Absolutely Fantastic

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Although I have to agree with another review that the authenticity of the series is quite good, from the locations, to the clothes, to the interiors, and even to the smoking (whew.. I was 12 in 1965, but I do remember a lot of people smoking). The acting also is good/very good, with a few over-the-top actors (and accents...). But I have an issue where there is no clear 'good' guy(s) here, and so there is really no one to cheer for. The cops are almost as crooked as the gangsters, and they rationalize what they do by saying that the crimes are 'victimless', and that people will participate in gambling, prostitution anyway. Bad rationalization there, and it's been used before. I can't believe that all the cops were assholes, as depicted in this series, and also can't believe that were that many on the take. Cops are depicted badly here, regardless of why they are doing what they're doing. Some would say they are only human... I think is also a rationalization. Anyway, I will keep watching for a while to see where the series goes. Hopefully, one of the cops will come along that we can root for, that at least becomes conflicted what he/she is doing. For the most part, this series seems like a vanity project for Ed Burns.

I expect better from Edward Burns. The writing is mediocre. They are apparently unaware that there are pedantic old folks who are still alive who remember 1962-63 and they take enormous liberties with hair styles, clothing and music. Very sloppy.They get the men right for the most part but there were NO GUYS wearing shoulder length hair in NYC then and certainly no hoodlums- "hey Mary- nice hair" would have been the least of it. The skirts are too short and colorful paisley prints were 4-5 years in the offing.The Doors and Los Bravos (awesome song Black is Black) also a few years away. Nobody was "hanging out" in 1963. It's all too distracting from what had the potential to be a good show.

Although only 1 episode has aired on TNT so far 3 more are "on demand"on my cable system so I've seen 4, and while I love the 60's setting of the series I'm not sure where the plot is going.I've seen enough series to know a first season can often be that way so as long as the surroundings hold and the acting is good,stay with it for awhile.I'm hoping eventually for a Serpico meets Goodfellas or something along those lines down the road.The show seems to stand on Edward Burns as a actor and creator of the show with a push from Steven Spielbergs production company.So there's not much to say other than I feel good about its chances and recommend as a gritty NYC cops and criminals set peace

OK, I'm not saying this is the best show on TV but it does have potential. As with all TV shows first episode it's setting the scene. This is 1960's new york... there is corruption which in my eyes can lead to thrilling story lines. Let us hope this show can deliver.I vow to give this show at least another two episodes before considering ditching. I don't think it's fair to write off any TV show after the first episode unless it's about something you have absolutely no interest in.On the down side I do think the "fight" scenes could have been better done. They looked too fake.