Next week, NBC will grace our TV screens with yet another great new show – this one as bold and fresh as ever. Monday night, after watching your weekly dose of “”Heroes,”” stay tuned for the series premiere of “”The Black Donnellys,”” a new gangster drama that is something like a “”Boondock Saints”” meets “”The Sopranos”” with a dash of “”The Godfather.””
The premise is simple: Four Irish brothers wind up entangled in the mob. Tommy “”the Fixer”” Donnelly acts as the group’s leader and protector, willing to do anything to keep his brothers safe, even though getting his brothers out
The premise is simple: four Irish brothers wind up entangled in the mob.
of trouble is keeping him from pursuing life as an artist. He’d rather spend his time drawing pictures of his wannabe girlfriend Jenny.
Jimmy “”the Hothead”” Donnelly has a few loose gaskets and always gets himself into a jam. Kevin is “”the Gambler”” because he thinks he’s lucky – nevermind that he’s never won a game in his life. You could say Sean has the short end of the stick, because he’s the youngest of the group, which is why they call him “”the Baby.”” But Sean is incredibly smooth with the ladies, so his brothers never bring their girlfriends around.
The premiere is narrated by Joey “”Ice Cream,”” a childhood friend of the Donnellys, in some of the most unique
storytelling I’ve ever heard on TV. He’s pretty bad at telling the story, too, so sometimes it changes, opening many doors for the director of photography and the editor.
Aside from the brilliant story and great characters, the show’s score stands out on top as edgy, innovative music. During a fight scene, the music playing is a hybrid of opera and techno. Interesting underground music shows up constantly, and it works every time.
While the story slowly builds in the first half hour, a major twist in the end makes it all worthwhile. The writers of “”Crash”” and “”Million Dollar Baby,”” who worked on the pilot, have successfully crafted a smart, gritty, dark show about the lengths a person will go to protect his family.
“”The Black Donnellys”” was selected to air as a mid-season replacement for “”Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”” on March 5 and was pushed up a week because “”Studio 60″” had horrible ratings. But one might think “”Donnellys”” could end up with the same fate as “”Studio 60.”” Being the most anticipated show of the fall season and receiving endless critical acclaim from all sides, no one would have expected “”Studio 60″” to die in the ratings.
If “”Donnellys”” does find more of an audience, it will probably be because of the soundtrack and the young characters. If the writing is as good throughout the season as it is in the pilot, NBC will have officially kidnapped my Monday nights.
