Boss is the best television series ever created.
The first episode was directed by Gus Van Sant, and I believe that the pilot director "sets the tone" so to speak for the rest of the show. It is some of his finest work to date, so he set a great precedent that rest of the show carries on. Every shot feels artistic and careful, and with the use of the background music some particular shots are very gripping and memorable.
But it is not merely the direction that delivers. The concept and overall content is very unique. To briefly summarize, the show is about a fictitious mayor of Chicago, Tom Kane, played by Kelsey Grammer. But, to say it is merely about politics is vastly understating. It is in fact true that most of the content involves the political games and corruption therein, but the fact that the show is also so personal, to a very biting, uncomfortable degree, IN ITSELF speaks volumes about these politicians' real lives and the reality behind the curtains of our world today. It's an absolutely fresh mix of perspectives, the personal and the political, which in itself suggests that the two are fused together. In other words Tom Kane has no personal life; it almost entirely consists of his games of power. It is slightly reminiscent of Milk, one of Van Sant's works, which had a similar extremely personal perspective on political figure Harvey Milk, but differing in that he was trying to spread one specific message about only one specific cultural item, homosexuality.
This show truly goes deep into the world of these people. They are so far into their own worlds of political power they often forget they are even human. However, from the very opening scene you learn that Tom Kane has Dementia with Lewy Bodies, a disease very similar to Alzheimer's. From the very start our main character is hit in the face with a reality check that he is in fact just human, no matter how immense his political power. From the very beginning, Kane, and subsequently we the viewer, are reminded that he is mortal and in fact only has 3-5 years left of sanity/normal functioning, which sharply contrasts his position of power over his city. This extra layer, Kane's disease, is what really sets this show above everything else I've ever seen. This quite frankly makes it go from fresh and unique to exceptional. Oftentimes, just as the viewer gets caught up in Kane's political world and is once again forgetting his mortality, it is disturbingly shown to us as he experiences small episodes of losing his mind and freezing up or shaking during speeches or in meetings. This disease provides a very abstract feel to the show on top of the personal experience, since most of it is from Kane's perspective. The way these parts are directed and composed, as mentioned before, is very well-done.
The show is in fact so uncomfortably personal and behind-the-curtains that the public image becomes the background, only comprising a very small percentage of the whole content. Public speeches and television appearances, while they do happen, are not at all the focus. Even while they're happening on the show, you can feel the show telling you they're complete bull and just Kane (or whoever) doing his job while something entirely else is on his mind. He just wants to get it over with and the show tells you this by showing you the before and after of the public event. It in fact becomes something almost abstract in itself because of how foreign and unnatural it feels compared to the rest of the show. The show succeeds in turning familiar things like public speeches and political events into something very relatively unfamiliar, giving it a new perspective.
The pacing of the show is very chaotic which fits perfectly with the chaotic lives of these political figures. It jumps from scene to scene rampantly, constantly adding on new goings-on without much transition or time to catch up. Not once is there even any room or time for breath or questioning of morals. The show does not necessarily try to expose the evils of politics; of course it does so but this is not the focus. The focus is, again, mostly personal. But in doing so it exudes a very realistic perspective on the lack of morals associated with politics. It doesn't try to pit "good vs. evil" but just shows that all these people are playing a game against each other, and they sacrifice basically everything for it: family, children, morals, personal life, it all goes out the window. A game of power. This is the focus of mostly every politician on this show, big or small.
The acting is very good; Kelsey Grammer is now one of my favorite actors because of this show. But everyone else is very believable too in their roles. Kane's wife, played by Connie Nielsen, had a very good sense of the scathing, "controlled" form of speech often associated with women in this position of power. Also the writing is well-done; a lot of lines bite to the core and others are just plain hilarious. For example, after a man tells Kane basically his whole life story and how it relates to him being state treasurer and how his decisions impact everyone, all with a very positive strong tone of voice, Kane simply responds with a small laugh, which basically discarded everything he just said.
There's really nothing I can complain about; the show just delivers in every way. Which is why I have no problem or hesitation calling it the best show ever created.
