Ever since I started working in television back in summer 2000, my actual TV viewing for leisure has become rare. It's not by choice, but a problem with time. I actually love the boob tube, and occasionally I catch a show or two when I get the chance. But many viewers and critics argue that pay cable television is where today's best programs are. That is where a major problem lies for me. I've been on the outs with pay cable for many years now.

Then came the recent TV on DVD explosion. Now I'm catching up.

The first season of Showtime's Brotherhood aired in summer 2006. Since the DVD set was released in late September of the same year, the cable giant wasted no time in putting this into the hands of fans and newcomers like me. It is a smart move. With 11 good episodes and a cliffhanger season ender, it almost makes me want to subscribe to Showtime just to see how the story resolves.

The show follows the lives of two brothers in the Providence, Rhode Island Irish-American neighborhood known as "The Hill". It's a blue-collar neighborhood with roots in old-world ways of street justice and shady dealings. Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) is a family man and local politician who is out to protect the community and its best interests. His world is turned around when his gangster brother Michael (Jason Isaacs) returns to "The Hill" after a seven-year absence to regain control of the seedy underworld.

Many reviewers have compared the show to The Sopranos, describing it as a "lower-middle class" Sopranos. That may be a perfect comparison, but I have never watched the Emmy-winning former, so I haven't the basis to make such comparison. But the drama is good. The writing and performances make you question who the 'good' guys and 'bad' guys really are. You actually root for Michael (the murderous gangster brother) just as much as you root for Tommy.

Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) is the heart of the underworld on "The Hill" and employs Michael after he returns. It's Freddie and his unlawful band of henchmen, along with Michael Caffee and sidekick Pete, who twist facts, make shady deals and murder all in the name of money and power. Cork owns a local bar which serves as the central headquarters for all this 'business'; and it's Cork who provides a major thrust in the series, creating an apex of evil that's both charming and sinister. Michael wants to take Freddie's place as the main man in the local organized crime scene and that fills out most of Michael's ambition and motivation during the 11-episode first season.

But to discount the rest of the storylines and downplay the colorful cast of supporting characters would be a shame. Younger brother Tommy has his own battles to win as a junior member of the state senate representing the Hill. Though steeped in moral values and full of integrity, he not always makes the moral decision and often looks like his brother when working the political machine to achieve personal gain. He is basically clueless when it comes to his family's needs. His beautiful wife is addicted to alcohol and drugs and his 13-year old daughter has struggles of her own.

Rounding out the show with complex storylines of their own are local state cops Declan and Ralph, the former a friend of the Caffee brothers since his youth. Actress Fionnula Flanagan plays the Caffee's mother, a tough-minded, hard working woman who would rather turn the other cheek to her son's downfalls.

There are too many storylines and characters to list here but it's great storytelling for fans of recent crime and drama genres that are displayed proudly on pay cable television, where there are no barriers on content and creative freedom is at its maximum. Brotherhood is a hard working, gritty crime drama worthy of joining the club.