Babette Hughes's Blog, page 3

DOWNTON ABBEY, Season 3, Episode 1

Last night money reared its vulgar head among the gentle aristocrats of Downton Abbey’s third season. It almost wrecked the marriage of Mathew and Lady Mary when he refused to use his inherited windfall to save Downton Abbey, suddenly on the brink of bankruptcy. Cora’s wealthy American mother, Martha, arriving for Mary’s and Mathew’s wedding, also refused to help. Daisy downstairs hasn't received her promotion from kitchen maid to kitchen assistant. The place is understaffed. The formidable Lord Crawley of Downton Abbey is brought down to tears. No one has the faintest idea how to survive without valets, ladies’ maids, footmen, butlers, cooks, chauffeurs. Who knows what pitfalls remain as the Crawlely’s are brought kicking and screaming into the real world? And who cares?            I do! And according to the New York Times I am not alone. More than 120 million viewers in Sweden, Russia, South Korea, the Middle East and dozens of other locales are also addicted.            We wait to see what happens to Mr. Bates in prison for murdering his wife; Mrs. Hughes’ cancer; Tom’s dirty tricks; Martha’s American maid’s kisses. But unlike in real life, the plotting is too deliciously predictable to have to really worry about the Crawleys’ fate. All we have to do is relax in vicarious luxury and watch. 

How big is the Fiscal Cliff Drop Off? Comparing today's recession to The Great Depression

The other night I saw Ken Burns’ Documentary on PBS about the Kansas Dust Bowl. In 1933, during the Great Depression, huge black clouds dumped layers of sand and dust over everything and everyone, killing cattle with famine and people with dust pneumonia.  Moving east it dumped four million tons of prairie dirt on Chicago.      Watching, I was reminded of living through that awful time in Cleveland. My bootlegging father had been murdered in a turf war with the Mafia, leaving my mother with two children to raise during the Great Depression. A young widow, she worked in the Engineering Department in the City Hall. The City of Cleveland was so broke it paid its employees in “script” which was like Monopoly play money. On payday my mother would put me in the car, drive to the grocery store, and send me in to ask if they took script. I was 8 years old. Too humiliated to go in herself she waited in the car at the curb. The answer was usually “no” so she would drive to another store and another until I came back to the car with the good news that that store actually took script. Then she would go in and buy groceries.     Some have compared the Depression to the 2009 Recession, but there is no parallel. Unemployment went from 3% in 1929 to 25% after the Wall Street Crash. Fully half of Cleveland workers were jobless. There were long soup lines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 90% of its value. Scores of people were killing themselves.     Potatoes were a penny a pound. You could feed a family for a week on five dollars. Cars cost $500 and had a terrific rumble seat that opened in the back.  Rent for a three-room apartment was $60 a month. Movies cost a dime.     Rightly or wrongly President Herbert Hoover was blamed. The shanty towns of tents people had to live in were called Hoovervilles. Food dished out in soup lines was called Hoover Stew; Hoover blankets were newspapers; Hoover Wagons the broken down cars that were pulled by mules.     But it was a better America. We were like family looking out for each other, united in our mutual struggle and shared experience. There was not the bitter personal and political polarization that exists today or the abyss between the rich and poor or Washington’s political paralysis. Even Al Capone opened a soup kitchen.     Surely we never want to return to those heartbreaking and dangerous years. But perhaps we can learn something from them.

BOARDWALKE EMPIRE: Season 3, Episode 12

The season finale started with guns a blazing, and unfortunately not everyone survived the war. Sorry Gyp lovers. He was just too insane to live, but I have faith in the Boardwalk Empire writers to create a new outlandish character in Season Four. This season wrapped up with lots of people finally getting what they deserve. Unfortunately, Gillian made the cut. I wish Gyp was a dominant instead of a submissive. I guess we will have to deal with the psychotic woman for another season. Thank goodness Harrow took Tommy to safety. Nucky is starting a new world of problems for himself though. He has sent the FEDS to the hooch warehouse -- incriminating Arnold Rothstein and Joe Masseria.  Season Three is over, and I have to say, I find myself mildly disappointed. The episodes seem consistently predictable with a few oddities being exposed. We saw Gillian killing the Jimmy look-alike from a mile away. We predicted Owen Sleater’s death, and Gyp definitely had it coming by deductive reasoning. Am I getting used to the writers’ style or is the series taking a true nose dive?Several Boardwalk Empire fans have expressed disappointment with the amount of time the show spent on women's health issues. I love to see the historical aspects of the Prohibition era! Of course the turf wars and the booze runs are thrilling, but there is a lot to learn from this period. The government is intervening on social issues. Women's health, substance use --why are these issues being regulated by the United States government?Now it’s time to spend the next few months studying the history of Nucky Johnson, Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Joe Masseria. Stay tuned to the blog to see if we can figure out next season’s plot.
 
