BOARDWALK EMPIRE RECAP: ANGELA DARMODY, WE'LL MISS YOU!

"BOARDWALK EMPIRE" RECAP
SEASON TWO, EPISODE TEN
"GEORGIA PEACHES"

This week: Written by Dave Flebotte and directed by Jeremy Podeswa, "Georgia Peaches" was a doozy. After last week's transitional episode, this one not only moved the situations along but last us with the series' best cliffhanger.
Some key events:

• Dumbstruck by Nucky Thompson's new source for alcohol, Jimmy and his partners look to cultivate a new revenue stream in Atlantic City.

• With the peak tourist season in full flux, the Commodoreʼs crew faces a choice in dealing with the cityʼs striking workers: Negotiate or fight back.

• Fearing that her sins of temptation have led to her daughter's misfortune, Margaret approaches Father Brennan with an “act of devotion.”

• Nucky gets a new lawyer courtesy of Arnold Rothstein.

• Manny Horvitz takes exception to a debt payment and embarks on the ultimate act of revenge.

For my full scene-by-scene annotated recap, historical footnotes, episode videos, tunes from the era and other thoughts, visit NJ.com.

Ep. 22: Inside the Episode

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GOBBLE, GOBBLE...

Here's wishing everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving...

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: NUCKY GOES TO IRELAND

"BOARDWALK EMPIRE" RECAP
SEASON TWO, EPISODE NINE
"BATTLE OF THE CENTURY"

This week: Written by Steve Kornacki and directed by Brad Anderson, "Battle of the Century" is a slower paced and shorter episode than we've been getting. And it feels like a vacation of sorts. And that's not bad. The action and developments have been so fast and furious, it was good to sit back and let the cadence slow down a bit and watch Anderson's low-key direction. Definitely a transitional episode and a damn good one at that. Some key events:

• Arriving in Belfast, Nucky Thompson and right-hand man Owen Sleater meet with IRA leaders with a barter proposition.

• In Atlantic City, Jimmy Darmody and his partners broker a deal with George Remus for his medicinal alcohol before taking a break to take in the Dempsey-Carpentier fight.

• Margaret Schroeder frets when Emilyʼs sudden illness takes a turn for the worse.

• Former Chalky White cellmate Dunn Purnsley orchestrates a workerʼs strike at the Ritz-Carlton.

• Philly bootlegger Waxey Gordon takes action against Manny Horvitz in Philadelphia but the butcher turns out to be much tougher than expected.

• U.S. Attorney Esther Randolph and Agent Clifford Lathrop grill Deputy Halloran about Nuckyʼs past and Eli's involvement with the Hans Schroeder murder.

For my full scene-by-scene annotated recap, historical footnotes, episode videos, tunes from the era and other thoughts, visit NJ.com.

Ep. 21: Inside the Episode

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: NUCKY TAKES A STEP BACK; JIMMY RISES

"BOARDWALK EMPIRE" RECAP
SEASON TWO, EPISODE EIGHT
"TWO BOATS AND A LIFEGUARD"

THIS WEEK: Written by series creator Terence Winter and directed by 'Empire' and 'The Sopranos' vet Tim Van Patten, "Two Boats and a Lifeguard" explores the theme of the relationship between and father and son.
Some key moments:

• In the wake of a personal loss, Nucky Thompson seeks advice on his political and municipal trouble from Arnold Rothstein and Johnny Torrio.

• Eli -- being Eli -- remains suspicious of brother Nucky's actions and feels that Jimmy may be ill-equipped to take those reins.

• Nucky finds himself in the unfamiliar position of showing gratitude toward a federal agent.

• After eavesdropping on her husband's treachery, Jimmy's wife Angela meets a new 'friend' on the beach.

• G-Man Nelson Van Alden hires a live-in nanny to take care of his little girl Abigail.

• Nucky approaches his right-hand man Owen Sleater with an overseas proposition.

