The Oppinionated TV: VH1

For a while there hasn't been a good TV show for me to watch and stay on top of. For some, there's The Good Wive, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Desperate Housewives and so forth. I never watched The Good Wife, can't stand Grey's Anatomy, watch Private Practice and here and there and would never watch Desperate Housewives. Yet, I will watch shows such The Real Housewives on Bravo (minus New York), The Real World (MTV), Mob Wives (VH1) and other guilty pleasure shows. It wasn't until The Playboy Club came on, that I realized how much I missed and enjoyed an actual TV show with fine performances and a great storyline(s) that can be built upon from here until eternity. And that show for me is The Playboy Club.

Set in the early to mid sixties, the show focuses on, none other than, the Playboy Club in Chicago, Ill. The frequent patron of the club is Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian), and lawyer on the rise, who is seeing one of the original bunnies played by Laura Benanti. But along comes a new bunny played by Amber Heard. The pilot of the show involves a murder, a supposed love triangle, mobsters, lawyers, lies, truths and everything in between all of them. Oh yeah, there's also civil rights and gay rights story lines added, but not over powering or over the top. Just enough to make its points and move on, which makes for a very interesting show, to say the least.

What I enjoy about the show thus far, is nothing is shoved down your throats. You get a bit of history of the club with a whole lot of "how are they going to get out of this one" to "they are getting in deeper and deeper". But above it all, you have some very likeable characters.

I watched the first episode, and started the second one last night, but I was hooked with in the first five minutes of episode one. My only gripe about the show is Bunny Maureen (Amber Heard). She seems out of the place for me as someone from the sixties. She looks more modern day and it throws me off just a tad, but not enough that I can't enjoy the show and wonder what's going to happen next. Oh, by the way, Bunny Maureen killed mobster with the heal of her show when he tries to rape her in the back room. And the mobster isn't just any ole mobster, he's head of the Bianca Crime Family. Which is the same crime family that helped Nick get where he is today. A hot shot lawyer.

Nick helps Maureen get rid of the body but dumping it into a river. And that's when things go from bad to worse, but in a good way, because it keeps you coming back for more.

So far we have seen the back of Hefner's head and bits and pieces of the Playboy Mansion. But I'm sure in due time, we will see more of Hugh and the Mansion.

I think The Playboy Club has a chance to be around for a while for it holds the key to a great drama with a murder mystery involved.

“I don't want to dream, I just want to live it. So baby, not lets miss a thing." Big Bang by Rock Mafia

The Players:

Father is Anthony Graziano - mobster and former consigliere (counselor - refer to the God Father movie for more on the word) to the Bonanno Family. He’s currently incarcerated to be released in 2012

Producer: “What do you know about the mob?”

Renee: “What mob?” (then smiles)

First rule of Fight Club is you don’t talk about Fight Club

So far she’s my favorite, even with her idiosyncrasies that are going to come out, like all of ours do at some point in our lives.

She enjoys the power she has being Anthony’s daughter and the gifts she received as a child from her father who got her things that “fell off the back of a truck”

They showed early pictures of her and she was a good looking woman at one point. I think I just like her strong nature.

She has a 16 year old boy and believes that family is everything. Ok, which family you talking about. Your family as in your son or THE FAMILY as in the mob? Just asking. I personally think she's speak of both.

“Code of ethics in the underworld in general is taking very seriously. We’re brought up on honor, respect, loyalty. You never rat, no matter what. A rat is someone who doesn’t mind their f**kin’ business and they get involved with the cops. Oh if you’re a rat you’re not in my circle. In fact I’ll make your life so miserable you won’t be able to hang out in anybody’s circle.” Renee Graziano

She loves her fur coats and her bling and she makes no apologizes for it.

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Father: Sammy "The Bull" Gravano - underboss of the Gambino crime family. He brought down John Ghotti, who was the boss of the family by becoming an informant and turning state's evidence.

She's my least favorite.

Side Note: Well I'm sure you can figure out that Graziano and Gravano don't get a long. They used to be childhood friends until Karen's father ratted out the mob. After that Renee's father told her she couldn't associate herself with Karen anymore.

