TVSquad

We've been following the progress of Boardwalk Empire here at TV Squad for awhile now. Don't take my word for it; click that link if you don't believe me. HBO was waiting to get a look at the pilot, directed by executive producer Martin Scorsese, to see if they wanted to move forward with it.

Of course, all things were looking good, and who really expects Scorsese to hand in crap, but now it's finally official. HBO has given a 12-episode commitment to Boardwalk Empire, including that pilot.

The series takes place in 1920s Atlantic City and features Steve Buscemi as an important city figure, as well as a bootlegger. I absolutely love it when HBO does period pieces like this. They seem to excel at authentically bringing these bygone eras to stunning life.

Prohibition was a tumultuous time in this country, and I can just imagine how intense things got in a hotbed for seedy behavior like Atlantic City. And then there's Buscemi. Brilliant, unpredictable, I can't imagine anyone better to play a character who's described as "equal parts politician and gangster." HBO's hit streak looks to keep on going.

(S01E07) "I am God, and you are an asshole." - God

Oh, the times I've wanted to say that in my life. I'm sort of living vicariously through Nurse Jackie these days. She does stuff that everyone else wants to do, but doesn't because they don't have the guts. Like:

• Yanking the catheter out of the repeat sex-offender, then telling Mo-Mo, "He's a fucking pedophile!"
• Giving the Cartier bracelet that Eddie gave her to the morphine-drugged, steak-knife guy to give to the girl who's really just looking for a nice guy.
• Telling God to get back on his meds.

Yes, I want to be Nurse Jackie when I grow up.

Steve Buscemi is in talks to star in Martin Scorsese's new HBO drama Boardwalk Empire. The series chronicles the rise of Atlantic City as a gambling haven in the 1920's.

Buscemi has never been a leading man, to my knowledge; however he's an extremely versatile character actor and has always had a prominent supporting role in every drama or comedy in which he's appeared (my favorite still remains Airheads. Yeah, I'm weird that way).

He's no stranger to HBO drama either, as he had a sizable role in one of its most critically acclaimed dramas The Sopranos. He directed episodes of that show as well, before he even got in front of the camera. Martin Scorsese has also historically been attracted to mob dramas, so it seems like a good match.

The show itself has a lot of talent behind it (including Mark Wahlberg, who also executive-produces Entourage), so this show has a better chance of being a hit than most others, particularly anything on network TV.

TV Guide is reporting that the complete series of The Sopranos will be available as a box set on Nov. 11, 2008, with a $400 price tag. That seems like a heckuva deal to me, given that fact that most seasons of any given show cost anywhere from $30 to $60. The individual seasons of The Sopranos sell for $60 each on the HBO Web site, and the complete series was released last year for $515.

So let's do the math here: Six seasons (TV Guide says seven, but the official HBO site refers to Season Six, Parts 1 and 2, as one season, so we'll go with that) divided by $400 comes out to $66.66 per season.

(S14E19) Now, let the speculation begin!

Did you really think that ER would end its fourteenth season with everything all honky-dory at County General? You haven't watched it recently, have you? Fact is, the season-ender for the last few years has been some sort of cliffhanger. Last season the fate of Neela was unknown. The year before it was Abby and Luka. A few years before that the fates of Pratt and Jing-Mei were undecided.

Now we have two (or three, or four) characters to consider as potential victims. But, who will be the lucky -- or in this case, unlucky -- one who will end up as a patient in their very own Emergency Room when season 15 of ER begins? Let's take a look at the candidates. Oh, by the way, spoilers ahead if you didn't watch the last three minutes of the episode.

When you see the names Norm Macdonald and Steve Buscemi, what comes to mind? Perhaps funny or edgy or, in the case of Buscemi, a bit scary looking? I would tend to agree. How about gingerbread men? When you see those names does it elicit a vision of Macdonald and Buscemi as a father-son gingerbread duo? No, I didn't think so.

And yet here they are, in all of their gingerbreadiness, in a holiday commercial for AT&T's GoPhone. In the ad, Macdonald's character wants a cell phone, but all that Buscemi's gingerbread father wants to do is make sure that no one eats anymore of his house this season. In a touching moment the son gets the phone he wants.

Unfortunately, tragedy strikes as we see a human hand breaking off a piece of the gingerbread man's roof, exposing the lovely gingerbread mother in the bathtub. It's probably one of the funnier holiday ads this season (although the Verizon 'Pony' commercial is pretty good) and you can see it after the jump.

(S19E04) If I don't make it, feel free to re-marry from anyone on the list on the bulletin board in the closet. -- Marge, during her hostage scare

We had two good things happen this week on The Simpsons. First, we finally had an episode that didn't focus on Homer. Second, we had a guest voice that was actually utilized. Actually, there were two guest voices used well; I just didn't know about one of them until the credits were rolling. More as we progress.