SnoopyStyle Tom Kane (Kelsey Grammar), the Mayor of Chicago, is secretly suffering from dementia. He is a powerful corrupt political animal. He relishes crushing his opponents, and expects nothing less than submission from his supporters. He doesn't let morality get into the way and his family is not above his wrath.For the first season, it was a compelling intense watch. The universe of political characters are interesting but the complete lack of any redeeming characteristics in Mayor Tom Kane really wore me down. Kelsey Grammar's performance is great but it's too much. The second season becomes unwatchable as it is clear that it's more of the same. It's a grind to watch a main character that you'd rather kill in real life. This show has no silver linings.

tvNfilmZombie this is truly a wonderful series marred only by the constant sex scenes appearing on every episode. the scenes feel forced and doesn't really play into the flow of the stories. could have been done better without visually showing it every bleeping time.that said, it's my only gripe with the series. the story was very fascinating even for a non-American (not used to the political lingo). frasier... i mean kelsey grammar as the boss was thoroughly entertaining and his expressions and nuances intriguing.really wished the series could have been continued beyond the 2nd season. the series finale felt abit like fan-service, the boss overcoming all odds, downing his enemies and coming out on top yet again :)

kwmuter 10 minutes into the first episode of the 2nd season (the first time I ever saw Boss) I was completely hooked.1. The story/plot is powerful and interesting. While it is delightfully twisting, intricate, shocking, and complicated, I was able to "jump aboard" without seeing the first season. (Damn! I sure wish I had seen season one...)2. Kelsey Grammar just blows me away. His portrayal of Kane is just fantastic. Wow. He must be seen.Having said all this, I just read that it's been cancelled, and the last episode I just watched is the last one. Period. What the hell?!! It never fails. As soon as some quality television comes along, I get sucked in, then it gets cancelled due to poor ratings. It never fails. And it never fails to tick me off. Just take a look at all of the other user ratings for this show... I'm not the only one who is captivated by the excellence of the writing, acting, and production of "Boss". What gives? What the heck is wrong with the t.v. viewing public/audience?!! I suppose the cancellation of great shows like "Boss" makes room on the schedule for what the viewers all really want and need: More Honey Boo-Boo spin-offs. More Kardashians. More "Housewives of XXX". Perhaps some more hoarders, ghost hunters, rose bearing bachelors, or dancing c-list "celebrities", Great. The viewing public is getting just what it apparently wants, and just what it deserves. God forbid some quality drama sneaks in there somewhere.

russmillerwy-957-682439 You have to hand it to Boss's creators for pioneering a unique style of cinematography and sound. Nearly all of Boss's scenes are shot as close-ups of whoever's speaking, regardless of what else is going on. For those of us who like surround sound, this is the first TV series I've ever heard that really takes advantage of it. It makes you feel right in the middle of the scene, as if standing right in front of that close-up. Kelsey Grammar also ditches his Frazier persona and we almost forget where we know him from. Like Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle, Grammar's going to get a box full of awards statues for his new dramatic work.Unfortunately, the devil's in the character of the characters. Nearly everyone involved is cold, calculating, and incapable of inspiring our empathy. The Boss himself rules through intimidation and secret violence. His wife, the daughter of the old mayor, is a political prop with no feelings for her husband at all, only a desire to enjoy the glamorous civic business life that active first ladies receive. His estranged daughter (played by a former British model who slips in and out of accent like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard) is a minister recovering (on and off) from drug addiction. She has turned her icy back on the parents who threw the first icy punch when they shut their dope fiend daughter out. Beyond that are the cynical operatives, mannequin-shaped strategists who double as whores, and, yes, even black- gloved assassins who do the boss's dirty work. Like most premium cable dramatic series, smatterings of full body makeup soft porn appear once or twice an episode as a substitute for emotional intimacy, and even it is icy cold.It's hard to imagine politics in any American city, even Chicago, being quite so without warmth, soul, or redemption. In Russia, Mexico, or China, sure, but not in a place where politicians who hire assassins get investigative task forces assigned to them by the feds. The lack of sympathetic characters at first made me wonder who to root for, but somewhere around episode 5 I just decided to hell with all of them. They're too unlikable to keep watching. I'm tempted to, based on some of the other reviews I've seen about season 2, but the lack of morality is, well, demoralizing.PostScript: A lot of reviewers have compared Boss to The Wire, which is hands down my favorite show of all time. IMHO, a deep, dark, and funny masterpiece. My take? The Wire had a sense of humor. It also had a way of making even its most bloodthirsty and treacherous villains human and vulnerable so that even if and when they die, we regret their passing. The Wire has a much richer palette of characters. It introduced us to entire city full of cops, junkies, drug dealers, stick up crews, teachers, reporters, kids, politicians, and longshoremen, many of whom never actually share a scene or know of the others' existence. Best of all, none of them were comic book stereotypes, and all of them were using their brains to get up to speed or, more often, to work the system and get over. The Boss does make its way around, but the focus is really all about the Boss and his intimates. While no one in Boss is a stereotype, either, we just never seem to get to know anyone very well. So that's a big part of why it's hard to really feel for any of them. None of them has a sense of humor, only a sense of anger.