The Black Donnellys

The first time I heard about this show was through all the ads on NBC and I just thought "dear God not another stupid TV show coming on the air for me to not watch" without really paying much attention. Then, the day it was set to premiere I heard a little more about it. The whole "brothers fighting for brothers" thing intrigued me. It kind of reminded me of "Four Brothers" (one of my personal favorite movies). So I decided to tune in. And boy, was I glad I did that.

This show is great! Finally, a little action and originality coming to TVs. You can tell that the writers wrote many movies just from the way its written, GREAT! The whole "Joey-Ice Cream telling the story" thing is quite original and with a little humor added into it.

Even though there's only been two episodes I can tell that I am definitely going to be tuning in for all the rest there is to come no matter how many that my be.

To break it all down, if you love movies/shows with action, drama, violence, with a little humor, etc. then you'll love this show. And if not, try to give it a shot, you probably won't regret it!

I'll go ahead and state that I come from an Irish background, so I was biased toward the show before I watched the pilot. After watching the first two episodes, I'm still on the wagon. It's the first show in a long time that has a perfect blend of plot, characters, and action (I know, most people would say "Lost" has the same blend., but I just think it's so-so--personal opinion).

I'm interested to see how the narrator aspect of the show is going to pan out; I'd assume you can only tell the story in this fashion for so long before it gets old. But, at the beginning, it's very creative and interesting. Here's to (hopefully) the new best show on TV.

For a network television station, NBC has just found her new gem. As a Sopranos fan, I was a bit skeptical about watching the show. But Paul Haggis' genius strikes again and this time its on the small screen. Now that The Sopranos is finishing its final season in April, fans of the show need a substitute, and I highly recommend The Black Donnellys is just as good. I thought it would be hard to show that world without swear words, but the show is not just about that side of it. Its a show about brothers who love one another and come from 'that neighborhood', not Irish mobsters that happen to be brothers.

In conclusion, watch the damn show!

It's early to say this but judging by the first two episodes this show is going to be something special. I love this show. Now, granted I was at first interested in it because the main characters are Irish, as I am. But this show is about so much more than just being Irish, or even just the mob/organized crime. It's like the tagline for the show says.. "Family above all" and how far one brother is willing to go to protect his brothers. Will he put himself first? Or will he save his brothers? Some people say this show is like The Departed (Which I loved, so I'm not saying anything bad about the Departed)

It's only like The Departed because 1.) The main characters are Irish. 2.) It features some organized crime (but mostly dis-organized) and violence. This really is an excellent show. Not many shows have the balls to put so much effort into a pilot. Pilot episodes are usually those boring shows that set up the story but have nothing to them. This series pilot was intriguing and actually had a plot and trusted you to keep up, which is something most pilots wouldn't even dream of doing. The second episode just proved how great this show is. Not only is it violent and all - but it has a dark sense of humor. Which is great, I personally find it very entertaining.

So here's what I'll say... Watch the Black Donnellys. Give this show a chance. This is my new favorite TV show, and if NBC does something RIDICULOUS and cancels this amazing show I will forever give up watching TV because this is a great series and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Going just by the pilot - excellent! I thought the story'd be off to a bit of a slow, boring start, but it took off like a flare, from the first few shots, never flagging, never letting up. The grittiness of the look, the timing, the pace, the story line, the dialogue -- terrific, just what you'd expect from people who made "Crash." They didn't disappoint. The acting is also very good, except Keith Nobbs, who plays Joey Ice Cream: entirely too much of a clichéd motor-mouthed overacting little weasel. If he's going to continue providing the narration, it can be a detriment to the overall quality, as it was in the pilot, hence I gave it only 9 stars out of 10.