Oh, that's just dandy.

So NBC's got a new show - The Black Donnellys. It's about 4 Irish-American brothers in New York (okay, it's a little more nuanced than that, but y'all can read and I've provided a link, so I'm not going to try to explain the whole thing here).

A show about a bunch of Micks? Well, count me in!

Okay - first, it's a pretty good show. The acting's pretty good - in particular, the lead actor's work was (I thought) very good. He managed to convey his situation completely without going too over-the-top, which impressed me. He's also got the sort of raw charisma that tends to aid in getting us to empathize with his character. Finally, he's not TOO good-looking, which is beneficial in terms of things being at least somewhat believable.

BUT. Here's the rub: Why oh why do they have to be semi-literate street toughs? Why can't they be, say, architects who are struggling to start up their own firm? It could happen. There's a bit in the first episode that sums the whole issue up, though I wonder if they realize they're lampooning their own creation, in a way: The narrator (some neighborhood friend of the brothers) says something to the effect of "People think of the Irish as drunk thugs who'll fight over nothing," and immediately we see the 4 brothers getting into a brawl over - you guessed it, nothing - in a pub. Terrific.

Is this sort of thing a part of the whole Irish-American experience? Yes, it is. Was I myself a bit of a thug as a youth? Yes, I was - it was somewhat necessary, given the environment I grew up in. But seriously, hasn't that angle been played to death at this point? Can we not see Irish-Americans as anything but "drunken louts with good intentions that they can't seem to get to because their feral natures always get in the way" without things getting boring? I don't know, I'm just asking.

In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter - despite my wish that we could portray Micks in a better light, I have to admit that I found the show to be compelling and quite entertaining. I'll be tuning in again next Monday, and I will recommend (albeit somewhat grudgingly) that y'all do the same.