Do you ever want to like a show, but just can’t? That’s me and Boardwalk Empire. Season three began this week, and I barely cared. I didn’t even watch until Tuesday – I was all set to watch on Sunday night, and then I found out Downton Abbey was available for download and immediately rushed off to watch that.
There have always been aspects to Boardwalk Empire that I liked, or characters I was interested in. But it has always felt like the show is trying to take on too much. Too many storylines, too many characters, too much jumping from here to there. I get bored, or distracted, and then I get lost.
I was hoping things might be different this season, but they’re not. I won’t continue to write about Boardwalk Empire, because it’s a complex show (and therefore more time-consuming to cover) and I don’t like it enough to offer up a good review. There are so many places on The Interwebs to find TV reviews, so there’s no sense in my trying to cover them all.
There were definitely aspects of the show that still had me intrigued. The balance of power and tension between Nucky and Margaret was great – her budding feminism, his cutting remark about the aviatrix (female pilot) that only thinly veiled his anger over Margaret signing away his wealth. I had chills when Gillian told Jimmy’s orphaned son “I’m your mother now” when he mentioned his mother being a painter.
I love the 1920s, and so I suppose that’s what I want to watch a show about. Women’s health issues! King Tut themed parties! Margaret Schroeder is the star of my show. Every time we cut to mobsters in a city that’s not Atlantic City, I sigh. I want to focus on Nucky and Margaret, Richard Harrow and the Jimmy’s orphaned son, on and the other players right in Atlantic City. That’s not really the show Boardwalk is making, and that’s fine. I have other things to watch.
A lot of people think Boardwalk Empire is the best show on TV, which is a totally valid opinion. But I’m not really connecting with it. I like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Sherlock, Downton Abbey and many other dramas much more. So I’m done for now.
What about you guys? Any of you giving up Boardwalk Empire this season? Or do you still love it?
