Falcone

This is a perfectly fine premise for a series, but the painfully average Falcone lacks drive, energy and sharp characters.

So, the dialogue is cliche, the characters are cliche, the situations are cliche. What is there to recommend about this show? In the end, it's the twists that had me popping episodes into the VCR until I'd watched the first six. There's just enough of a thread -- whether it's clues that endanger Falcone's undercover operation or threats to his family -- to keep you wondering what will happen next.

It's a fun ride at first. The series is tightly plotted, and the twists create moments of satisfying intrigue ... But juicy plot turns alone cannot fuel a series for long, especially when they repeat themselves, and the limitations of "Falcone" become clearer in its second and third episodes. [4 Apr 2000]

If you've never seen "The Sopranos" -- and haven't seen "Goodfellas," "Donnie Brasco" or some of the other morally ambiguous mob tales -- you may well consider it exciting television. Well acted and occasionally trusting the audience not to need everything spelled out for it, it could fairly be called a pretty good watch. [3 Apr 2000]

A better-than-average mob saga that plays out as an epic of family longings, murder and corruption. ... Falcone is no Sopranos, but it's a so-so alternative. [1 Apr 2000]

The first two thirds of this series acts as the opposite of the Godfather line that Steven Van Zandt’s character is always quoting in The Sopranos: Every time I thought I was pulled in, the show kept pushing me out.

I just sat through most of the nine episodes of Falcone. And I’m here to report that I would rather be the victim of a mob-related hit than watch/read/endure one more Joe Pistone (aka Donnie Brasco, aka Falcone)-related saga.

The series rarely soars beyond the predictable. [4 Apr 2000]

Nobody cusses, nobody copulates, nobody sweats, and hardly anybody bleeds. The only dramatic tension surrounds the question of whether Joe's true identity will be discovered. But in that case, he'd be whacked, and the show would be over.

The show is so far removed from the standard set by "The Sopranos." It just doesn't get off the ground. [4 Apr 2000]

When the programming strategy is more compelling than the drama itself, that's a bad sign. [4 Apr 2000]

I waited for delicious strands of dialogue to memorize - it's a favorite pastime among "Sopranos" addicts - but none was forthcoming from "Falcone." [3 Apr 2000]

Why does it seem so much worse than it is?