I'm in the middle of watching the first season of Justified right now, and I'm really liking it a lot. i'm not going to do an episode by episode deconstruction or anything, since there's plenty of other sites out there that do that kind of thing already. I just wanted to jot down a few things about the show that I think make it so good:
1. It's completely unpredictable. Not a "guess who's going to die this week" kind of unpredictability, but the kind where you have no idea where each individual episode is going. Ten years ago, with most of the shows on TV, you could tune in, see what kind of show you were watching, and guess pretty much what format the episode would follow. If it was a crime/police procedural show, the mystery would be wrapped up by the end of the episode, status quo maintained. Sitcoms were also bending over backwards to make sure that nothing major changed episode to episode. Now, some of the best shows on TV, like "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", and "Community", don't just use variations on the formula, they don't use one at all. Plots that seem like they will last all episode long might get abandoned midway through. A character might spend all episode long trying to kill a fly, or suddenly find themselves on a chase inside the world's biggest blanket fort. You just never know what is going to happen, and "Justified" has that same level of unpredictability.
2. It's episodic while still maintaining an overarching narrative. Nowadays, serialized stories are the norm on dramatic TV. So much so that just missing a single episode can leave you lost (no pun intended). "Justified" definitely has story elements that carry over all season long, and the actions of characters do not get forgotten from episode to episode, but each episode also manages to have a stand-alone story as well. This is a remarkable balance- giving all the recurring characters something to do while telling a different story each week, and "Justified" pulls it off nicely.
3. It's a great showcase for character actors. Timothy Olyphant (who I guess doesn't really qualify as a character actor) hasn't really stood out to me in anything else I've seen (I still haven't made it through "Deadwood"), but he's perfect for his part here. Charming, cool, but with a mean streak that makes me think he just might be capable of terrible things. The rest of the cast is also excellent, and each episode manages to show off it's impressive array of eccentric guest stars, whether it's Robert Picardo as an eccentric art dealer or Alan Ruck as a dentist on the run from the mob. I should also mention Walton Goggins. Mostly just because I like typing "Walton Goggins".
4. The dialogue feels like it's straight out of an Elmore Leonard book. This is not surprising, since the show is based on a story of his, and he is himself a producer on a few episodes. His distinctive voice and knack for snappy conversation comes through in every episode, even though he hasn't actually written any of them. If you're going to make a show exploring crime and all it's dramatic and sometimes hilarious facets, it's good to be inspired by one of the masters.
Anyway, there's some of my thoughts on what I hope continues to be one of my new favorite shows.
Oh, and it's also got some of the best opening credits in recent memory:
No comments:
Post a Comment