Customer Reviews

Boomtown

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'd say a lot more about NBC, but I don't want to be sued for slander. Suffice it to say that the day they canceled this show after only two airings in the TV-graveyard of Friday nights, I promised to never watch any new NBC drama again. This was one of the most well written dramas i have ever seen, with characters that really carried the series. It wasn't just a situation drama, the protagonists were flawed and human yet still larger than life. I am happy to see that it's coming out on DVD and I'm more than willing to pay up for it (and I don't usually buy TV shows on DVD). Hopefully DVD can do for "Boomtown" what it has done for "Family Guy"; resurrect it back for a new season in the future.

If you want to see good quality TV, watch this show. No one will ever remember "Lyon's Den" which killed it, or "Kingpin" which NBC tried to replace it with; but this show and NBC's shoddy treatment of it will be remembered as long as television exists.

Amended on Nov 3, 2004
I just wanted to say that I don't think Vanessa Williams ruined the show. I was willing to give it a chance and see where it would go from there, they never got a chance to focus an episode on her and it's only because NBC put her on at the same time that they forced the writers to be more "procedural" that we may think she brought the show down.

Me, i'm just smiling at NBC's predicament now, what with Lost and Desparate Housewives bringing intelligent and gripping TV back to us and them wallowing in last place with not one critical or ratings hit in site. Ah, Karma is a female dog...

As of April 4 2006, the only new NBC show I have watched is My Name Is Earl, and NBC still refuses to do the intelligent thing by teaming it up with Scrubs. I follow the West Wing out of respect in the downtime between the Simpsons and The Sopranos, but never again will I view an NBC drama series.

"Boomtown," cancelled early in its second season by NBC, featured an intriguing, complicated premise and had the ambition to stage a different, twisted mystery to its audience every single week. Watching the first season DVDs, the scope of how ambitious and great "Boomtown" was - and perhaps why it didn't catch on quickly with viewers - becomes abundantly clear.

"Boomtown" promised the story of a crime told from EVERY point of view. The uniformed officers on the scene, the detectives investigating the crime, the assistant DA handling it, the reporter covering it and the paramedic working it all were main characters. The episodes themselves were divided into segments, showcasing a different perspective. Because of this, occasionally the audience would find out larger details or hidden, personal motives that the characters wouldn't themselves discover. Also, because of this "Rashomon"-inspired twist, a different member of the cast could end up at the center of every episode.

The cast, led by Donnie Wahlberg, Mykelti Williamson and the great Neal McDonough, was incredibly talented - particularly the supporting actor Gary Basaraba, who really ought to work more.

Though the episodes focused on a crime, the gimmick of "Boomtown" allowed the audience to glance into the twisted, complicated lives of its main characters, as well. So, in addition to showing an episode about a weird hit-and-run accident, the audience would get to see ADA David McNorris' alcoholic descent. While dealing with an episode on a drive-by shooting, the audience gets to experience wrenching moments from the character Fearless' scarred childhood. And while the other characters think Det. Joel Stevens leads a charmed life, the audience gets to see just how bad things are getting for him at home.

The premise worked more often than it didn't, and some episodes of "Boomtown" are better than others. My personal favorites were "Coyote," which featured an odd crime scene; "Reeling through the Years," featuring an investigation into a 1976 shooting; "The David McNorris Show," featuring the ADA's spin-doctor work on a crime; and "Fearless," the drive-by shooting episode that left me in tears by its end.

I'm not usually a fan of cop shows, but "Boomtown" is far from the usual cop show.

Whatever you think about "Homicide" getting cancelled, you at least have to acknowledge that the brass at NBC did right by it for as long as they could in the face of its poor ratings. The current realities of network television don't seem to allow for such such partisanship. Schematic cop shows (i.e., the "Law & Order" and "CSI" franchises) are easy to sell; something different, deeper -- better -- not so easy. Viewers prefer the realtive comfort of shows which, hoewever disturbing their content, resolve themselves neatly within the 60-minute time frame. And so NBC knocked off not only its best show since "Homicide" (which I argue was the finest drama in the history of the medium) but anyone's best show. The creative team behind "Boomtown" were determined to exploit the medium in refreshing ways. I hate that phrase "It was too good to last" but in this case, it seems to have been true. Too good for viewers, and much too good for the suits to recognize its unique virtues.

What's is there to say about Boomtown,Great Writting,amazing Directing,wonderful Characters and top notch acting.This was clearly the best show on TV last year and probaly this year too.No wonder Critics loved this show the most out of all the shows last season.This show got screwed big time on the EMMY nominations,I hope next year the EMMYs nominate this show for a least something.If you havent seen this show start watching it on Fridays at 10:00 pm on NBC,you won't regret it at all.

After watching the cancelled Boomtown (Season One) I really wondered why we even have an NBC (only for Jay Leno I guess). Boomtown was absolutely the best TV police drama I have ever seen (I got bored with 24 and The Shield etc). About halfway through, I felt completely drawn into the character's lives. The characters were "real". The stories were "real". My favorites were, the last episode, the Fearless episode, and the David McNorris episode. Heck, they were all great. Poor NBC. Always in the ratings basement. Why not stick with a winner for once!

