"Boardwalk Empire": S01E01 - Scorcese's new series proves to be his best work since "Casino"

I have been looking forward to this for the past 2 months, and it surely didn't disappoint me. Set in Atlantic City in 1920, the story follows Nucky Thompson, the treasurer of Atlantic City and local crook. Once prohibition hits the country, Nucky decides to get into the business of smuggling liquor. Steve Buscemi has always been one of my favorite actors, and I'm really glad to see him in a starring role.

Nucky rubs elbows with the likes of some seriously shady characters, including real-life gangsters Lucky Luciano and Al Capone (Stephen Young as a very young Al Capone, before his days in Chicago). Nucky also has the help of ex-soldier and local gun-for-hire Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt). As he works with the other Atlantic City officials, Nucky keeps a close eye on his lucrative business. He makes sure to play into politics, for example, expressing his support of the suffrage movement at a local Women's Conference. Nucky also demonstrates his ability to help the locals with some hard-earned cash. Scorcese is certainly painting Nucky Thompson as the crook we're all going to love, just as Dexter is the serial killer we all adore. And the cop who will be on the case? Michael Shannon as Van Alden, the God-fearing man who swears to rid the world of liquor.

Also, a very big surprise for those of you who watched "The Wire," looks like Omar Little (Michael K. Williams) will be a regular on the show! He was amazing on "The Wire," and it's great to see him acting again!

I'm no expert, but the art direction and costumes seem to be pretty dead-on. It's rare to see a historically-set TV series or movie without it feeling like one big stereotype.

Although it's too early to tell if the entire series itself will prove Emmy-worthy, the first episode certainly caught my attention. I am very excited for next Sunday!