History Series / BoardwalkEmpire

''Boardwalk Empire'' is an {{HBO}} drama, set in Atlantic City, [[{{Joisey}} New Jersey]] in TheRoaringTwenties -- the end of the war, the upturn in the market, and the beginning of Prohibition. It is written by Terence Winter; the pilot episode was directed by MartinScorsese. HBO picked up the series for a twelve-episode first season, and it debuted September 19, 2010. A second season was announced after the pilot registered one of the highest followings in the network's history. The third season of the show was aired during the second half of 2012 and a fourth has already been greenlit.

* SuddenlySignificantCity: As Arnold Rothstein puts it, Atlantic City is an extension of Nucky Thompson; a convenience of geography and supply. In in [[BigAppleSauce New York]] and not in Jersey where things "actually matter". The sudden prominency of the city is a credit to Thompson's ingenuity and resourcefulness.

-->--'''Nucky Thompson''', speaking for [[BlackAndGrayMorality pretty much everyone]].

* ShutUpHannibal: Margaret's response to Lucy's attempts at a HannibalLecture.

* BlatantLies:
** When Mr. Rosetti begins to take over Tabor Heights, he claims to be D.L. Collingsworth, a proprietor whose family goes way back, slept with GeorgeWashington and everything. Naturally his gas station has no fuel. Owen can't keep a straight face when he's confronted by this absurdness.
** When Nucky goes into hiding during a MobWar, a MediaScrum pesters the mayor about where he is. His response that "Nucky Thompson does not control this city, I do!" is met with a [[{{Beat}} brief]] StunnedSilence, and then gales of laughter.

** [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted Inverted]] offscreen during an attemp on [[spoiler: Masseria's]] life at a Turkish bath. [[spoiler: Owen]] gets killed instead.

* {{Joisey}}

* SuddenlySignificantCity: As Arnold Rothstein puts it, Atlantic City is an extension of Nucky Thompson; a convenience of geography and supply. New York, and not Jersey, is where things "actually matter". The sudden prominency of the city is a credit to Thompson's ingenuity and resourcefulness.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: As far as the people are concerned, Nucky is a pillar of the community and a social celebrity in Atlantic City. In season 3 he also becomes a philanthropist and a Knight of the Church, albeit involuntarily.

** [[spoiler: Gyp Rosetti]] gets backstabed while yelling the song "Barney Google with the Goo Goo Googly Eyes". Oh, the [[UndignifiedDeath indignity]].

* ThirdPersonPerson: George Remus, [[WhosOnFirst much to Al Capone's confusion]].

** When Mr. Rosetti begins to take over Tabor Heights, he claims to be D.L. Collingsworth, a proprietor whose family goes way back, slept with GeorgeWashington and everything. Naturally his gas station has no fuel. Owen can't keep a straight face when he's confronted by this absurdism.

* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler: Jimmy]] - reassuring his assailant that ItGetsEasier, for added awesome points.

* BlatantLies: When Nucky goes into hiding during a MobWar, a MediaScrum pesters the mayor about where he is. His response that "Nucky Thompson does not control this city, I do!" is met with a [[{{Beat}} brief]] StunnedSilence, and then gales of laughter.

** [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted Inverted]] offscreen during an attemp on [[spoiler: Masseria's]] life at a turkish bath. [[spoiler: Owen]] gets killed instead.

** Gyp Rosetti bows to the Almighty. This doesn't preclude Gyp from [[RageAgainstTheHeaven ranting against the Lord]], beating His ministers and robbing His temple.

* RealityEnsues: No matter how Badass and well connected Chalky White is, in the 1920s a black man killing a white Klansman will cause a shitstorm of trouble. No one cares that it might have been self defense or that the Klansman just murdered four black men.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To other HBO period dramas such as ''{{Deadwood}}'' and ''{{Carnivale}}'', with its lavish production values, use of foul language, and nudity; and other mob themed shows, most notably ''Series/TheSopranos''.

