Boss
BOSS – S1E08
"Choose" I have had—and continue to have—a lot of faith in Boss, but I think even the show’s biggest fans would have to admit that this first season has been frustratingly uneven. From moment to moment, Boss has seemed to … Continue reading
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BOSS – S01E07
The penultimate episode of the first season of Boss feels like a siege story: Kane is holed up in his office—beaten, bleeding, and running low on ammo—while an unbeatable army waits outside. Continue reading
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BOSS – S01E06
Kane is the Grand Inquisitor; he sees himself as one of the rare breed of men—like Truman, like Lincoln—who can make the decisions other people aren't willing to make, who can take care of his people even if he has to enslave them, and even if he himself needs to become a monster to do it. The spectators don't know what goes into these decisions, and they don't want to know. Continue reading
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BOSS – S1E05
"Remembered" largely refrains from the show's usual smutty excesses, and scales back the personal soap opera to the point where it complements, but does not dominate, the more interesting goings-on at City Hall. With a strong premise and a clear narrative throughline—focusing on the staff's attempt to control the toxic-waste story—“Remembered” is a tight, tense, breathless hour of television. Continue reading
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BOSS – S1E04
Four episodes in, and I'm starting to feel that the problem with "Boss" may be its main character. Because there's actually a really good show struggling to come together in the space around Thomas Kane. Continue reading
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BOSS – S1E03
I like to imagine the writers' room at Boss as a constant negotiation between the side of the room that wants to do serious political drama and the side of the room that just wants lots and lots of gratuitous sex. In short, the battle for this show's soul is being fought between Team Wonk and Team Wank. Continue reading
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BOSS – S1E02
I ended my review of the first episode of Boss saying that this show's success would depend on its willingness to balance its more sophisticated elements with its more sensationalistic ones. I have to begin this week's review making the same point, because I'm already worried that Boss is not really interested in fighting that battle. "Reflex" hews much closer to the sleazier side of the street than the pilot did. Continue reading
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BOSS – S1E1
In its pilot episode, "Boss" is doing many very ambitious things right, and has the potential to be one of the best new shows of the year. Continue reading
Filed under Boss, TV REVIEWS
