Meet Tommy Donnelly

Lately, we have been focused on the campaign and the buzz around it but now we would like to take some time to reintroduce the Donnelly brothers. Yesterday, you were introduced to Kevin Donnelly portrayed by Billy Lush. Today we will introduce you to Tommy Donnelly.

Tommy Donnelly, the second oldest of the four Donnellys brothers, is portrayed by Jonathan Tucker . Tommy’s dream is to become an artist and he is the one brother who clearly has the talent and ability to be more than just another neighborhood thug. Unfortunately, Tommy is burdened by the fact that an impulsive decision made during his youth resulted in serious injury and a lasting disability for his older brother, Jimmy. Tommy’s guilt over his childhood mistake prevents him from escaping from Hell’s Kitchen and the crime and dangers that have become a way of life there. Instead, Tommy shoulders the burdens of those around him in vain effort to right the wrong that he has done.

Tommy bails out his brothers time and time again. Sometimes that means taking care of unpaid gambling debts and other times it means disposing of bodies. But Tommy’s responsibilities don’t end there. Tommy also looks out for his brothers’ tag-a-long friends and the other Irish families in the neighborhood and he makes a special effort to protect Jenny Reilly, his childhood sweetheart.

Throughout it all, Tommy demonstrates that he is a capable (though somewhat reluctant) leader adept at handling even the toughest problems. While this earns him the respect of both the Irish and Italians in the neighborhood (positioning him as the next leader of the Irish mafia), it creates a number of problems for Tommy personally. For instance, Tommy is forced to give up his dream of becoming an artist in order to look out for his brothers. In addition, Tommy’s relationships with his older brother and the woman he loves are seriously damaged as he becomes more and more involved in the life he tried to leave behind.

At the end of the day, Tommy’s intentions are good. His only goal is to make sure that the people around him are safe and happy. Unfortunately, Tommy is forced to do things that no one would want to do in order to protect those that he loves. As he encounters one impossible dilemma after another, Tommy is forced to choose the lesser of two evils in an often futile attempt to make the right choice and help someone else.

As Kevin, his younger brother, states, “Tommy, you got to stop helping people. It’s a bad thing.” While Tommy tries to do “right,” he quickly finds out that sometimes the “right” thing may turn out ‘wrong”.

Who Do You Believe ?

Since the LA Times article was released the Black Donnellys has been getting a lot of buzz; some positive some negative. The Firecrackers believe the negative comments stem from people who have not watched the entire season and/or people that believe that the networks are right. Interestingly, one blogger argues: If the networks believe that the show must be cancelled then it wasn’t worth watching to begin with…… If you believe that, you can ask the Jericho fans, Veronica Mars fans and TBD fans; they will tell you a much different story.

Do you believe NBC? NBC supposedly cancelled The Black Donnellys due to declining ratings. However, what most people don’t know is that TBD was a victim of NBC’s own indecisiveness. Originally, the series was going to air in the Thursday night time slot during ER’s hiatus in November 2006. But because ER was doing well at the time, NBC pushed back the airdate of The Black Donnellys to January 2007. NBC subsequently pushed TBD’s premiere date back even further until late February/early March when it became the Monday night replacement for NBC’s other high-profile series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was having ratings difficulties. Not only did NBC anger Studio 60’s viewers, who responded by boycotting The Black Donnellys, it also gambled with the high-budget series by putting it in the dreaded Monday night time slot.

Though The Black Donnellys pilot episode aired after NBC’s hit show Heroes and pulled in nearly 8 million viewers, subsequent episodes followed a game show, Deal or No Deal, and the viewers dropped to 5 million. In addition, The Black Donnellys competed with the NCAA March Madness Finals and CBS’s long-running hit, CSI: Miami. In the end, NBC made poor decisions with respect to marketing, scheduling, and storyline continuity. Regarding the latter, NBC showed an online only episode containing important plot details yet failed to notify The Black Donnellys television audience that such an episode even existed. Then inexplicably, when viewers became confused by the storyline, NBC panicked like they did with Studio 60, and pulled The Black Donnellys off the air after only 5 episodes. The Black Donnellys was replaced with yet another reality TV show, The Real Wedding Crashers. You don’t have to wonder where The Real Wedding Crashers are now. Shuffling shows in and out of the television line-up is not very cost-effective. A new series is a delicate thing and NBC failed The Black Donnellys from the start. NBC clearly did not know what they were doing or what direction they were taking and, unfortunately, The Black Donnellys fans paid the price for NBC’s mistakes.