* DeadlyBath: [[spoiler: Gillian kills Roger in a bathtub in a perverse effort to gain closure for Jimmy's death.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Although the show isn't over yet, the trope is lampshaded with Mickey Doyle when Eli asks him in season three, "How the hell are you still alive?"

** When he's first introduced, Richard Harrow rattles off his impressive collection of guns. In season 3, we finally see [[LockAndLoadMonrage them all assembled on his bed]]. Shortly thereafter [[spoiler:he stages a one-man assault on Gyp Rosetti's hideout armed with a rifle, shotgun and several handguns]].

** When he's first introduced, Richard Harrow rattles off his impressive collection of guns. In season 3, we finally see them all assembled on his bed. Shortly thereafter [[spoiler:he stages a one-man assault on Gyp Rosetti's hideout armed with a rifle, shotgun and several handguns]].

* RaisedCatholic: Margaret Schroeder. Nucky and Eli too, actually, but far more prominently with Margaret, who starts feeling guilty about living the good life as Nucky's kept woman and has a Catholic relapse in Season 2.

* BodyguardBetrayal: In "Two Imposters" [[spoiler: Rossetti's men are able to get to Nucky's hotel suite]] because one of the men guarding Nucky sold him out. Eddie [[GenreSavvy warned him of exactly that possibility]] just a few minutes earlier because he correctly realized that none of the bodyguards had a personal loyalty to Nucky. In the very next episode, [[spoiler:Nucky gets his own back by sending one of Gyp's men to literally stab him in the back.]]
* BondageIsBad: The violent thug Gyp Rossetti is into {{erotic asphyxiation}} as the stranglee. The season 3 finale makes it clear that he is a submissive.

** The bad state of roads in New Jersey is mentioned from time to time in seasons 1 and 2. In season 2, Nucky engages in a crooked land deal that will make him a fortune when a new road is finally built. In season 3, the fact that there is only one decent road between Atlantic City and New York is the source of a massive problem for Nucky when [[spoiler: Rossetti takes over Tabor Heights and starts to ambush Nucky's delivery trucks]].
** The dog Rossetti gives to Margaret ends up acting as a distraction when [[spoiler: Rossetti's men come to kill Nucky in his hotel suite]].
** When he's first introduced, Richard Harrow rattles off his impressive collection of guns. In season 3, we finally see them all assembled on his bed. Shortly thereafter [[spoiler:he stages a one-man assault on Gyp Rossetti's hideout armed with a rifle, shotgun and several handguns]].

** The Tabor Heights PD. The local sheriff is on Nucky's payroll. After Gyp Rossetti takes control of the town, we discover that [[spoiler:rather than avenge the death of their former sheriff, they simply join Rossetti's side]].

** Season 3 antagonist Gyp Rossetti's first scene in "Resolution". After a man is inadvertently condescending to him, Gyp beats him to death.

** Implied with Gyp Rossetti, as ''enduring'' someone is a big feat for him. He's the only man in a family full of hen-pecking women who bicker with him constantly but clearly have no fear of his HairTriggerTemper. He even forces a minion to attend his Easter dinner so he isn't left alone with them.

* FullFrontalAssault: Gyp Rossetti chases Benny down a hall, blasting away, while wearing nothing but a belt around his neck.

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: And bad people have bad sex, as crazed psychopath Gyp Rossetti also happens to be into erotic asphyxiation.

* GreasySpoon: The gas station diner in Tabor Heights that Gyp Rossetti turns into his office.

** Gyp Rossetti, "a man who can find an insult in a bouquet of roses" is constantly raging for one flimsy reason or another. Displayed in his very first appearance, where he beats a man to death for a moment of inadvertent condescension. He also snaps angrily when Eddie Cantor inadvertently interrupts him.

* InTheBack: How [[spoiler: Gyp Rossetti]] meets his end.

* InheritedIlliteracyTitle: "Bone for Tuna," after a farewell note that Nucky gives Gyp Rosetti. He's trying to say "''Buon Fortuna'', Italian for "Good luck". In-universe the intended courteous deference becomes a ComplimentBackfire, since it enrages Gyp on his way out of Tabor Heights.

