Tonight at 9 o’ clock is the much anticipate premiere of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” For some time now HBO has been looking for a show to replace the void left by the “Sopranos.” The man trying to accomplish this difficult task is the creator of the program Terence Winter. Interestingly enough, Winter was one of the lead writers for the “Sopranos.”
The show is set in Atlantic city during the chaotic time of Prohibition. The main character of “Boardwalk Empire” is the controversial Nucky Thompson(played by the acclaimed Steve Buscemi). Nucky is “half political boss, half gangster” and exemplifies the corruption that ran rampant during the 1920’s. I’m fascinated by the Prohibition era and interested to see how this program presents this time period, which i feel has scarcely been explored in mass media. Many people don’t even know that there was a time in our nation’s history when alcohol was illegal. This program will be a great way to educate the public while supplying it with quality writing,acting, and production. The creators of the show vow to achieve as high a level of authenticity as possible. All of the costumes used are authentic and have been bought either at thrift stores or when necessary, on eBay. One of the executive producers of “Boardwalk Empire” is the highly decorated writer and director, as well as Italian-American, Martin Scorsese. Scorsese is also the director of the pilot episode which gives viewers even more of an incentive to tune in tonight.
Being that I am an avid television watcher I am in no need of adding another program to the hefty lineup that i try and juggle now. However, I feel that this program is special enough that I can make an exception and add it to the sea of mindless comedies and countless contrived dramas which I find myself immersed in (This is not to say that shows like “How I Met Your Mother, “Entourage”, and “Friday Night Lights” are not also worth your time).
What were they thinking when they outlawed alcohol? Pay attention to the music that is played on the show if you watch. The music director went to great pains to see that the music is authentic in style and substance. The 1920s were known as the “jazz age,” though most of what we know as jazz came from the 1930’s and 40’s. The recording industry had really just begun as had the radio industry. There were also two distinct “Americas:” one for whites, and one for blacks. As soon as the recording industry began, there was a tradition of recordings designed for a black audience, known as “race records.”