 

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: Season 3, Episode 11

It looks like the Boardwalk Empire fans who have been screaming for more Capone, Luciano, Chalky and Harroware finally going to get their wish! I cannot wait to see how this turf war is going to play out! I have a feeling Gyp Rossetti’s days are numbered – seven to be exact.
I didn’t think the writers had any more room to ramp up the climax to this saga, but it looks like they were able to make the climax point the size of a pin head last night. Margaret and the kids have safely escaped, whether that is from Nucky or Gyp Rossetti’s henchmen is not known yet. It looks like we will have to wait a year to find out how Owen perished and what the next move is for the Thompson relationship.
Nucky and Eddie are taking refuge on the north of the tracks, and Nucky finally knows who is truly willing to back him. Eddie took a bullet for the man, and Chalky is risking his life and the lives of his community members for the man who has denied him everything this season. Why are Eddie and Chalky backing Nucky? I guess it is the only way Chalky knows he will gain any leverage in Atlantic City. Gyp surely isn’t going to give Chalky the turf and respect he deserves. We still don’t know why Eddie puts up with Nucky’s abuse. Hopefully Nucky’s eyes stay open to who helps him out of this jam.
Speaking of men who have finally had enough abuse from their captors, I cannot wait to see Harrow finally give Gillian what is coming to her. I want him to take Tommy away from that nightmare and to live a happy and healthy life with Julia. I really have a feeling that Harrow is going to not only save Tommy but also Nucky and the rest of the Atlantic City gang.
Body Count Prediction: I think Gyp’s time is up next week, and I think Harrow is going to be the one to send him to his maker.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: SEASON 3, EPISODE 10

Unfortunately, my body count prediction was correct for this episode. Margaret and all of the female viewers swooning over Owen are heartbroken. Even I woke up this morning feeling a little sad for Margaret. What is she going to do? Pregnant with Owen’s child, and we all know she hasn’t been physically romantic with Nucky. If she knows what’s best for her, she’ll buck up and perform her wifely duties or she’ll end up at the bottom of the sea with Owen, instead of in St. Louis. OR, she can continue with her plan to move west with only the children.
Killing the wife off in mobster stories is a very touchy area. First reason being, the first suspect in any woman’s death is the husband. Secondly, why kill her when you can make her pay for her adultery for years to come. Maybe Nucky will once again see the helpless woman that he fell in love with and grow a heart. After all, he did just lose his love only weeks ago. Speaking of which, how is Nucky healed from his PTSD symptoms so quickly? No ear ringing, no shell shock, no flashbacks.
I was hoping this season would bring more in terms of Harrow. It is great that Harrowhas found love, but it’s looking like he is setting himself up for making the body count list. Not only does it look like he is thinking of taking Tommy from Gillian Darmody but now he is on the old man’s list.
Both Margaret and Harrowhave intentions of making a run for it, and if there is anything I know as a mafia crime writer it is that no one escapes without either dying or getting their hands bloody.
Body Count: There are so many people that could make the chopping block next week! Margaret for cheating, Harrowfor beating up an old man, Gillian so Harrow can take Jimmy, and Gyp for the turf war and just being plain evil. We have two more episodes, and I have a feeling Gyp is going to get it. Maybe Chalky will come to Nucky’s rescue once more by killing Gyp, and he will get that club after all.

