Empire state of mind

WITH Sky Atlantic debuting on Tuesday, it’s been quite a while since the launch of a new subscription channel created such a fuss.

They usually come and go (eg Bravo) with most people barely noticing.

You’d have to go back to 1992 when Sky revolutionised sports broadcasting and English soccer with its coverage of the Premier League. Remember the days when Andy Gray would analyse games with his quaint video tapes and intact reputation?

While Atlantic is chock-full of quality American shows, most of the focus this week is on Boardwalk Empire (Tuesday, 9pm). This 12-part HBO series stars Steve Buscemi as real-life politician Nucky Thompson, an adept operator who straddled the worlds of politics and gangsterism in Atlantic City during the prohibition era of the 1920s. Created by Sopranos writer Terence Winter, the other big name involved in the show is Martin Scorsese who takes up directing duties on this week’s 80-minute pilot episode, which at a cost of $18 million is the most expensive TV opening ever.

British actor Stephen Graham is ideal for the role of Al Capone, while in between all the New Joisy accents and Italian-American twangs, there’s also the lilting sound of an Irish voice, courtesy of Nucky’s eventual mistress, Margaret, played here by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald.

So is it any good? As you’d imagine from a show with such pedigreed personnel and a big budget, it easily makes the grade as one to watch. Large audiences in the US and a Golden Globe for best dramatic series also indicate that it has a fairly wide appeal. Along with the effortless ease with which it makes an impression, however, is a nagging sense of familiarity. Those roulette tables, wise guys and loose women have all been seen before in so many other combinations that it must is difficult to wring something original from the era.

Boardwalk Empire also lacks the cutting edge of HBO’s benchmarking twin peaks, The Sopranos and The Wire. These gripes aside, if you’re lucky enough to have Sky this week, you’re in for quite a treat.

Also for those in the world of cable/satellite, an Irish show worth catching is Fran, which pops up at regular intervals on Setanta. This second series of Richie Conroy’s mockumentary on the loveable idiot of a soccer manager has broadened its horizons beyond the training ground to also include his love affairs and home life (“Mam, where are me Liverpool away socks?”). Each show contains some classic lines, and the character Conroy has created will appeal to anybody who has had dealings with the world of amateur soccer in Ireland.

Finally, with a new series of youth drama Skins (Thursday, E4, 10pm) into its second episode in Britain, the US version of the show is being hammered by pressure groups who object to its racy content. Subway and Mars are two of the brands who have dropped their advertising from the MTV series.