haggis' imaginative uses of others' imaginations make me hate anything he does before he does it. he's a hack, pure and simple. except when it comes to racial jokes, apparently, he's oscar-worthy.

Jon I, I couldn't make it past your first three sentences without falling out of my chair laughing. Malik, you're right on. This was a bad mish-mash of GOODFELLAS and BAZ LUHRMAN'S ROMEO & JULIET. There isn't a worse writer alive than Paul Haggis (having taken the place of fellow Oscar-winning hack Akiva Goldsman) and his painfully unsubtle, in your face irony (which practically beams with neon signs informing you of said irony). Hated it.… Collapse

This gets better than a zero because Jonathan Tucker resembles a young Steven Weber. Beyond that I seriously can't imagine a worse way to rip off the Sopranos. At least that show was well-written. This is an immense waste. And someone please explain to me how this isn't a bad example of what The Godfather was a good example of--family "triumphing" in a downward spiral while dragging a possible shining star down with them. This show is 'how not to do a crime drama.'… Expand

Unbelievably bad! A dark brooding boring story about a bunch of completely uninteresting losers. One episode was all I could force myself to watch -- and even then I switched it off after the first half-hour. There's no way I would waste another minute of my life with this piece of crap! Note to NBC: Please please please ... bring back Studio 60!!

For future reference, neophyte Soprano-wannabe writers: mob violence barely worked for Tony and his gang, and after a couple of seasons, it became really tedious and downright boring. Yet at least it incorporated something at least in part based on fact: the Italian mafia. You know what nationality DOESN'T have a mafia? THE IRISH! What's worse is that the writers of The Black Donnellys (including Paul Haggis, who may or may not be the greatest unintentional comic of all time) don't seem to realize that there's a difference. Look, nationalities in this country (the non-mutt kind, I mean) have a lot to say about who and where we've been and who and where we'll be. But when you put up the equation Sopranos - Italians + Irish = x, you have to remember that x equals bull-crap. You cannot simply swap out one nationality for the other and keep everything else the same. Do you think anyone would believe a bunch of Italians cavorting around in drunken stupors at a wake? Of course they wouldn't. You know why? Because that's what the Irish do, not the Italians. This was as stupid an idea as the attempt to make black kids white (or vice-versa) in various Saturday Morning kids' shows. It's ridiculous, and Haggis ought to be stripped of his Oscar, as well as any residual acclaim he gets for creating the World's Greatest Comedic Hero, Cordell Walker, for attaching his name to something that's so vapid, even George Bush (the one from "That's My Bush," not the president) could see through it.… Expand

Just can't get into it

Acting and writing? The only reason I watch this show is to see how much worse it can get, The lead characters N.Y. accent is worse then my spelling and the Irish thing is over done to the 10th power. Send the cast back to thier treehouse, the only thing I like about this show is the lead actress and she gets pulled down by the terrible show.Give me a knife so I can stick it in my eyes and ears, turn it off, no let me watch five more minutes of this train wreck.… Expand

Expected much more. Not much effort put into the script. Very dissapointing

Garbage.

Wow I was mildly interested in this show when I first saw the previews. I did have some hope but I should have known Haggis would ruin the concept which in principle could be something entertaining to watch. But alas from what I could tell from the first episode the writing is very poor and the story shifting around blindly was something I found very annoying. Also the show had several failed attempts at being funny through playing on typical stereotypes of the Irish which was really just sad. All the characters are one dimensional as is the plot. I might keep watching to see if the show gets any better but if the first ep was any indication The black donnelys is a show that isn't gonna be around for long. By the way the narrator in the show, guy in prison, was very very annoying.… Expand

One of the worst pilots I have even seen in my life.

The show had some good acting on the part of the main couple, but the whole setup was implausible and the writing was full of cliches, starting with the unsufferable narrator. I am glad it did not last.

is it me or are almost all of the characters unlikable