This is another show I didn't watch when it was playing on Showtime (in part because I didn't get Showtime), despite the recommendations of friends. Despite critical acclaim, it didn't do all that well with the viewers, and only lasted 3 seasons. I finally broke down and ordered the first season DVD collection from Amazon. Perhaps it isn't fair to review an entire series after watching only 4 episodes, much less assign it 5 stars, but I'm hooked. Even my parents, who ordinarily aren't fans of crime drama (although my mother has grudgingly become a fan of "The Sopranos"), gave the 4 episodes they saw a thumbs up.

Obviously based on the true story of Whitey Bulger and his politician brother Billy (although I read one review that suggested it was inspired by the Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien characters from "Angels With Dirty Faces"...which seems a bit of a stretch to me, although I can see where the reviewer is coming from), the location for the series is changed from Boston, where the real-life Bulger brothers held sway, to Providence, Rhode Island. Jason Clarke plays Tommy Caffee, a seemingly earnest young politician, struggling to support his family while maintaining some sense of integrity. Jason Isaacs plays his brother Michael, a smart but sociopathic hood who returns to Providence after a 7-year exile, anxious to make up for lost time. Annabeth Gish (not a relative of Lillian or Dorothy Gish) plays Tommy's troubled, philandering wife, and she's an erotic mixture of Sigourney Weaver and Diane Lane. Len Cariou plays a shrewd, old-school politician who sees potential in Tommy Caffee, and Fionnula Flanagan plays Rose, the beautiful matriarch of the Caffee family. They're all very good in their roles and very realistic, particularly Flanagan.

Created by Blake Masters and filmed on location in Providence (the location adds immeasurably to the gritty ambiance of the show; Providence is one of those aging industrial cities like Paterson, NJ, that I've always been fascinated by), I can't say yet that I'll come to hold it in the same exceedingly high esteem that I do "The Wire" (another critically acclaimed series that had trouble attracting viewers), but so far it's totally engaging, enthralling drama, much more consistent as a series than "The Sopranos", its plotlines and characters ring truer, and I'll definitely be ordering the other 2 seasons of it from Amazon.

I really like this show. It's an Irish Sopranos. The characters are interesting. Michael is sooooo bad, but you can't help liking him.