The Black Donnellys: The Complete Series [DVD]

Where to start?This is movie series about four brothers and their matriarchal mother of Irish lineage and their quest to impose themselves upon their `turf' in New York.The series is actually a load of old rubbish but highly watchable.However, there is nothing to commend it whatsoever as it fails in every department, yet it tries to make it all of those departments.What I mean is this: The music score, the direction, the settings and locations, the acting, the characters and the storylines - they are all terrible, but at least the TV network who commissioned this series, NBC tried to make it work. Unfortunately it was too stylised.My wife who is Japanese thought that the series was in fact a comedy having watched two episodes, so did I. It was only when violence took place that we realised after episode two that it was not slapstick but an attempt at some serious violence.It is pitiful that the director couldn't go the whole way as many British directors have and display Irish gangs as being ruthless and cruel. The series - imho - pays a disrespect of those who comprehend the IRA, the `H' blocks and general Irish/British aggression between one another. I know the series is set in New York but the series tries to depict a struggle for `turf' between the Irish and the Italians and just about anyone else. Real Irish men would settle the score in a couple of hours not in this protracted attempt at dramatising Irish gangsters in New York.I am very English but have lived in New York, New Jersey to be precise, with a full-blooded Irish family. I found them very intelligent and hard working. Sure they held religious and sectarian views that I did not but they accommodated the difference. I found them easy to get along with, by being truthful and straight-forward. In fact, I met them when I was lost in New York City as a student and they took me under their wing. I experienced the daily prayer with the mother of the household trying to get me down on my knees to pray, but I have also experienced that on trains in Italy when travelling to Florence. I found the neighbourhood in which my benefactors lived was mixed in race and religion as it was in violence and peace keeping. Whenever we had a barbecue; and I hate barbecues, there was little preparation. Someone would turn-up and start the grill, another would turn-up with the beers and someone else arrange tables out in the back yard. The whole thing went swingingly and I loved every moment in their company. There were the occasional spliffs but in principle there were few heavy drugs. Most of the Irish worked hard and many held two jobs, returning home from one and then going onto the other.What has this got to do with the Black Donnelley's - well to me, everything, as the Irish I met were well capable of appalling violence but they managed to `police' themselves in an intelligent and reasonable manner. The priest was ever present but never imposing.Whereas, the Black Donellys are guilty of just about every Irish stereotype that exists. Furthermore, they drank American Knats' pissiore instead of the serious stuff.The story is pointless and the locations better suited to a Mickey Rouke boxing movie. The soundtrack is mixed and holds little by way of embellishment respecting what is actually going on within the `plot'. Only the opening title music at the beginning of each episode succeeds.I don't usually bother to write comments but in this instance I felt that I would like to communicate my feeling towards the Irish. I have found many Irish extremely violent and very capable of clever violence. Not this basic Hollywood stuff that the Black Donnellys series puts forward. The four brothers like to go to a meeting armed with baseball bats. I can tell you that now I am in my fifties and if I met the four of them coming towards me in the street armed with their bats I would relish the ruck as I found the actors nothing more menacing than young PUNKS devoid of any pathological assault threat. That is exactly what they transpired to be throughout the series - punks, just as Dirty Harry would state. Never mind the Donnellys, it's the Sex Pistols - who put more fear into me than these sanitised NYC gangsters.I had great difficulty understanding the leader of the Donnelley brothers; Tommy. I had to rewind the DVD continuously to try and comprehend what he was saying. In fact, it was not until the final episode that I realised that the actor was trying to speak in an Irish accent - hilarious, I thought he had a lisp.I can understand why NBC did not continue with the series but I am saddened as with some thought and modification the series had the legs to run as a lengthy series instead of one series of 13 episodes. The ending left the series open to make another series and strangely having been enthralled with such utter pap I would like to watch a second series, albeit, with some improvements, like killing-off half the cast and moving them all out to Jersey.I will not start picking and isolating poor acting or specifics in what was wrong with each episode, but I would recommend to anyone with an interest in Gangster going-ons in New York to buy the series as it is very cheap to purchase and certainly gave me plenty to think about.In short - the series was utter rubbish but I recommend it at the price and give five starts for at least trying to setup interesting subject matter in a vibrant city. Had they managed to pull-off some good sex scenes, violence that emotionally made one think, change locations to believable settings, find actors who could act, realise a complementary soundtrack and become immersed in Irish karma and dogma then I think that we would all be talking about the Black Donnellys.Oh! I forgot, each episode is preceded by a narrative from one of the associates of the brothers from within prison. I thought the reprise at the beginning of each episode was excellent as one looked forward with anticipation to what was about to happen.

Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean -- four very different brothers growing up in an Irish-American neighbourhood in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. After the death of their father, the boys struggle to keep their family together as they find themselves sucked into petty and organized crime. Jimmy (Thomas Guiry) is a drug addict with a bad temper, whose mistakes often land the Donnellys in trouble, while level-headed Tommy (Jonathan Tucker) longs to escape the neighbourhood, but struggles with his desire for a crime-free life and his devotion to his brothers and childhood sweetheart Jenny (Olivia Wilde).Our narrator is the recently-imprisoned Joey Ice Cream, who tells the tale of his childhood friends, the Donnellys, to a group of increasingly frustrated cops and lawyers. It is through his sometimes unreliable -- and often comically misleading -- storytelling that we watch the Donnellys ascend the crime ladder through a series of dangerous and violent misadventures...Now, let me start off by saying that this is not the type of show that I would normally even give a second glance... but I genuinely love The Black Donnellys. It is honestly one of the best pieces of television I've ever seen. After channel surfing late one night and catching just a few minutes of one episode, I knew I HAD to buy the series on DVD. Creator and writer Paul Haggis creates such an intriguing story with intricate plotlines, backstories, and interesting characters. The last 5 minutes of the pilot episode is truly stunning television (I actually had tears in my eyes) and beautifully sets up the conflict for the rest of the series.The acting is also seriously top-notch. Jonathan Tucker gives a compelling performance as the show's tragic hero Tommy, torn between his desires and his responsibilities, while Thomas Guiry is excellent as limping, drug-addled maniac Jimmy. The bond between the four brothers is surprisingly authentic, and right from the beginning I felt a genuine affection for the characters... You will find yourself rooting for them as they struggle to survive their tough neighbourhood.Really, the only negative thing I can find to say about The Black Donnellys is.. well.. there just wasn't enough of it. Those good old American TV executives decided to pull the plug after 13 episodes due to "low ratings" (booooo!, hissssss!), so we will never get a proper conclusion to the story. But please don't let that deter you from buying this wonderful series on DVD, as those 13 episodes make for an awesomely compelling, addictive drama that you will want to watch again and again. SERIOUSLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.So, what are you waiting for?Come on, catch up with the boys...

This series is amazing, watched it a while back but didn't realise it was aired quite a while before. I cannot believe they scrapped this after the first season. Apparently it wasn't really rated until aired at a later date but looking at stats (wikipedia - "must be true"????) rating wise, it was only second to Heroes so they must have been gutted that they binned this. The series is epic and has a gritty feel with characters that draw you in. I would recommend this to anyone and the only reason I'm leaving a review so late is that I just bought 3 of these for friends/colleagues.

Great series I’m glad I can buy it hard to find

The series started off very promisingly but deteriorated in the final few episodes, the finale was a real let down. Watching the series it's as if the producers made the decision to pull the plug on subsequent series prior to the completion of Series 1, and subsequently decided to kill-off the show in the final episode. No doubt this could have been a great show if subsequent series had followed. Worth a watch, but it's defintely not in the same league as the Soprano's etc.

Watched this series when it aired on tv. I really enjoyed it second time around, as it had been a number of years . Remembered some of it, but glad not all. They should've done another series, as the ending leaves it a bit in limbo. Well recommended.

If you like Sons Of Anarchy, and mafia stories, this is a great hidden gem. The writers strike and the economy crash around '09, left this show going unnoticed, but it is a great show, with an early Olivia Wilde. The show only lasted one season, and I remember having to watch the later episodes on Yahoo, I think, back when they were streaming movies/shows. The shoe ends on a cliffhanger, so be warned.

The Black Donnellys is an awesome show! It's super under rated, I can not believe NBC cancelled it after just one season to make room for more Survivor air time... they must have been totally out of there minds when they made that decision. I have shared this show with my family and friends and they all agree it never should have been cancelled because it's not just good it's really good! This show has great pace, acting, characters, tone and story! Seriously if you haven't seen this show yet grab a copy you'll be glad you did but you'll also be pissed when it comes to an end because you'll be wishing like the rest of us that they made more seasons!

Awesome show that we still rewatch every now and then. So sad it was cancelled and that we are left with a major cliffhanger

Great show. Wish that it was continued, but worth a watch for sure

THE BLACK DONNELLY'S is a gripping show that keeps you enrapt. Unfortunately it ended rather abruptly, leaving many loose ends. In any case, this mini-series is well worth viewing.