Grammer Impresses in Boss

Created by Apocolypto co-writer Farhad Safinia, and produced by and starring Kelsey Grammer of Frasier fame, Boss is perhaps the most ambitious project the Starz network produced to date. We can't help but see the resemblance between the Grammer's Tom Kane and a certain Elective Majesty, and the series draws inspiration from infamous Illinois scandals such as the Burr Oak Cemetery debacle.

The series centers around Grammer's forceful portrayal of Kane. It would be an understatement to say it's a striking contrast to the daft, loveable psychiatrist Frasier Crane Grammer cultivated in both the Cheers and Frasier sitcoms. Kane is an eloquently spoken politician to the outside world, but minces no words and forces his agendas with an iron clad fist behind closed doors with the help of his top aides Ezra Stone (Martin Donovan) and Kitty O'Neil (Kathleen Robertson).

All of Kane's power becomes a matter of great vulnerability with his super secret diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), a degenerative brain disorder that will eventually leave Kane with no memory and no control over his motor functions. Not even Kane's wife Meredith (Connie Nielsen), a woman who is positioned as Chicago's First Lady as a matter of status and convenience, is aware of his ailment.

Seemingly the only person to notice the beginnings of Kane's mental decline is newspaper reporter Sam Miller (Troy Garity). Miller, a reporter a the fictional Chicago Sentinel, is also anxious to break the state's cemetery scandal, the questionable activity of 30th Ward power-hungry alderman Mata (Ricardo Gutierrez).

Kane also has an estranged daughter. Emma Kane (Hannah Ware) is a part-time pastor and drug counselor who also continues to battle the dragon herself and occasionally falters, doing large quantities of heroin with her on-again-off-again tattooed, drug-dealing lover Darius (Rotimi Akinosho). When Kane learns of his malady he attempts to reconnect with Emma, even going as far as making her second only to his doctor in knowing about his disease, which fails to create a bridge between the two characters. Emma holds far too much resentment from events yet to be revealed.

In attempting to assert his magnificent power and perhaps occupy himself in something other then self pity, Kane takes a prime and personal interest in the gubernatorial race, tapping Secretary of State, Ben Zajac (Jeff Hephner), as his hand-picked man to run the state. The fresh, young and attractive politician begins a torrid affair with Kane's top aide Kitty O'Neil. Though the addition of the affair seems a forced ploy within the script, it is of direct contrast to Zajac's opponent, Gov. McCall Cullen (Francis Guinan), whose homosexual affair scandal that has managed to make front-page news.

Are you confused yet? We thought you might be. The weakness of Boss is the myriad of swirling subplots that seem to detract from the series most interesting component: Grammer's earth-shaking depiction of Kane.

We here at Chicagoist have taken an interest in the intensely bleak and dark political drama. At times it reminds us of Season Three of the cable drama to end all cable dramas: The Wire. Watching Boss over the past three episodes we felt that a weekly recap would help us rein in confusion, better analyze the similarities to hometown politics and give our readers an honest and open forum to discuss the show.

In the coming weeks you can expect a recap each Monday. We love, love, love reader participation, so we greatly encourage you to voice your opinions about the story, characters and depiction of our beloved city.

You can see Boss Friday nights on Starz 9 p.m.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@chicagoist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Michele Lenni in Arts & Entertainment, Best Of on November 11, 2011 11:00 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Tony McDay

for some one so seemly concerned with facts i was surprised to read this "Kane also has an estranged daughter. Emma Kane (Hannah Ware) is a
part-time pastor and drug counselor who also continues to battle the
dragon herself and occasionally falters, doing large quantities of
heroin with her on-again-off-again tattooed, drug-dealing lover Darius
(Rotimi Akinosho).". The daughter is not just a drug counselor /pastor, and she has never done drugs with her boyfriend. in fact he stopped her from shooting up. the storyline is quite easy to follow; in fact that is the mark of a good writer.

Eric Rogers

I liked the first episode quite a bit. I also have no ability to get Starz at home. If you guys become aware of any way to view the episodes, please make sure to post that. And hide your spoilers with spoiler alerts!

ScooterLibbby

Grammer is excellent here, but there are so many things wrong with it in regard to Chicago, that it's difficult to watch.
So, Chicagoans with an understanding of the political process will probably tune this out, but the rest of the country might not.
The other problem is the limited reach of Starz. It will have a bigger impact on DVD after the season ends.

Tankboy

It's a hell of a lot more watchable than Chicago Code, that's for sure.

BlueFairlane

I actually liked Chicago Code. But I liked the one episode I've seen of this much better.