Boardwalk Empire, Season 3, Episode 9, ‘The Milkmaid’s Lot’

Steve Buscemi did an amazing job with portraying a wide array of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in last night’s episode. Is it coincidental that Nucky battled with PTSD on Veteran’s Day? Was this a tribute to today’s understanding of what our soldiers inherit from war? The writers could have chosen many ways for Nucky to grieve Billie’s death. I believe this is just another social history lesson Boardwalk Empire is trying to tie into the series.
Fortunately, for the more brutish of Boardwalk fans there was no mention of women’s health or any other such “drama”. Is it just me or are there a large amount of fans that are just into the show for the violence and action? I personally find the look into the social issues of the time to be informative and intriguing to watch.
With that in mind, watching Margaret walk through a lobby full of gangsters on her way out from escorting Nucky to his “business” meeting was the most dramatic of all of the scenes last night. A woman who is acting as Nucky’s backbone finally confronts the world which she is helping Nucky keep alive – the world that is keeping her and her children in nice clothes and fancy housing. Hopefully, she doesn't lose the man she cares so deeply for now that a war is being waged.
Looking back to the history books, neither Nucky Johnson or Joe Masseria die in 1923 due to a turf war which makes me wonder if Nucky is going to go through with his plan to stop Masseria and Gyp without the backing of Rothstein and the other mob bosses. Masseria tells Gyp to think before he leaps into war. We’ll see if Nucky is capable of making this wise choice in his shell-shocked state.
The good news from this episode: Harrowgets a kiss!
Body Count: Can you believe it?!? No one died in last night’s episode. There is one for the history books. Unfortunately, I think Sleater is the next one to go. If there is anything I know as a crime writer, once a mobster’s wife decides to runaway with another man, that other man somehow ends up disappearing. The question is: will he die for Nucky or by Nucky’s hands. 

Boardwalk Empire: Season 3, Episode 7

And here I thought there may be an episode without a body count.  The Eli and Nucky Thompson clans get together for a good ol’ fashioned Easter egg hunt and Sunday dinner to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Nucky left Miss Kent to fend for herself for one episode while he spent the day with his family. Unfortunately, his attempt at making peace with Margaret is too little too late. I wonder if this will open the door for a more seductive relationship between Mrs. Thompson and Owen. But I can’t lie, I wished the writers had taken the opportunity to clear the air between Nucky and Margaret. I guess the lovey-dovey couple didn’t bring in enough ratings.
There was some good that came out of the long awaited family reunion. Nucky realized Eli’s sincerity and is willing to let his little brother take over the warehouse reigns. Finally, there may be some brains behind this operation, and I doubt Rothstein is willing to put up with another Tabor Heights incident.The Thompsons weren’t the only ones enjoying their Easter. Richard Harrow is in love! His new flame is the daughter of an old angry old basement boxer and she doesn’t bat an eyelash at Harrow’s malady. I am so glad to see a bit of new love budding during such a horrific period of violence, debauchery and murder.Now onto the sociopaths:Gyp made a reappearance in this week’s episode and almost has his Easter goose cooked by Joe Masseria, but saved his skin by promising to bring the turf back to the New York crew. But of course, he couldn’t get away with just a bit of hotheadedness. He had to go ahead and assault and rob a priest after yelling at a statue of Jesus in his local cathedral. Gyp’s character may be showing the true signs of a sociopath, and I’m sure there are quite a few sociopath mobsters out there, but I have to be honest, I think I enjoy the episodes without Gyp.

Speaking of violence, debauchery and murder, Gillian covered the gamut in one Easter Sunday. She needed Jimmy to die on paper and she found a way, and talk about a psychological mess. The woman killed a good man who had a striking resemblance to the son with whom she shared an erotic relationship. Freud would have had a field day with this one. It finally seems as though she now has closure with Jimmy. Let’s hope the Boardwalk Empire fans that are still mourning his lost will lay him to rest with Gillian.

Next week’s body count: I do have to say, I haven’t been right once with who is going to die in the next episode, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying. I’m putting my marker on Mickey Doyle again. He is a stooge and with Eli coming in, he doesn’t really serve a purpose.

