Parents' Guide to Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire revolves around Thompson, and Buscemi, as always, makes the character fascinating to watch. But Thompson, a mob boss with a soft side, isn't an especially novel character. We've seen men like this many times before, who will brutally beat up a man who shows disrespect but stop to show kindness to people in need. The action in this show comes from the side deals, as Thompson's rival and underlings jostle for a piece of the action. For Scorcese and Terrance Winter, a veteran Sopranos scriptwriter, this kind of plotting is irresistible -- these are men who know how to bring gangsters to the screen.

Nucky's driver, Jimmy (Michael Pitt), offers some of the more interesting scheming. Recently returned from World War I, he's eager to make up for his years wasted in the trenches and is always looking for ways to get ahead. His sometime partner-in-crime is another hoodlum trying to get ahead, a young Al Capone who sometimes drives in from Chicago. But these are just some of the many stories that weave through the series. Perhaps the real story is Atlantic City, so very carefully reconstructed here to show off a unique time and place.