Buscemi makes Boardwalk Empire worth watching

Now through the first 3 episodes of Season 1 of "Boardwalk Empire," and, though it's flawed in many ways, it's still a very watchable series - mostly, because of Steve Buscemi, who makes every scene he's in compelling. Nocky Thompson is a perfect role for him - sarcastic, tempestuous, unpredictable, and super-smart - a corrupt pol more than a gangster, in that's he's not particularly tough but the threat of terrible violence is beneath or behind every insinuating smile. He's a contrast to the gangsters that are trying to move in on his territory, some of them historical figures: the sly Rothstein, the tempestuous Luciano, and most of all a very young and very cruel Al Capone - each of these minor figures delineated and portrayed very well. The superstraight federal agent is also a good foil against Nocky, and N's brother Eli, the corrupt sheriff, so stupid and so malleable, is another good foil - though I wish they were more credible as brothers. The weakness continues to be the subplot of his protege Jimmy, who gets expelled from the garden and links up with the young Capone in Chicago, and also the love interest, the working-class Irish girl Marguerite: neither of these characters quite holds together. Jimmy doesn't seem tough enough for the role, and Marguerite is confusingly portrayed: she seems too innocent to seek out Nocky for help, at the outset, and then, as the plot develops, far too intelligent and wily to stay within his orbit.