** After being told that he might become a "general" one day, Gyp Rossetti steals a Revolutionary War general's hat and wears it in front of his men.

* PapaBear: Richard takes a paternal interest in Tommy. When Julia's father starts manhandling him, Richard tells the man quite flatly that he'll kill him if he keeps it up. Later, [[spoiler:Richard stages a rescue of Tommy from Gillian and Gyp Rossetti's men]].

** The Tabor Heights police. Eli notes that the portly local sheriff was turned down for a job in Atlantic City. He shrugs when Rossetti's men invade the town, asking, "What could I do?" His replacement vows revenge, but Nucky's men are dubious of his chances. It turns out [[spoiler:he and the rest of the police force simply swapped sides]].

** [[HotGuyUglyWife Inverted]] with Gyp Rossetti.

** "Margate Sands", for season three: [[spoiler: Richard pulls a one-man RoaringRampageOfRevenge to get Tommy back, leaving him with Julia and Paul. Rothstein sells out his proteges, sending Luciano to prison and Lansky into further debt to Masseria, and steals Nucky's distillery. Nucky plays the long con on Rothstein, selling him out to Esther Randolph, and orchestrates a massacre of Gyp and Masseria's men. Gyp Rossetti, the BigBad of the season, goes down at the hand of his lieutenant, Tonino]].

** He was shot in the face during WorldWarOne?

* UsefulNotes/TheIrishRevolution: Being fought during the time frame of Seasons 1 and 2. IRA leader [=McGarrigle=] solicits financial support from Nucky, and Owen Sleater hunts down an IRA traitor in Atlantic City. The June 1921 ceasefire threatens an arms deal Nucky is trying to set up with the IRA.

* NoodleIncident: As of yet no one know how Richard came to lose a good portion of his face.

** [[RuthlessForeignGangsters Ruthless Sicilian gangster]] Gyp Rosetti is season three's BigBad in NY/NJ, with Dean O'Banion rising against Al in Chicago.

** Tragically, Gillian is a recursive one for Jimmy, as [[MommyIssues her behavior]] prevented him from having a normal life, despite the efforts of Nucky, a decent ParentalSubstitute. This is taken to a logical conclussion in Season 2 when Jimmy revolts against his parental figures.

** Gyp Rossetti, "a man who can find an insult in a bouquet of roses" is constantly raging for one flimsy reason or antother. Displayed in his very first appearance, where he beats a man to death for a moment of inadvertent condescension. He also snaps angrily when Eddie Cantor inadvertently interrupts him.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Pretty much all of the gangsters who Jimmy associates with in the second season endorse this, and it borders on a life philosophy for Al Capone and Manny Horvitz. Well showcased when [[spoiler: they all recommend killing Nucky, whereas Jimmy wants him imprisoned (and Richard categorically refuses to kill him)]].

** Gillian Darmody is a conniving and vile character with few redeemable traits, but being an orphan with a [[RapeAsBackstory tragic backstory]] -in which Nucky was an enabler- accounts for her wretchedness. The show plays it for empathy a few times.
* Tragically, Gillian is a recursive one for Jimmy, as [[MommyIssues her behavior]] prevented him from having a normal life, despite the efforts of Nucky, a decent ParentalSubstitute. This is taken to a logical conclussion in Season 2 when Jimmy revolts against his parental figures.

** Margaret, arguably, although she's a fairly sympathetic variant. She gets along with Nucky well enough but doesn't really seem to love him all that much, and the Season 1 finale makes clear that she goes back to Nucky because he's rich.

** Gyp Rossetti, displayed in his very first appearance, where he beats a man to death for a moment of inadvertent condescension. He also snaps angrily when Eddie Cantor inadvertently interrupts him.

** Arnold Rothstein is either this or {{asexual}}, since he never pursues women outside of his marriage. Nucky calls him "dead below the waist."

* InTheBack: [[spoiler:Gyp Rosetti's]] death.