She states her father was the one that brought down the mob, but I remember way back when (my days as a mobster (insert rolling eyes here) there was a guy named John Valachi who ratted out the mob. He was the first to acknowledge there was a Mafia. He also made Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing") a household name. Basically, Valachi brought the Mafia into the spotlight and gave the whole history of the mob and so forth.

Her father was her best friend and when he ratted people out everyone turned their back on her. She eventually moved to Arizona and been there ten years trying to rebuild her life. Cry me a river. They showed her house and she's doing fine for herself.

She has an 11 year old daughter named Corrina and that's her best friend.

The only reason she's going back to Staten Island is because she's writing a book and as she puts it, "I want get into that mind frame of being Sammy The Bull's daughter." Really? You have to go back to SI to get in that mind frame? Really? Good luck with that one.

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Husband: Joseph Ferragamo is incarcerated for stock fraud. Hmmm....ok (insert confused look here). How is he a mobster. Oh because you hung around a lot of street people, that makes a mobster wife? Wait, hold the phone. I'm lost here. I hung around stoners in high school, does that make me a stoner now? Shrugging shoulders and moves on.

Her and Renee have known each other since they were 16. Carla's father and uncle have gone away to prison, so her husband (or as she puts it, "her soon to be ex-husband) went away it was no big deal.

She has two eight year old twins (boy and a girl) named Joseph and Carmen. The kids don't know their father is in prison. She tells them their father is away on business. Um, well they know now he's in prison, don't they sistah?

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Husband: Lee D'Avanzo is incarcerated for robbing a bank. Second time incarcerated.

She has a daughter named Aleeya who is nine and another daughter named Gezelle who is three.

She's 100% Albanian - "legit, straight, no illegal activities". When she married Lee she was completely disowned by her family.

She gets a collect call from her husband from the pen (which she states he calls five days a week and the days he doesn't call he probably is either in the hole or got his phone privileges taken away) and this is his grocery list he wants her to get:

"Get lots of cold cuts. Get roast beef, get turkey breast, corned beef. I would like two pounds mozzarella. Get some swiss, get some olives too. Some black olives, some green olives. Get a couple of soppressata (Italian cured or dry salami). Get a box of wing dings and a box of twinkies. Get vanilla coke too."

She told Lee she has a hard time finding vanilla coke. He said it's there somewhere because guy in here have it. Well, if guys in there have it, then get it from them, fool!

When Drita was pregnant (Lee was in jail) she met Carla and Karla's parents bought Drita's first house. I don't get that one either.

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MY THOUGHTS ON THE SHOW SO FAR

First of all I love the theme song, Big Bang by Rock Mafia and then there's another song they play called Good Man by Raphael Saadiq. I also like how they pretend they are doing surveillance on the women when they are going from one scene to another.

Renee doesn't like Karen for what her father did. Drita and Carla see Karen differently because they don't hold what her father did against her. Like Drita said, she doesn't want her daughters being judged for what her husband did. I can kinda see all their points. I sometimes believe in the sins of the father are the sins of the son - the apple don't fall far from the tree. But Renee has this belief that was instilled in her by her father that you don't rat people out. I have the same belief and I stand by it- to a point. What I mean is, I would never rat anyone out unless they rat me out first, then I will sing like Valachi on you and ONLY you. I would never through anyone else under the bus.

Carla is having a birthday party (she claims she's turning 35 - she looks more like 45, but whatever) and Renee asks if she's going to invite "Karen now that's she's home." Renee doesn't understand why Carla doesn't have a problem with Karen when they all grew up in the same lifestyle. As Renee puts it, "She needs to make a decision and either play on Team Renee or Team Go Away!"

Carla thinks her birthday party is a good time to break the ice between Karen and Renee, so she's going to invite Karen herself to her party. Good luck with that one.

In a nutshell, Karen does show up to the party and Renee is none to pleased about it. She and Drita go outside and have it out. Karen gets frustrated and decides to handle things herself. She confronts Renee. Karen doesn't understand why Renee has a problem with Sammy ratting out a lot of people and destroying a lot of families but Karen brought up a good point that people have gotten killed and that destroyed families as well so what makes what Sammy did any different. Renee's argument is that he ratted people out and she just believe strongly that you don't do that.

I have to admit I did enjoy the first show and looking forward to the rest of the season. I know a lot of it is staged, edited and/or scripted but what "reality" show on VH1 isn't, right, or Bravo for that matter.