Boss

It's always hard when you don't love the characters in a show. We felt for Michael Corleone, because the mantel he wore wasn't the one he wanted. Even bad guys can be sympathetic, unless your name is Tom Kane and you're the mayor of Chicago.

It's possible other viewers feel for Tom (Kelsey Grammar), a despicable human being, if you can call him human, a ruthless, dying man sometimes made even more despicable by his illness. Grammar proves he is not only a great actor, which has always been so, but that he has a magnificent range.

His costars are awful, too, so good in their roles that you hate them sometimes if not all the time -- the stunning Danish actress Connie Nielsen as his wife Meredith, the former mayor's daughter - clearly a dynastic marriage; his drug-addicted daughter Emma (Hannah Ware), estranged from her family; his associate, Kitty O'Neill (Kathleen Robertson), sleeping at various times with a couple of the enemies; and Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan) who does his master's bidding, most of it not too pleasant.

Kane has lewybody dementia, and as a result, hallucinates, hears voices, has seizures and bombastic fits of temper, sometimes in public. As he fights his disease and does inappropriate things, he makes deals, lies, plays people off one another, wires peoples' offices and bedrooms, and is generally corrupt - in other words, business as usual.

I have one objection to this show, and you'll think I'm a prude but here it is - it seems like nearly every encounter - and that includes in the hallways - ends with a sex act. I think it would have been more interesting if there were a few less encounters. One thing the show is great at is implying sexual heat during a scene so you just know there's chemistry - but I would like to think most adults are a little bit more discreet than some of these people, who seek out empty ladies' rooms, have sex in their offices, hallways, etc.

Nevertheless it is tragic that this mature show was canceled after two seasons and there was no movie on STARZ, as was planned, to wrap up the series. Boss deserved so much more. Is it a realistic look at politics? Lucrative contracts to your friends, lots of quid pro quo, constantly lying, having people killed - probably.

Im not one to mince words and try and sound intelligent in my reviews. Ill just say this show is amazing and well worth watching. The acting is superb and the plot is absorbing.

Kane is a beast of a character and totally dominates the show. I never watched Fraser but I now realise what a great actor Kelsey Grammar is. The supporting cast is excellent and always value add to the storyline.

Its very difficult to guess where the show is headed. I like how the storyline is not predictable.

I put this up there with my favourites, The West Wing and The Newsroom. I look forward to seeing how the plot develops and where the writers take this amazing show. Enjoy!

I've only ever seen one other true modern tragedy in 'dancer in the dark'. This series is exceptional in that it does not pander to your indulgence in a character. They remain outside you throughout and all perish. this is the best TV i have ever seen, the wire was good but its blue collar sentiment annoyed me, this has none. The sopranos depiction of power was good but again involved comedy (small time crooks). The characters here are not comic. There are moments where the display of their power is a little out of the writers depth, but it would have taken poetry to fully realise these moments and that I think would alienate a TV audience. Regardless of this there are no complaints from me. After watching this you will finally feel like you have seen something that was not made for the faint hearted and something that did not do this by shock violence, something that used the actions of characters alone to achieve its truly dramatic effect. brilliant

I first watched boss a while ago, got bored on the 1st episode and stopped it. Then there was a time i has nothing else to watch so i started it again. And it's a show that grows on you. This series is really harsh, even more than house of cards-harsh and yet so realistic. There were specific episodes where the malice and skill and wit of the protagonist couple was more than anything you'd ever watch. Kelsey Grammar and Connie Nielsen are both extremely talented and Kitty is also an interesting character. I'm so, so sad the show didn't continue cause there was so much potential. Hope i'll see a 3rd season some day, although that's probably not possible.

Starz! is starting to give HBO a run for their money in original programming. Their Spartacus series is one of my all time "guilty pleasures".

But "Boss" ups the ante considerably with this deadly serious & very dark melodrama of politics in Chicago.

Forget "Frasier Crane", Kelsey Grammar has the role of a lifetime playing the titular character of Mayor Tom Kane & he knocks it completely out of the park with somber rhetoric, explosive rages & double dealings. When he is on the screen he dominates it.

Of course, given the talent of series creator Farhad Sarfinia maybe the only task of Grammar's was not to screw it up. Either way it works brilliantly.

The supporting cast is excellent. The plot lines are labyrinthine without ever becoming lost.

If you like compelling drama about dirty politics & politicians you will thoroughly enjoy these 1st 8 episodes --the 1st season.