The first episode was directed by Gus Van Sant, and I believe that the pilot director "sets the tone" so to speak for the rest of the show. It is some of his finest work to date, so he set a great precedent that rest of the show carries on. Every shot feels artistic and careful, and with the use of the background music some particular shots are very gripping and memorable.
But it is not merely the direction that delivers. The concept and overall content is very unique. To briefly summarize, the show is about a fictitious mayor of Chicago, Tom Kane, played by Kelsey Grammer. But, to say it is merely about politics is vastly understating. It is in fact true that most of the content involves the political games and corruption therein, but the fact that the show is also so personal, to a very biting, uncomfortable degree, IN ITSELF speaks volumes about these politicians' real lives and the reality behind the curtains of our world today. It's an absolutely fresh mix of perspectives, the personal and the political, which in itself suggests that the two are fused together. In other words Tom Kane has no personal life; it almost entirely consists of his games of power. It is slightly reminiscent of Milk, one of Van Sant's works, which had a similar extremely personal perspective on political figure Harvey Milk, but differing in that he was trying to spread one specific message about only one specific cultural item, homosexuality.
This show truly goes deep into the world of these people. They are so far into their own worlds of political power they often forget they are even human. However, from the very opening scene you learn that Tom Kane has Dementia with Lewy Bodies, a disease very similar to Alzheimer's. From the very start our main character is hit in the face with a reality check that he is in fact just human, no matter how immense his political power. From the very beginning, Kane, and subsequently we the viewer, are reminded that he is mortal and in fact only has 3-5 years left of sanity/normal functioning, which sharply contrasts his position of power over his city. This extra layer, Kane's disease, is what really sets this show above everything else I've ever seen. This quite frankly makes it go from fresh and unique to exceptional. Oftentimes, just as the viewer gets caught up in Kane's political world and is once again forgetting his mortality, it is disturbingly shown to us as he experiences small episodes of losing his mind and freezing up or shaking during speeches or in meetings. This disease provides a very abstract feel to the show on top of the personal experience, since most of it is from Kane's perspective. The way these parts are directed and composed, as mentioned before, is very well-done.
The show is in fact so uncomfortably personal and behind-the-curtains that the public image becomes the background, only comprising a very small percentage of the whole content. Public speeches and television appearances, while they do happen, are not at all the focus. Even while they're happening on the show, you can feel the show telling you they're complete bull and just Kane (or whoever) doing his job while something entirely else is on his mind. He just wants to get it over with and the show tells you this by showing you the before and after of the public event. It in fact becomes something almost abstract in itself because of how foreign and unnatural it feels compared to the rest of the show. The show succeeds in turning familiar things like public speeches and political events into something very relatively unfamiliar, giving it a new perspective.
The pacing of the show is very chaotic which fits perfectly with the chaotic lives of these political figures. It jumps from scene to scene rampantly, constantly adding on new goings-on without much transition or time to catch up. Not once is there even any room or time for breath or questioning of morals. The show does not necessarily try to expose the evils of politics; of course it does so but this is not the focus. The focus is, again, mostly personal. But in doing so it exudes a very realistic perspective on the lack of morals associated with politics. It doesn't try to pit "good vs. evil" but just shows that all these people are playing a game against each other, and they sacrifice basically everything for it: family, children, morals, personal life, it all goes out the window. A game of power. This is the focus of mostly every politician on this show, big or small.
The acting is very good; Kelsey Grammer is now one of my favorite actors because of this show. But everyone else is very believable too in their roles. Kane's wife, played by Connie Nielsen, had a very good sense of the scathing, "controlled" form of speech often associated with women in this position of power. Also the writing is well-done; a lot of lines bite to the core and others are just plain hilarious. For example, after a man tells Kane basically his whole life story and how it relates to him being state treasurer and how his decisions impact everyone, all with a very positive strong tone of voice, Kane simply responds with a small laugh, which basically discarded everything he just said.
There's really nothing I can complain about; the show just delivers in every way. Which is why I have no problem or hesitation calling it the best show ever created.