I won't bore you with what the plot of the show is, you can read that for yourself in the profile on the main page, I'll just give you my impression of the episode, the idea of the show and it's production.
With the excellent Steve Buscemi and equally good supporting cast this has all the hallmarks of being a great series.
Beautifully designed sets evoke the era of the start of the prohibition period in which it is set. The attention to detail of the boardwalk with, amongst others, the sight of a store front offering the opportunity to see premature babies in incubators for 25c, is extremely well researched.
The usual issues of introducing new characters to the audience are evident, with not enough time spent getting to know each that well, is to be expected. There is however just enough to flesh them out, with plenty of scope for further development.
I do however have a couple of issues with the production itself.
The are several continuity issues evident, which mainly, though not wholly, arise from the attempt to portray the period. The main problem being the amount of smoking that occurs during the episode. It contains numerous cuts from one shot to the next where a character is puffing on a cigarette at one moment, then not in the next shot and visa versa. Or expelling smoke from a draw that had ended in the previous shot with them exhaling. Small I know, but irritating.
The biggest issue I had though was the lackluster direction by Scorsese. At times it appears that a stage play had been shot. The editing is all over the place. There are shots that are meant to convey an atmosphere that fail, camera positions and angles that look hackneyed and at times amateurish in their placement. I expected better from a man with such a strong body of work.
Problems aside, I will be watching the next episode, my interest piqued enough by the opening one. As I stated in the title for this piece, potential abounds.
With the excellent Steve Buscemi and equally good supporting cast this has all the hallmarks of being a great series.
Beautifully designed sets evoke the era of the start of the prohibition period in which it is set. The attention to detail of the boardwalk with, amongst others, the sight of a store front offering the opportunity to see premature babies in incubators for 25c, is extremely well researched.
The usual issues of introducing new characters to the audience are evident, with not enough time spent getting to know each that well, is to be expected. There is however just enough to flesh them out, with plenty of scope for further development.
I do however have a couple of issues with the production itself.
The are several continuity issues evident, which mainly, though not wholly, arise from the attempt to portray the period. The main problem being the amount of smoking that occurs during the episode. It contains numerous cuts from one shot to the next where a character is puffing on a cigarette at one moment, then not in the next shot and visa versa. Or expelling smoke from a draw that had ended in the previous shot with them exhaling. Small I know, but irritating.
The biggest issue I had though was the lackluster direction by Scorsese. At times it appears that a stage play had been shot. The editing is all over the place. There are shots that are meant to convey an atmosphere that fail, camera positions and angles that look hackneyed and at times amateurish in their placement. I expected better from a man with such a strong body of work.
Problems aside, I will be watching the next episode, my interest piqued enough by the opening one. As I stated in the title for this piece, potential abounds.