Do you believe the fans? The Black Donnellys was in the top 10 most downloaded episodes and season passes on ITunes up until the finale aired on May 14, 2007, six weeks after the show was taken off the air. It was the only show that was NOT on the air, but was in the top 10 with hit shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, the Office and 24. In addition, following TBD’s cancellation, Mark Cuban immediately picked up the entire first season of the show and it is now airing on HDNet on Wednesday nights. Mr. Cuban noticed the attention TBD was getting in the online community, took note of TBD’s active fan base, and knew The Black Donnellys would be a hit for HDNet!

The petition to save the show has over 37,000 signatures and is climbing everyday! More importantly, the fans have come together to contribute time and money to the Save The Black Donnellys campaign
in order to convince HBO to pick up TBD. Though there are some naysayers, the campaign results so far demonstrate that there are more than just “7” fans out there as some bloggers have incorrectly posted. The fact that these bloggers have taken the time and effort to criticize The Black Donnellys and/or the fan campaign indicates that TBD does appeal to a wider audience. In fact, even the negative posts are assisting the campaign since they are creating a lot more buzz for a show that last aired in April!

So, if you believe the networks, then we will continue to see more reality TV and lackluster shows on the air! If you believe the fans, then we encourage you to watch more than just the pilot, watch the entire season on nbc.com or Itunes.com! Or if you prefer not to watch it on your PC, you can pre-order the DVD from Amazon.com.

Get to know the characters and their story! Fight for the opportunity to see great television!

We look forward to seeing you around the Firecracker Lounge!

HBO: A Home For The Black Donnellys?

In an Entertainment Weekly Blog that mentions the Black Donnellys, the blog columnist asks, "One more question: did any of you also watch The Black Donnellys, and do any of you think fans can get that show reborn by shipping 45,000 Zesta crackers to HBO?"

The answer to that question is YES. No one knows if the crackers will convince HBO to pick up a second season of the Black Donnellys. It is really about showing our support for this series as NBC failed to do so. Several shows from major network lineups have been cancelled. The Fall 2008 lineup only seems bleak, especially for NBC. We wouldn't want The Black Donnellys to retire because of NBC's mishandling of the series.

The Black Donnellys' fans are a loyal and passionate group of individuals. As a fan, we believe in the slogan "Family Above All" and and The Black Donnellys best exemplifies that.

We only hope that The Black Donnellys can find a home at HBO. While, some may believe the crackers may not do it, we do believe that HBO is a good home as they are responsible for such great shows like The Sopranos. Even actors from The Black Donnellys have prior or future history with HBO.

Kirk Acevedo as Nicky Cottero, is well known for his role as Alvarez on "OZ". Alvarez, as some of you may recall, is much weaker than the Italian rat, Nicky Cottero. Billy Lush as Kevin Donnelly has been cast in HBO's new miniseries "Generation Kill" among a handful of rising stars. HBO will not only draw upon established audiences but will gain a new and very passionate audience.

Given the opportunity, the right marketing, the series can be successful. This is what we would like HBO to see. Crackers, or no crackers.

Also check out this article written by Mekeisha Madden Toby of The Detroit News entitled 'Donnellys' live on in NBC cyberspace. Finally, a columnist who understand The Black Donnellys.. not one who assumes from watching part of The Pilot episode.

Today's LA Times: "A cracker attack for 'The Black Donnellys'"

First everyone was nuts. Now they're crackers.

A small number of die-hard fans of NBC's recently canceled drama "The Black Donnellys" plans to ship nearly 300 pounds of Zesta crackers (about 45,000 crackers) to HBO executives beginning next week in hopes of persuading the premium cable outlet to pick up the moribund show.

Fans of "The Black Donnellys," a serialized drama about four Irish brothers and their involvement in organized crime in New York's infamous Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, were inspired by the recent success of "Jericho" fans and vow to keep sending crackers to HBO as long as donations hold out. In June, "Jericho" fans inundated CBS with tons of nuts, eventually persuading the network to exhume the post-apocalypse drama after it was dropped from its fall schedule.

"Donnellys" fans, whose website can be found at http://www.savetheblackdonnelys.net, said they chose HBO because the cable outlet is a better fit for the "Donnellys' " grittier themes. Also, they selected Zesta crackers because they are featured in a lounge sign belonging to one of the show's main characters.

HBO offices were closed todayfor the holidays and officials were unavailable for comment.

-- Martin Miller

(Photo: Virginia Sherwood / NBC)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2007/07/a-cracker-attac.html