* InheritedIlliteracyTitle: "Bone for Tuna," after a note that Nucky gives Gyp Rosetti. He's trying to say "''Buon Fortuna''."

** Gillian is a conniving and vile character with few redeemable traits, but his [[RapeAsBackstory tragic backstory]] -in which Nucky was an enabler- accounts for her wretchedness and the show plays it for empathy a few times. Tragically, she's a recursive one for Jimmy, as [[MommyIssues her behavior]] prevented him from having a normal life.

* ArmsDealer: Nucky engages in an Atlantic trade with the IRA, booze for weapons. Hilariously, one of his partners [[NameIsTheSame assumes]] Nucky is the inventor of the [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns Thompson submachine gun]], but Nucky clarifies it's just a happy coincidence.

** [[spoiler:Gyp Rosetti escapes Nucky but gets backstabbed by Tonino, his terrorized second in command. For an added irony, Tonino apologizes while doing the deed and all but states a motif hated by Gyp; NothingPersonal.]]

* CriminalProcedural: Hardcore, organized crime flavor. The shows explores the criminal ventures and opportunities opened in the wake of the Volstead Act in New Jersey, New York and Chicago.

* DawsonCasting:
** 37 year old Stephen Graham as 21 year old Al Capone.
** Also, 30-year-old Michael Pitt as 23-year-old Jimmy Darmody. It's heightened when playing opposite Gretchen Mol, who's 39 years old, but looks younger and ''plays Jimmy's mother''.
** [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0992195/ Anatol Yusef]] as Meyer Lansky. No ''way'' is he 18.

* FakeNationality:
** The very German Eddie Kessler is played by an American actor, Anthony Laciura. The casting crew was in fact surprised when they learned that Laciura, who had made his entire introduction in a German accent, was actually an Italian-American from the Bronx.
** FakeAmerican: Englishmen Stephen Graham, Anatol Yusef and Jack Huston as AlCapone, Meyer Lansky and Richard Harrow, respectively.
** FakeIrish: Scottish KellyMacdonald and Englishman Charlie Cox as Margaret Rohan Schroeder and Owen Sleater. Also, Scot Tony Curran as Margaret's brother Eamon. The character Mickey Doyle is an in-universe example, being Polish with an assumed Irish name. This also seems to be the case with the character Nucky Thompson, as the real man he is based on was not Irish-American in real life. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that the ethnicities that dominated organized crime at the time were the old immigrants- Irish, Italian, and Jewish- and Thompson is neither Italian or Jewish.

** [[spoiler:Gyp Rosetti.]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** The first casting calls for Season 1 called for the introduction in the season finale of "Declan", Margaret's long estranged brother who was now linked to the [[TheTroubles IRA]]. Instead, Season 2 divided this character and introduced separately Margaret's brother Eamonn, a Brooklyn subway-digger with no interest in politics, and Owen, an IRA enforcer completely unrelated to Margaret.
** Aleksa Palladino revealed in an interview that one considered plot line for the 3rd season involved Angela and Jimmy moving to NYC, and Angela meeting a female activist that would introduce her to Anarchism.
** Terence Winter and Dabney Coleman later confirmed that The Commodore was supposed to have a bigger part in the second season, but that they had to trim most of it after Coleman was diagnosed with throat cancer, whose treatment made him unable to speak. [[spoiler: It was only then when they wrote the stroke in. This all but confirms that Jimmy's storyline was originally intended to last at least three seasons, but that they had to speed things up and comprise it in the second season so Nucky wouldn't be left without an opponent for most of it.]]

** Gillian hits the note from time to time - when she writes to Jimmy, when she realizes that Tommy prefers Richard to her, and every time she revisits her RapeAsBackstory.

** DragonAscendant [[spoiler: Jimmy Darmody]], who becomes the real threat to Nucky in season two.

* PlaceWorseThanDeath: Seems to be Rothstein's view of New Jersey and he let's Thompson know during his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
--> '''Arnold''': ...you expect me to start a war...in New York...where things actually matter?

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