Live By Night by Dennis Lehane

With the new season of Broadway Empire and the long-awaited, just released Live By night by Dennis Lehane, the era of Prohibition   continues to rivet the attention of millions. As in Boardwalk Empire, the novel spins a tale of booze, violence, guns, gun molls, flappers, speakeasies, killers and the killed.           Live By Night is a fascinating saga of the rise of an ambitious petty thief to a full- blown mobster and killer. We follow him and his obsessive love affairs from the Boston streets to prison, and to Tampa, running rum between Cubaand Florida. The classic universality and clashing values between Joe and his father, Thomas, enriches the plot’s twists and turns with psychological truth.                 Reading the novel was like visiting my own family. The names are different; Joe Caughlin was the invention of the author; Louis Rosen was my real-life father. Joe Caughlin ran rum from Cuba; my father imported alcohol from Canada to be turned into liquor through stills. Fighting over bootlegging turf, they both wound up murdered; Joe Coughlin with his feet in cement at the bottom of the Mystic River; my dad, shot to death in the driveway of his own home.           The novel addresses a haunting question of my life—can a criminal also be a good person? Against all odds, Lehane brilliantly creates a likeable outlaw with sympathy. Although I never knew my father, and my mother refused to talk about him, after reading They Live By Night I am inspired to think of my dad with a new-found compassion and solace.
Babette HughesBabettehughes.com

Boardwalk Empire Season 3, Episdoe 5

Okay, Gyp. Now, I really have to know what your childhood was like. Was it really necessary for the Boardwalk Empire writers to show such sexual perverseness? There is something to be said about shock value, but I hardly doubt knowing about Gyp’s sexual peculiarities is going to in anyway enhance this season’s plot line.  But just like every HBO show these days, it has toe the twisted line.  
With all of that being said, I do notice that the oddities of each of the Boardwalk Empire characters have been psychologically explained by their childhoods. Nucky was the poor, second-fiddle son.  We all know the stories of Gillian and Jimmy, and let’s not forget Margaret, the Irish girl who was willing to steal to find her prosperous new life in America. There is one thing that ties all of these characters together—the need for control.
It is getting tough these days to say who has the upper hand. Rothstein is at the mercy of Nucky for booze shipments. Nucky is at the mercy of the Gyp, the official Tabor Heights crossing guard, and it looks like Gyp has a bounty on his head for all of the trouble he’s been causing on Nucky and Rothstein’s turf. It’s only a matter of time until one of them loses the game and Buscemi is in the opening credits and anyone with access to Wikipedia knows how Rothstein goes down.
Van Alden/Mueller (when will it be all right to make the permanent name change) is also ready to take control of his life. With two FBI agents as his body count he is definitely going to need to seek the shelter of the dark side. Is O’Banion the right place to go? At least Mueller knows he has a wife on his side.
Mickey Doyle was spared this episode and so was Gyp. “Four fatalities and none of them Gyp.”
Prediction for next week’s body count: Let’s make it Billie for the fun of it.

Boardwalk Empire Season Three, Episode Four

Boardwalk Empire has finally hit full gangster. Sure, you expect characters like Gyp Rossetti to murder at the drop of a hat. But Nucky?!?! I wanted to believe so badly that he had a moral compass left. He murdered over booze. Over money. Over proving a silly point to his driver, Owen. 19-year old Roland would've made an excellent addition to Nucky's stockpile of goons, but Nucky decided to 'off' the kid who was just trying to get a leg up the only way he saw possible. Or maybe Nucky murdered the kid, who had a similar baby face to Jimmy might I ad, to help him deal with the demons that have been haunting him the past few episodes. Whatever the psychological reason for Nucky's body count rising, booze is still the root of all evil.
This episode brought to life just how much the Prohibition affected America. Crime increased 24% during the Prohibition. Organized Crime took hold of American black markets, and it proved just how corrupt our politicians and justice system could be. It amazes me that it took 13 years to realize the repercussions of the 18th amendment.
It isn't generally known that until the Prohibition there was relatively not mafia in this country. After the 18 amendment, criminals in Sicily found the bootlegging profits in the U.S. irresistible and swarmed over. This illustrates again how the disaster of the Prohibition ruined lives and makes me wonder if my own bootlegging father would alive today and my family changed forever.
Margaret's crusade for women's health education is the only sunshine to a very dark story. Sex was never discussed back then. Getting a mother to discuss menstruation with her own daughter was just as taboo. Margaret is doing good in the community and she is carrying Nucky along with her. If it weren't for Margaret's good works Nucky would be seen as nothing more than a fraudulent politician who lines the pockets of evil men in Atlantic City.
Prediction for who is getting the ax next week: Mickey Doyle.Not only did he defy Nucky's direct orders. He went ahead and got a fleet of men murdered AND he ruffled Rothstein's feathers. Not a good turn out for our zany comic-relief character.