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***Spoiler Alert***

Episode 1: Pilot 

What I loved about this show when it first aired is we jump right in from the start of the pilot. No build up or introductory first episode. 2007 was heavy in the midst of the 20+ episode season era, and this was unusual.

The condensed formatting of The Black Donnellys, which fit well as a mid-season hiatus candidate (and then bumped back a month early to replace a failing show, another NBC nail in the coffin) required a quick jump into the deep end. But, given that it was supposed to air the previous fall, its hard to say if 13 episodes would’ve completed the first season, or if there was a chance to do another 10-12 episodes had NBC not fucked up and it was more successful.

Detective 1: “So where are the bodies?” 

Prisoner: “Oh man, these guys are my friends.”

Detective 1: “Here’s the deal, Joey.  You tell us where the bodies are, how they got there, you’ll stay in solitary, nice and safe.  You lie, you go to general population, where more people than I can count want to see you dead.”

Detective 2: “Where are the bodies?”

Joey: “There’s two things that happened to Jimmy Donnelly that made him turn out the way he did …”

30 seconds into the pilot, haven’t even hit the opening credits, and we’re in. It’s brilliant. Who’s Joey? What bodies? Jimmy Donnelly?

I’ve long thought that in later seasons of the show, Joey Ice Cream (“Cause under pressure, I’m like ice”) being in jail would be revealed at some point as a master plan from Tommy to keep Joey safe and buy the brothers time to cover up something, run, take the Italians head on, or finally rule the neighborhood.

Joey Ice Cream is an unreliable narrator, a plot device to keep the viewer on their toes – is anything he says the truth, a version of the truth, was he there at some events, all of them, or none? He breaks his own fourth wall on several occasions, leading you to believe he’d heard of the event after the fact, but wasn’t directly involved. In this instance, Joey as an unreliable narrator is the perfect distraction to keep the cops busy.  Hence my theory – keeping them busy from what?

We’re introduced to the rest of the clan pretty quickly: Jimmy, Tommy, Kevin, and Sean, brothers of the Black Irish Donnelly family in Hell’s Kitchen. Jenny Reilly, daughter of a local diner owner, close friend, and longtime love interest. Joey Ice Cream, childhood friend and sometimes co-conspirator.

Tommy studies art, Jimmy runs the Firecracker and is a drug addict, Kevin finds himself continually between both of his older brothers and is a terrible gambler, and Sean is the most carefree, chasing skirts and largely left out of serious business.

While Hell’s Kitchen looms in the background, the Firecracker bar plays a more upfront character, a meeting place and partying spot for the brothers (now owners) and the neighborhood.  City streets and sounds add the atmosphere, and with 9/11 being just 5 years prior to filming, there’s a certain reverence to New York at the time across a variety of shows and movies, showing the grit and attitude that was much more prominent in NYC of the 2000’s than it is now. The city often plays a character in many films and shows, I think the version created here plays both backdrop and character very well.

So, those bodies that Joey decides to talk about? Louie Downtown, Huey Farrell, Sal Minetta; a trifecta set off by Kevin and Jimmy kidnapping Louie and Sean getting beat up by Nicky Cottero and Vinnie Culiari. The beginnings, in the show’s universe, of a new war between the Irish and Italians.

But, these aren’t the bodies the detectives are asking about …

Favorite Scene: Tommy pulling a knife on the bodyguard in the Minetta Tavern and then walking down the hall.  One of the most visually enduring shots from the show, it’s epic.

Soundtrack: The use of Snow Patrol’s “Open Your Eyes” at the end of the first episode is an absolutely brilliant selection and weaves through the rest of the series.

Continuity Issues: Jimmy is seen at the corner of E 116 St when he sees Sean being beaten in the distance and Kevin and Tommy running towards the fight.  E 116 St would be way out of Hell’s Kitchen territory.

“The Black Donnellys” is available for purchase on iTunes, Amazon, and DVD.  Also available to stream, with extremely annoying and poorly placed commercial breaks, on the NBC app or NBC.com

At the time of posting, the episodes are still out of order on the NBC app and website, so Episode 4 = Episode 2, Episode 2 = Episode 3, Episode 3 = Episode 4. The title of each episode should reference the quote slide within the first 5 minutes of the episode.

Episode Notes: “The Black Donnellys” Episode 2

Sleepers: “The Black Donnellys”