BlueFairlane

I've only seen the first episode, as I don't have cable and don't like watching things on the computer, but I didn't see where you're going with the "so many things wrong with it in regards to Chicago." I think you're having what amounts to a "Chicago Code" response, where everybody got bent out of shape about geographical accuracy and window dressing and such. Is this show dead-to-rights Chicago accurate? Of course not. Such a show wouldn't be worth watching. What matters is whether the story it's telling and the characters it presents are compelling, and I'd say it's got that well covered.

It reminds me of the first time I watched "Justified," which is set in my former neck of the woods. The pilot had a murder take place on "Tates Creek Bridge" in Lexington. And while there is a Tates Creek Road in Lexington, there is no bridge anywhere near it. Did that little invented piece of geography matter? Not a bit, because the characters were awesome.

ScooterLibbby

Well, there's just so much wrong that I can't remember it all.
There was that city council meeting where he had it closed to the public & collected all the cellphones.
1. That's illegal under Illinois law.
2. Exactly how are the aldermen going to know who's phone is who's to get back, they were just thrown into a box.
3. If you give up your phone, then whoever possesses it can see who you called, therefore, it just wouldn't happen. These guys would never let the mayor see who they called.

It's not just the political stuff that's wrong.
That scene with the doctor in the abandoned plant, absurd.
Then they see that the nosy reporter, who's also screwing the really hot aide, visits the doctor, who tells him nothing.
But because of that, they send a goon to inject her with a miracle drug that instantly paralyzes her mere feet from her son & threaten her. Then it instantly loses its effects & she drives the kid home!

His daughter is not only a selfless nurse to the poor, but an Episcopal priest & then to pile it on, she's a junkie!

Or his buying prescription drugs from a dealer in Olive Park, after ditching his security detail by swapping cars under the L on the Wells side of the Mart.

BTW, I'm sure the reason they gave the character Lewy Body Disease is because Otis Chandler from the Chandlers that owned the LA Times died from it & is easily the most famous person known to have had it.

corndogsmurf

It seems as though you weren't paying much attention. The "nosy reporter" is not screwing the "hot aide" - the state treasurer is screwing the hot aide. As for the doctor who got a needle stuck in her, the drugs do not instantly lose effect. Her kid jumps in the car and, still paralyzed, she barely manages to mumble "just give mommy a moment." We don't see her drive away. We don't see her move at all.

Per your issues with the closed city council meeting:
1. Politicians do illegal stuff ALL THE TIME.
2. Are you saying that if you put your phone in a pile, you would have no way of discerning which phone was yours? Is it that hard?
3. They mayor left as the phones, ipads, etc, were collected, so the mayor would not have access to their phones. Also, I think they've built him up so that he's important enough to not have to stoop to snooping through their phones...

The creator is British, so there's a good chance that he wasn't too invested in the LA Times, nor its owners. But even if Otis Chandler was the inspiration, why do you take issue with that?

Lastly: THIS IS TV. And it's better than anything on the broadcast networks...

ScooterLibbby

I got one detail wrong, as to who was screwing the aide, so what.
As for the closed council meeting, no, it doesn't happen, period. There would be a huge shitstorm over such a thing. The attorney general would get involved. The illegal things pols do don't involve closed city council meetings, they involve bribes, which are done in secret out of the way locations, not city hall.
I want to see you find your Iphone, Blackberry or Android in a pile of 50 of them! 20 iPhones, 15 Androids & 15 Blackberrys, you're not going to do it very fast.
The mayor wouldn't be the one looking through them, taking out SIM cards to duplicate them, flunkies would do that!
It wouldn't matter how important he's been built up, he's still have it done so he'd control them.
The drug took effect in 5 seconds & wore off in less than 30 seconds, that's instant for me.
So what if the creator is British, it doesn't mean he doesn't live & work in LA, plus I added that simply as a point of information.

And no, it's not better than anything on broadcast TV.
Just what is your position with the production company?
Any answer denying this is a flat out lie!

BlueFairlane

Aside from the drugged doctor, none of this is what I'd consider a serious flaw. It doesn't really matter to me, for instance, that the council meeting shenanigans were illegal under Illinois law, as television shows present us with governments or their agents doing illegal or unlikely things all the time. Such leaps are a necessary part of creating fiction. And I think having this scene take place the way it does and having the aldermen go along with it conveys the dictatorial nature of this mayor's reign and just how much power he wields. I feel similarly about the doctor meeting Grammer in the old factory. I could buy that a guy with as much power as Grammer has could pull that off. The other bits contribute to showing that power, and ultimately they're all really small things.

Now, I understand that some people are bugged by little leaps like this in fiction. For me, I tend to get really annoyed with scientific inaccuracies ... but only if I have much bigger issues with the show itself. If I like the characters and the storyline, I'll ignore the little things they get wrong. It seems to me that if these things are bothering you, then there's some greater problem you have with the show as a whole.