Review: The Black Donnellys

I checked out The Black Donnellys last night after hearing some hype and not to mention the debacle with the Arcade Fire refusing to have Rebellion (Lies) appear in the final minutes of the show. I figured I should see what this show is about.

Well, I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoy a good mob story and this has its roots in it – the Irish vs. the Italians. Now THAT’S a story.

The show follows the four Donnelly brothers and how they all differ from one another but are brothers nonetheless and stick together no matter what. You find out that Jimmy gets into trouble all the time whereas Tommy is the good brother – the one who is going to university. Then the other two brothers are there and…well I don’t know what they do yet. They are supporting characters so far.

So they are the Irish side of the equation. But then you have the Italian side of the neighbourhood who (of course) don’t really care for the Irish ruling part of the neighbourhood so there’s always people going back and forth trying to keep the peace.

Anyhow, something goes wrong with the peace and basically…well, hey you can watch it for yourself.

This was an excellent pilot episode. It gives a taste of all the characters so you automatically know who you are interested in the most and it sets up the story for the remainder of the season (if not the series). Much like how the first episode of Voyager has them being whisked off away from home and they have to spend the whole series trying to find a way back.

For those of you who watched the show (no, I won’t spoil anything here) but the Arcade Fire’s song was to happen where Snow Patrol’s Eyes Open occurs at the end of the show. Supposedly you can go on Youtube and watch the Arcade Fire version. I hear it flows better. I enjoy Eyes Open as a song but can see why Rebellion would have been a better fit.

Anyhow, that’s that. Catch this show. Heck, even my Dad had heard about it and asked if I had watched it. Clearly this is an indication that it’s getting some street cred.

Hey, while we’re at it, why don’t I run down my list of shows I’m watching right now and see if you agree with what’s going on? I was talking about this very topic with the boys and girls at lunch.

– Heroes: Pretty well my fave show of the year. Awesome plot of course and hey, it involves superheroes. You can’t go wrong. It isn’t slowing down.
– Prison Break: I still enjoy the show even though it’s taken a 180 degree spin from the original premise of the show (aka breaking out of a prison). I still enjoy the story though. Reminds me of a high scale version of The Fugitive.
– Lost: I must admit that the third season is starting off VERY SLOW. However, now that it’s back on the air for a straight run I think it will be a killer season. I personally enjoyed Season 2 more than Season 1 as it opened up the story quite a bit. I can only imagine this will happen in Season 3. Prediction: Lost will end by Season 4. They don’t want to pull another Alias.
– Smallville: Honestly, this show just keeps giving. Season 5 was kind of a letdown, but Season 6 is killer. They introduced the Green Arrow who could stand on his own as a series (at one point I thought I WAS watching the Green Arrow show) and have some good developments with Lex Luthor. This is the year of Lex and we’ll see him shine as the bad-guy he is supposed to be.
– Greys Anatomy: I still enjoy the show and cannot complain about too much. It isn’t overly amazing to me, but it isn’t overly bad either. I enjoy watching it. That’s what counts.