Everyone Should Watch Justified

My fiancee and I have been systematically watching complete runs of series for a while now (not having cable, a lot of time is spent finding streams that work). We started with The X-Files, which understandably took a while to get through. Using the Vince Gilligan connection, we moved to Breaking Bad, which led to Deadwood (unintentionally) via Anna Gunn. Timothy Olyphant brought us to Justified (you didn't need to know all of that, I'm just really fond of drawing connections), which I'd been hearing a lot of good press about on NPR and the AV Club. We're closing in on the first season finale and it's easily become one of the most entertaining 40 minutes of television I watch. 

To be sure, I need to adjust to the styles of the show. Justified doesn't have a distinctive look like Deadwood or Breaking Bad. It mostly just looks like any number of shows like Burn Notice or Royal Pains, sort of blandly polished. Also, I've gotten so used to heavily serialized shows and have such an aversion to the seemingly millions of police procedurals out there that when it became apparent that Justified was going to feature a different conflict every week while trying to balance an over-arcing story, I instinctively wanted to reject it. However, after a few bumps in the early going, Justified has won me over, full force.

The AV Club makes the point that Justified has cracked the formula for combining serialized and procedural plotting and they are spot on. But what I didn't expect from the procedural elements was how exciting and mysterious it makes the next episode (I never watch the "next week on..." previews for shows because they are always misleading and always give away too much for my tastes). Instead of going into the next episode wondering how the protagonist(s) are going to extricate themselves from whatever problem they are in (and I can't help but think of Breaking Bad right now), Justified makes you wonder what sort of case Olyphant's Raylan Givens is going to have to deal with while he tries to deal with bigger priorities.

Another bonus of the procedural elements is that they allow for a cavalcade of amazing guest stars. The first few I got excited about were Alan Ruck and Tony Hale, but then a trend started to develop. Peter Jason. Ray McKinnon. W. Earl Brown. Sean Bridgers. Every episode was turning into a Deadwood reunion! Con, the reverend, Dan Dority, and Johnny Burns were all back shootin' the shit with Seth Bullock (well... not so much the reverend). Little makes me happier than thinking about the between takes conversations and everyone reliving their Deadwood experiences. Plus, I'm a fan of filmmakers who work with the same people repeatedly because it really gives the sense that everyone likes each other and is having fun making movies and that's the feeling I get when I see these guest stars. I can't wait to see who else is going to pop up.

As it's based on the work of Elmore Leonard, I'd be remiss if I didn't include the amazing and often funny dialogue. Everyone gets to shine, but any time Raylan gets to banter with an adversary, the show is electric. This is probably why the episode with W. Earl Brown is my favorite. The only issue I have with Justified so far is that some of Raylan's colleagues cyphers. They are simply there to follow orders. For a show that creates such memorable one-off characters, it's disappointing that the supporting cast gets such short shrift. Hopefully that will change as the show builds its world. 

Oh, and the theme song sucks. Two issues. Watch Justified!

Deadwood: An Appreciation

There was a time when I rejected westerns completely. No matter how many people recommended the classics to me, I wasn't interested. This mindset continued through my first year of graduate school where I was studying film. During my first year, I had a friend (who is still a friend) expound on the excellence of Deadwood. I dismissed her with a wave of the hand (in my mind, anyway) as westerns offered me nothing. But a funny thing happens as you dive into a subject (in this case, film). You get exposed to a lot of new ideas and new ways of thinking. During my second year, I even took a Ford and Peckinpah class and realized that not only are westerns interesting, many of them are pretty damn awesome.

In the Ford/Peckinpah class, we watched the pilot to Deadwood. At the time, I was wholly unimpressed. It was OK, but amazing like I was led to believe. I felt completely comfortable ignoring its existence and did so for the next four years. Now that I've finally watched the entire series, I'm pissed at myself for not having done so sooner.

In my defense, it makes sense that I wasn't enamored after the first episode. Deadwood is a deliberate show that plays its cards close to the chest. There's not a real sense of what the show will be until the first season is almost over. The cast of characters is massive (and constantly dying off while new people come to town) so it takes a while to establish who is who and what their position is in Deadwood. Clearly, Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen are going to be major players, but others take into the second and third season for their roles to be fully revealed. It's almost impossible to judge the show without seeing it through to the end (and how sad that the end came so abruptly for the viewers who watched it while it was on the air). Probably my favorite aspect of Deadwood is that once the characters and motivations are established, the show bends over backwards to not only put people at odds with each other, but with what we believe of the character. Alliances between enemies are frequent because in the end, everyone wants what's best for the town.

Swearengen is easily one of the best, most complex characters I've ever seen in any entertainment. Ian McShane got a lot of press for his performance (it's remarkable the role only got him one Golden Globe and no other awards) and I was prepared to dismiss it going in, but damned if he doesn't own every minute he's on screen. Swearengen is a man who is always thinking ahead and how he can play things to best benefit him. He's not above setting aside his differences and even respects Bullock most of the time even if he thinks Bullock is crazy and a tad irrational (maybe the fact that Swearengen is so rational is why I find him appealing).

But the real reason I love Deadwood and that I'm mad at myself for not watching sooner is the vibrancy of the town. Creator David Milch and his crew created something amazing in that town. It would take more words than I would like to type to detail every character in the town who makes an impression, but it's a lively community and even the smallest parts (well, maybe not the extras) are well-realized and leave an impression. The town of Deadwood is the star of the show. The reality is like nothing I've ever seen. The action is amazingly choreographed and you really get a sense that you're watching the town from a balcony like Swearengen (or Tolliver or Hearst) with all the pieces moving around via an unseen hand.

I can't help but feel like I've inadequately represented Deadwood here, but it's really difficult to describe the way it sucks you in. The closest parallel I can make is the way Deadwood makes me feel about the community is the way The Tree of Life makes me feel about childhood. Sure, there are times during the show that I don't understand a word being said even though they are speaking plain English, but that's no matter. Just means I'll have to rewatch. Because I may not ever want to go to Deadwood, but I never want to leave, either.