bob the moo It was the name recognition of David Simon that brought me to this mini-series, although if I am honest little else from the plot summary really appealed to me. The story of Yonkers' objection to a court order that they must find sites for affordable housing to be built; it is a true story that unfolds over decades, has lots of council meetings, politics, and a large ensemble cast. While part of you will want to focus on the potential for big showboating scenes in those council meetings, with people fighting the good fight, the truth is that this is not a show that has heroic types, or big moments – so the 'true story' and 'decades' bits are really what you should consider. In this way the mini-series is not the most thrilling ride, and I say that as someone who enjoyed it. There are no big explosive moments and no barnstorming courtroom moments.Instead the story unfolds through fines and political pandering, and really those politicians 'pushing' the housing in Yonkers are really just those who realize they cannot push back. In and around this we have the residents of the area, and those who would become residents. This gives the show a feeling of depth, but at the same time gives it the problem that it cannot spend too long with anyone, and also has too many plates spinning to be able to move the story with a sharp pace. That is what it has to do though, and it is impressive how well the decades-long narrative, with its complexity and commentaries, does manage to hang together and make for an engaging story.I don't think it is perfect, and it does overextend its reach in how much it tries to bring to the table. However it is a quality piece of story-telling and I liked it as such. The quality is there in the writing, and the way such complexity is made accessible in an unsexy, unglamorous way – with real, flawed characters everywhere, just like real life. Performances are strong across the board – Isaac, perhaps being the one grabbing the headlines with his tragic character, but the cast is deep in good performances (and many HBO faces from Oz, The Wire, and other shows). It does have the feeling of a show you 'should' watch rather than one that you really 'want' to watch, however for its flaws, it is consistently solid in its story-telling, and it delivers a realistic, nuanced, and balanced presentation of the situation, where few are villains, even fewer are heroes, and mostly people are just flawed in whatever they are trying to do.

chris_wales It's well acted. It's honest (worthy perhaps is a better word). It's also very literal, not much in the way of drama, the pace is (understandably) slow and steady, local politics mixed with soap opera. The motivation of the characters isn't really made clear and they aren't really developed very much. I didn't feel like I got to know anybody by the end of the series. I'm sure it's true to the book etc, but as I said it's literal, a bit clunky, somewhat dull. There are important wider issues illustrated here of course, and I was generally glad I watched it. The IMDb minimum of ten lines makes for an extraordinarily long review in my opinion. I think they should reduce it to - say -7 or possibly 8 - lines at some point in the near future.

asc85 I suppose you know when a show is so good that you keep thinking about it and thinking about it after it's over. That was my reaction to Show Me a Hero. I thought it started out a bit slowly, but kept building and building, and the final episodes were just great.I lived in Northern NJ at the time of this, so I remember this story a little bit in the local news. I had no idea how Nick Wasicsko ended up, and it is indeed tragic.This could have been a VERY politically slanted film if it wanted to. However, I think it tried hard not to be, and for that I applaud it. I just wanted to watch the story, and not be preached to.As others have noted, Oscar Isaac is amazing in this role. When I first saw him in, "Inside Llewyn Davis," he was so unlikable that I figured he was either a jerk or a great actor. It's definitely the latter.And I don't think we've seen the last of Carla Quevedo, who played Nick's wife. She's gorgeous AND, she can act!My only minor criticism of this was in its presentation during the initial run on HBO. I would have preferred six one-hour episodes rather than three two-hour episodes. Although it's the same amount of running time, it was a bit ambitious to try to watch the show in two hour chunks. Thank God for the DVR so I was able to break it up a little.

Red_Identity Just amazing. It's rather understated and procedural many of the times (but nothing unsurprising if one has seen David Simon's TV series). What it does in the six hours is amazing though. Its character development is exquisite, and by the time it's over it feels like it was a run of an actual television series. Of course, it could only be this long, but that doesn't stop me from wishing it WAS a longer series. Oscar Isaac is an amazing actor. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's doing things not many actors right now are (or even can). The amount of raw talent he has, as well as the amount of warmth he can convey is staggering. That's what makes the end of the series so heartbreaking. I really hope this wins the Miniseries Emmy next year, and that Isaac also takes home the trophy.