'Boardwalk Empire' Series Premiere -- 'You Can't Be Half a Gangster' (VIDEO)

The series 'Boardwalk Empire' (Sun., 9PM ET on HBO) is set in Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition. Alcohol has just been outlawed in the United States, and gangsters are ready to take advantage of this fact. Lead character Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi) is half mob boss, half corrupt politician. And he hatches a plan to make a lot of money -- by selling booze illegally. But as Nucky is about to learn, this is the dawning of a new era, and you can't do things by "halves" anymore.

[Spoiler alert.]

Jimmy Darmody (Michael Pitt) is Nucky's former protege. But Jimmy has recently returned to American from fighting in the trenches of World War I. Taking part in a brutal war has given Jimmy a fresh outlook on life, and Nucky isn't quite ready for it.

Jimmy commits bloody murder in the woods, along with his pal ... Al Capone (played by Stephen Graham). Nucky is outraged that killing has taken place. But this is Jimmy's response: "I tried to tell you, I'm not a kid anymore. ... The war ... the things I did over there," he says. "I'm nothing but a murderer."

Thompson is still upset, and threatens to have Jimmy killed. "Yeah, but you won't," Darmody replies. Then, he tells Nucky this: "You can't be half a gangster." If Nucky wants to be a criminal, then he's going to need to go all the way.

Will Nucky be able to adjust to the tough new world of Atlantic City? And what did you think of 'Boardwalk Empire's' first episode?