Boomtown - Series 1 - Episodes 1 To 9 Details

An acquired taste

I don't actually watch television as broadcast. Only DVDs. I had heard some reports of Boomtown being a lacklustre show but figured I'd give it a go in spite of these reports because I was curious about the whole multi-angle feature of the show.

As it turns out this is perhaps the least exciting thing about Boomtown and I can see that many viewers might be disappointed at the way it quickly devolves from being the all-angles super spectacular promised by the ads into a solid and respectable cop show that certainly has its moments.

Moments in question are mostly served up by the excellent core cast and the three leads Wahlberg, Williamson and McDonough. Each of these characters is three dimensional and each actor plays their part with uncommon brilliance. McDonough is a stand out as the usual lawyer on the horns of every standard lawyer ethical dilemma: politics and career vs. justice and decency etc. The only outstanding thing about the character is McDonough's performance. He breathes life into a pretty cliched part.

Williamson, on the other hand, plays Bobby 'Fearless' Smith down just enough to let the unusual angle of the character through. Wahlberg is an absolute revelation as Joel Stevens playing every beat of a difficult character with conviction and humanity.

The hype would have you believe that the other characters were just as important to the flavour of Boomtown but in the end this simply isn't the case. The paramedic, particularly, got a rough deal because although technically speaking she was one of the leads she got a total of maybe thirty minutes screen time all told.

This is a weird show, and quite difficult to get a handle on. But if you stick with it and accept the fact that none of the answers are easy then you'll probably be as affected by the characterisations as I was.

The show was cancelled in the States, not being a big enough hit. I can fully see why this would have happened but personally I am sorry the show didn't get a chance to grow and develop.

If you missed it on television and have a taste for something a little different in weighty TV drama I would definitely recommend this, I really enjoyed it when expecting not to. If you are looking for something a bit more obvious and established whether we're talking The Sopranos or CSI (which are just as good but easier to get your head around) and have no patience for something off the beaten track, then don't bother.

[Highly rated reviewer]

reasonably entertaining

This TV drama series is not bad entertainment...

interesting concept of seeing an episode's events from the perspectives of each of the key characters, though this was done a little more ham-fistedly than I had imagined.

The series is fast-moving and watchable, but that's about it - don't expect anything too special or groundbreaking, after shows like The Shield and The Wire, this is pretty pedestrian American TV that thinks it's cutting edge due to a central gimmick, rather than actually being cutting edge through brilliantly -told stories or truly believable characters.

That said, it's by no means terrible, just easy viewing. I saw the first disc, then moved the rest of the series down in my priority rating, which says it best - I'll watch it at some point, but I'm not fussed when.

Decent performances and okay writing.