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The Black Donnellys: 10/10 Pilot Perfection!

Well, I've watched the ending five times now, and I am literally in a daze. This is the type of shock and awe, what the f*ck, holy sh*t ending that Lost could only dream of. Everything is just so ... right in this pilot, there's literally nothing anyone could critique that's truly disappointing or bad in the pilot. The first 40 minutes of the pilot is, in and of itself, great buildup, and by itself would still be among the best pilots of 2006-07. But, wait! The last three minutes of the pilot, well, let's just say everything else looks so diminished in comparison.

The writing is pure verbal ecstasy. To everyone who complained that Crash felt too "TV-ish", now Haggis is actually writing for TV again! He and Bobby Moresco have crafted a beautiful script, morphing from light comedy in the beginning to a raw, dark, and gritty drama that leaves you in shock. For a cast of virtual unknowns, these are the roles these actors have been dying for. They all perform admirably, with the notable exception of the lead actor who plays Tommy excellently, portraying a character who is, well, I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say his performance is really good.

This pilot feels extremely rich as you watch it. Truly outstanding is the music! Did I mention it has Canadian Indie Rock! I literally could not believe my ears when Rebellion (Lies!) by The Arcade Fire started playing during the final three minutes. I thought my stereo had accidentally started playing! This song is such a beautiful choice, it compliments the final scenes so elegantly. There's also some great opera in the pilot, along with some pop and rap. It's so refreshing to actually see vocal music incorporated correctly into a TV show, and actually be an important piece of the show, especially considering very few modern music at all.

This is the best pilot of of this development season, and is more than worthy of booting the stale E.R. out of its famed timeslot. As far as ratings go, there's no way this'll ever be a hit, it's simply too good to ever be widely received by an audience, it'll be gone by May. In the meantime, however, we'll get 13 hours of some of the best television produced in a long time. I wonder if it's too early to place an order for the DVD Box Set?

Will I Watch It? As if there's actually a chance that I wouldn't! I won't be missing this, I've already fallen in love with it. Is it January yet?

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What works: There's a jaw-dropping, holy shit moment at the end of the pilot where everything just clicks, like it had been operating in fourth gear for the first 40 minutes and then it finds a fifth in the last few moments. It's such a big moment - where all the various plot points and character beats smash together - that I still get chills just thinking about it. I won't spoil said event, just know that you'll look back at the previous 40 minutes in a completely different light. As for the show itself, it's a hodgepodge of all the Irish, Italian and mob cliches you've seen before but at the same time makes fun of them as often as it reinforces them. It's just a weird mix of goofy and serious that never quite falls into either category. That aspect gives the show something of a unique voice as Joey's irreverent narration is grounded by Tommy's "nice guy in a dark world" character. It's by no means a realistic show, but it creates its own world - one I'm excited to see more of.

What doesn't: On the flip side, it has a very niche feel about it - meaning being under the "it's pre-empting 'ER'" and "it's from the writer/director of 'Crash'" microscope will likely build up expectations that from a viewership standpoint it'll never achieve. After all, "Crash" wasn't a huge blockbuster, it built its audience slowly before walking away with an Oscar. One hopes NBC will have the patience to let to bloom.

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I just watched it and i htought it was really good. I just wonder what the show is going to be about on a weekly basis.

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On my way to the airport to go home to say good-bye to her for the last time, I made a pit-stop and met these gentlemen, Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis, and they offered me a role in their new series called The Black Donnellys. And it’s a great… it’s a great series. It’s a story of an Irish Catholic – how very odd! – family in Hell’s Kitchen. It’s really the beginning of the West Side Mob. It’s a mother and her four boys. The husband was whacked by the Italians. Somebody is always being whacked in this series! But it’s delicious whacking, you know?! So I’ve been doing that for about four or five weeks, and we will do thirteen of those, and they’ll air in January on NBC, Thursday nights at ten.

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