Family is everything to four Irish-American brothers living in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. It's not just about the support they give to each other through tough times, it's more about having each other's backs when things go wrong... like organized crime wrong and a gang war with the rival Italian family. After one fateful night, the well-meaning Tommy Donnelly gets drawn out of his safe lifestyle style to defend his brothers, and there's no telling just how far he will go to clean up the mess Jimmy, Kevin and Sean have made.

Fans of The Black Donnellys were only graced with six episodes on NBC. The third episode (in order) was only available online, because network censors felt the subject matter would never be cleared for the mainstream airwaves. The last six episodes never made it to air due to horrible ratings, but did make it to the Internet. At least now with the Complete Series DVD, fans can enjoy all 13 episodes in order, from start to finish, and NBC can't cancel it on you at the drop of a hat.

Aside from all 13 episodes, NBC didn't really add much else. Really, there wasn't any need to go big with a series that barely had a lifespan at all. Only three minutes of deleted scenes provide alt-material, and they sure don't add much to the series. You can't really blame a studio or network for failing to promote a series on DVD that's already swimming with the fishes.

The Black Donnellys had a great writing team and a solid cast. What it didn't have was free license to show the gratuitous brutality, rough language and the true, violent nature of the gang warfare in Manhattan like another highly successful HBO that did it much better. This show could have been a hit on cable, but there's no way a mainstream network could sustain a show that featured such dark and obviously violent subject matter. It's worth a look, and for people who have already seen some of the series, it's definitely worth your time ato finish off the series with the full 13 episode run.