Warning: Full spoilers for Boardwalk Empire: Season 3 follow.
While Season 3 of Boardwalk Empire ended with a monumental
bloodbath and a mostly-satisfying payoff, the journey getting
there was sometimes a bit of a trudge; as is usually the case
for this great, yet sometimes plodding, series. After the
craziness that ensued in the episode "You'd Be Surprised," the
season slowed down for what seemed like an abundance of slower-
paced, set-up episodes. Yes, they ultimately wound up paying
off, but at what price? In this new "Golden Era" of Mad Men,
Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones, some of the terms often
associated with Boardwalk are "underrated" and "under-
appreciated." And there are a few reasons why audiences can't
latch onto this series like they can with others.  One factor is
the likeability of the characters. Most of the time, we're
simply watching people who we may (or may not) find interesting,
but might not ultimately care about. That is to say, viewers
don't get as emotionally caught up with Boardwal