I've never been in the habit of buying TV shows on DVD, mostly for the reason that there haven't been that many shows that I want to watch over and over. There's been a recent change in my philosphy. The first TV package I bought was the first season of THE SOPRANOS. The second was the first two seasons of HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET. I bought both of those used. The third one I bought (and the first I was willing to pay the new price for) was Season One of BOOMTOWN.

I first caught BOOMTOWN while it was still airing on NBC and I instantly fell in love with it. It was smartly written, had a stellar cast and used arguably the most innovative storytelling design ever thought up. When I heard that the plug had been pulled, I literally felt like going to NBC headquarters and demanding that answers be given to my face.

For whatever reason, it was evident that NBC did not want this show. I don't know if one of the actors made a remark about the mother of one of the network executives or if just wasn't pulling in the demographic that NBC wanted, but the writing on the wall came with season two's delayed start. The horrible truth became apparent once BOOMTOWN was moved from Sundays to Fridays (if you want a drama to lose any possible chance of viewership, just move it to Friday nights). For their part, the producers tried. They brought in Vanessa Williams in hopes that her name would save the sinking ship, but I'm sure the suits at NBC had already made up their minds. The ironic thing is that BOOMTOWN would fit in perfectly with the well-written dramas that all the studios are lusting over now (24, ALIAS, LOST).

I'm just grateful that I could buy the first season. NBC can never take that away from me.

The opening theme music is one of the most incredible 30-second snippets of emotion that I've ever heard, even though it's not incredibly complicated. I've been playing the DVD title menu through my speakers with the video off, and enjoy as it repeats continuously.

As a guitar player and songwriter, I fantasize about writing and arranging such a soul-stirring piece. Makes me wish that a soundtrack would come out, with an extended version of the theme.

As for program content, oftentimes I felt an adrenalin "chill" going down my spine, because something really hit home in the episode.

The marketing for this show/DVD was sadly negligible. I decided to take a chance on it (having never seen an episode), because the price was right ($18)... I've also slowly but surely trusted Donnie Wahlberg over the years to choose quality scripts to act in. I would have gladly paid full-price for it, if only for the music!

There was never a "Very Special 'Boomtown'." There wasn't an extra-special guest-star or a retrospective show. We didn't have to deal with a season-ending cliff-hanger and a season-opening lame resolution to the cliff-hanger. We didn't see half a dozen "Boomtown" knockoffs on competing networks.

In a way, it's a good thing that this wonderful show never became a hit, because it ended up living its entire life under the radar of people who had the power to ruin it. Instead, it died with dignity, of causes that had nothing to do with any frailty of its own.

The stories are brought to life in a way that's rare to see on television. Heck, this show makes the city of Los Angeles a character--a feat that is attempted by a few but rarely ever acheived. Characters are compelling and conflicted and magnetic.

Of course, the character who most draws you in is DDA McNorris. You can't help but hate the guy. You can't help but love the guy. As Neal McDonough plays him, he has no concept of the fact that he's a character on television and is not supposed to be so cold. I get the impression that Mr. McDonough, who does an excellent job, has never watched television in his life. He plays up to us viewers, not down. I hope he'll maintain that fresh aspect of his persona as, as I expect, he becomes a Big Star.

At the end of the season, we see McNorris facing his alcoholism. In the "Blackout" episode, we see the denial/bargaining/etc that anyone who has faced a shot glass faces at some point in our lives. Throughout the season, it's been working up to this. Then McNorris faces his own version of the monster lurking under the bed.

The series was cancelled before we got to see too much of the new improved sober McNorris. Good thing, in a way. The show could certainly have been great for a few seasons, but this first season was relentless.

I'm not one for buying "Season X of Y," but we're not likely to see "Boomtown" in syndication and I'm not so sure it will be on the menu when video-on-demand supplants DVDs. I recommend this box set. Look at it as a good movie that extends for 18 hours or so.

Please, don't pass this opportunity to have Boomtown in your home DVD collection as soon as it's available.. A plus to have!!! Boomtown won a prestigious Peabody Award for their first season. You will fall in love with cast!!!

Watch the Boomtown second season on NBC each Friday Night at 10:00 pm Eastern time...

I moved out of the US 2 1/2 years ago, so I completely missed this show when it was on TV. However, I purchased the DVD from Amazon.co.uk, and I think it is now one of my all-time favorite shows. This DVD contains 18 episodes (the first season?), in widescreen format.

The cast is superb. Mykelti Williamson's "Fearless" is quirky and complex (he is probably best known for his role as Bubba in Forrest Gump). Neal McDonough is superb as the uptight, upright, yet slightly out-of-control ADA David McNorris. Jason Gedrick, Lana Parrilla, Nina Garbiras, Donnie Wahlberg, and Gary Basaraba round out an ensemble cast, painting rich portraits of people with stressful jobs and personal lives.

The photography and "graphic look" of the show are innovative, and the "multiple perspective" aspect of the plot exposition is clever and eye-opening. There are surprising plot twists at every turn.

There are some interesting guest appearances, as well. Patricia Wettig from Thirty-Something does a great job as a Patty Hearst-like former terrorist.

It is a sad commentary on our American culture that shows like this do not succeed while tons of pathetic, identical sewage pour from the screen daily.

If you have a multi-standard DVD player, go to amazon.co.uk and order this today. Unfortunately it is a Zone 2 DVD, so it will not play on most US DVD players. What is the deal in the US; why is this not released?