We’re seeing a completely different side of Kelsey Grammer’s acting talents in Boss, his new series for Starz which begins its second season on August 17. Gone is the kooky, effete snobbery of Frasier Crane that earned the actor five Emmys over the course of the character’s life on both Cheers and Frasier. In its place we have a hardened politically-savvy veteran who’s capable of just about anything ruthless or underhanded in order to maintain his hold on his political power. The series itself is less impressive than its star, but it’s nice to see Grammer stretch his acting muscles even in this uneven vehicle.
Boss: Season One (Blu-ray)
Directed by Gus Van Sant et al
Studio: Lionsgate
Year: 2011
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 450 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.97
Release Date: July 24, 2012
Review Date: July 16, 2012
The Season
3/5
Mayor Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammer) has been running Chicago for the past fifteen years, but he hasn’t done it without getting his hands plenty dirty. Three weeks before the gubernatorial primary election, Kane decides to launch a young star-in-the-making Alex Zajac (Jeff Hephner) against the three-term incumbent Governor McCall Cullen (Francis Guinan), and it’s at this point that Kane’s political adversaries led primarily by Alderman Ross (James Vincent Meredith) begin their own systematic takedown of Chicago’s “Boss.” During the next three weeks, scandals involving toxic waste dumped on property that poisons neighboring water supplies begin surfacing obviously indicating that there’s a leak in the mayor’s office. While he fights his enemies on several fronts, the mayor is also dealing with the crushing news that he has a degenerative brain disease for which there’s no cure, must cope with his marriage-in-name-only to ex-mayor’s daughter Meredith (Connie Nielsen), and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Emma (Hannah Ware) now a minister running a free clinic out of her parish but also feeding her own crack addiction.
The pilot episode directed by Gus Van Sant has all the earmarks of a feature film except length. The story, obviously based on bits and pieces of King Lear, is near-operatic in style and tone, and the depth of corruption and backdoor deals that must be made to keep lids on the multiple skeletons in closets is numbingly large and figures in almost every episode. Because the series airs on pay cable rather than basic cable or network, there appears to be a desperate urge to be as salacious as possible with lots of nudity (full frontal for one of Zajac’s multiple paramours), profanity, and violence. But the sex scenes drag on to ridiculous lengths and aren’t really that interesting or, in the case of Zajac’s hiking up the mayor’s aide’s (Kathleen Robertson) skirt and having sex in the hallways of City Hall in the middle of a workday, simply absurd.
But there’s no denying that Kelsey Grammer is acting his heart out. The story allows him to be both ruthless and vulnerable, commanding and despicable, often simultaneously. (He isn’t allowed to be funny, however; in fact, the series is uncommonly dour with the producers obviously wanting the viewer to root for Kane despite his cold-blooded core in much the same way that viewers took Tony Soprano’s side despite his callousness. But this doesn't have the lighter moments that distinguished The Sopranos.) Connie Nielsen is stately and steely as the first lady of Chicago, a position she covets and will do anything to maintain. As the mayor’s chief of staff, Martin Donovan knows all the right people and knows where to pull the strings to get things happening, a low key and highly effective performance. Troy Garity plays the interesting role of a crusading journalist who’s out to get the scoop on the mayor’s corruption at considerable danger to himself. Jeff Hephner hits all the right notes as the charismatic young politician whose ambition is as strong as his sex drive.
Here are the eight episodes which make up the first season of Boss. They are contained on two Blu-ray discs:
1 – Listen
2 – Reflex
3 – Swallow
4 – Slip
5 – Remembered
6 – Spit
7 – Stasis
8 – Choose
Video Quality
4/5
The episodes are framed at the widescreen television aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and are presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. Sharpness is good throughout the run of the season though contrast occasionally seems a bit milky, and color saturation levels seem to have been lessened a bit giving everyone a ghostly pallor. Black levels are acceptable and sometimes a bit better. Each episode has been divided into 7 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix is certainly ambitious for a pay cable series where most of the action takes place indoors. There is impressive use of directionalized dialogue especially noticeable during news conferences and in closed sessions where voices from around the room speak to the person on camera. Dialogue is always very understandable, important in a series which relies heavily on words. Music has decent spread through the soundstage, and there is some ambience in isolated sound effects that are occasionally placed in the fronts and rears.
Special Features
2/5
There are two audio commentaries. The better of the two is with the first episode where creator-producer Farhad Safinia and director of photography Kasper Tuxen tell the story of getting the series scripted and produced along with introducing the cast and covering locations. The season finale has Farhad Safinia and producer Richard Levine and is a less animated discussion of the show at the end of its first season. Fans of the series will, of course, want to hear both tracks.
“The Mayor and His Maker” is a sit down conversation between creator Farhad Safinia and star Kelsey Grammer discussing the series and his role in it with each praising the other's contributions. It lasts 16 ¾ minutes and is presented in 1080p.
In Conclusion
3/5 (not an average)
The first season of Boss has the twists and turns, double dealings and dirty politics that a political series is expected to have. There is much fine acting on display, but somehow the series doesn’t seem quite as riveting as one would want, and the amount of sexual content distracts from the major political agenda of the show (admittedly, that problem lessens somewhat in the show’s final two episodes). In the second season, it will be interesting to see if mistakes made during the first season on display here can be corrected and adjusted.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