• Jimmy Darmody flexes his muscles at poor Mickey Doyle's expense.

For my full scene-by-scene annotated recap, historical footnotes, episode videos, tunes from the era and other thoughts, visit NJ.com.



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THE VAGRANT WRITER (GUEST POST)

This is a guest post by Caleb J Ross (also known as Caleb Ross, to people who hate Js) as part of his "Stranger Will Tour for Strange" blog tour. He will be guest-posting beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of his second novel, "I Didn’t Mean to Be Kevin" and novella, "As a Machine and Parts," in November 2011.

If you have connections to a lit blog of any type, professional journal or personal site, please contact him. To be a groupie and follow this tour, subscribe to the Caleb J Ross blog RSS feed. Follow him on Twitter: @calebjross.com. Friend him on Facebook: Facebook.com/rosscaleb

~~~

Am I the only one who sees construction sites and bridge embankments not as evidenc

e of urban sprawl but as potential office space? I often romanticize writing not just in terms of capital-A Art, but in terms of environment, too. Writing, to me, means dank bars, an unfinished basement corner, a notebook on a park bench, and every time I pass them, construction sites and bridge embankments. They aren’t just for homeless people.

I have this idea for a novella series. Each book would be written in a different setting. I’d spend a week on a Florida beach and crank out a draft of a novella, possibly set at that beach, possibly only subconsciously influenced by the beach. The title of the novella would contain a reference to the setting. Maybe simply The Ocean. Then, I’d spend a week in fleabag motels, doing the same. Then a week at a hostel in Chicago. Then a week under a highway bridge. A week at the same stool in the same bar. Literary tourism, but on a much more focused scale.

Who’s done this? Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises (Madrid and Pamplona, Spain). John Kennedy Toole in A Confederacy of Dunces (New Orleans, Louisiana). But these examples explore real cities on a macro level. I want to explore the micro. Hemingway describes much of Madrid and Pamplona. I want an entire novella in Botin’s restaurant in Madrid. Toole uses food carts throughout his book. I want an entire novella about a single, specific food cart.

A vintage hotel just down the street from my house, The White Haven, was recently torn down. The lot is empty. Maybe, The White Haven would be a great name for a book about the old getting obliterated for the sake of the new. One underpass in particular, just a few miles north, shelters an unusually large number of homeless people. Maybe 670 & Truman would be a good name for a book about a group of homeless trying to survive in Kansas City.

The trick would be to keep these novellas free of gimmickry. These would be legitimate stories, not dependent on the setting, but instead leveraging the setting to inform the story. Is it possible? Would anyone care to read these things?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrism70/

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'BOARDWALK EMPIRE' RECAP: TROUBLE IN BABETTE'S; MARGARET SOUL SEARCHES

BOARDWALK EMPIRE RECAP
SEASON TWO, EPISODE SEVEN
"PEG OF OLD"

THIS WEEK: Directed by Allen Coulter and written by Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki and Bathsheba Doran, "Peg of Old" delved in the concept of family, isolation and secrecy.

Some key moments:

• Nucky enlists heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey to promote the wireless broadcast of his upcoming Jersey City bout.

• Receiving pressure from his mini-syndicate, Jimmy Darmody faces a decision that could shape the future of Atlantic City. But is it the right one?

• Margaret Schroeder travels to Brooklyn for a bittersweet reunion with the family she left behind in Ireland. In the process, she soul searches with the help of someone very unlikely.

• Irked by the arrival of Attorney General Harry Daughertyʼs new federal prosecutor, Esther Randolph, Nelson Van Alden weighs his options as his personal and professional problems converge.

• Badly in need of financial support, Lucy visits old flame Nucky.

• Owen Sleater settles an old score, sets his sights on a new conquest and drops the ball on a major responsibility.

For my full scene-by-scene annotated recap, historical footnotes, episode videos, tunes from the era and other thoughts, visit NJ.com

Ep. 19 - Inside the Episode