that the current mayor of Chicago is Rahm Emmanuel - former White House Chief of Staff (and reportedly the model for Josh Lyman) and brother of entertainment agent Ari Emmanuel (model for Ari Gold on Entourage). Before that the mayor was Richard "Dick" Daly Jr. whose father was mayor of Chicago for many years including 1968 when the Chicago Riots (and the Democratic National Covention) occurred.
And if a guy from Saskatoon knows this...
What I probably should have said was that Mayor Daley and Mayor Emmanuel have not had any impact on Earth Prime-Time, unlike Mayor Bloomberg in New York.
So long as they're not mentioned or seen in a show, we can accept that somebody else holds their office. This is why it's a given that no matter the administration, the POTUS must always be the same as in the real world. Because there will always be a TV show which will mention him by name.
I covered this topic in re: to Senators Boxer and Feinstein in the past:
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/playing-politics.html
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2007/09/boxer-update.html
http://toobworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/walkers-take-hike.html
As you can see, the California governorship under Schwarzenegger had to be treated like the TV presidency.
Thanks, for the input, Brent. I think I'll expand this for a blog post.....
The Good Wife is set in Chicago, although they film it in New York.
Figure that one out if you can ...
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