A quick review of tonight’s “Boss” coming up just as soon as I know if you’re a Mac or a PC…
This show continues to be a great showcase for Kelsey Grammer, and “Reflex” also gave Jeff Hephner some more time to shine as the too-good-to-be-true Ben Zajac, and hit hard on Tom’s fear of his impending ruin and demise (first with the funeral for the 92-year-old politician, then with the visit to his ailing father-in-law) without it somehow feeling sledgehammer-y.
On the other hand, Tom’s daughter continues to be a weak spot, and the sex and nudity was even more brow-furrowing this week than last. Zajac and Kitty having a quickie in a stairwell is dangerous but potentially okay; the right mix for one or two people who need to add some thrills to their sex. Zajac and Kitty doing it in an open corridor of a public building, with a column shielding them only from some angles? Silly – though possibly not as silly as Tom meeting with a hooker in an apartment with uncovered floor-to-ceiling windows. And the way that Tom and Ezra set up Zajac to look like a hero seemed way too convoluted; surely, Sam wouldn’t be the only reporter to find all of this just way too good to be true, no?
The premiere ratings were fairly soft, which isn’t a surprise. It’s one thing for an ultra-violent, ultra-naked drama like “Spartacus” to get people sit down Friday nights at 10, and another for a more cerebral drama about modern urban politics to try. As this is pay cable, I imagine other things matter more than ratings, and if Grammer starts getting some significant awards nominations (or even wins), that may be all Chris Albrecht needs to keep it around. (UPDATE: And, of course, I’d forgotten that Albrecht already ordered a second season before the show debuted, so the ratings matter not at all right now.)
But I’m curious how many of you watched the premiere and then came back for week two – and how many of you are in it for the long haul with this show, whatever that may be.
What did everybody else think?