Justified and other things
Justified is back! Yes, I know, it started again a month ago, but it always takes me a while to post. It's not the best show I've ever watched, but it's my favourite of the past two years because of:
- Timothy Olyphant being his lanky, apparently nonchalant but really fucking intense self
- The dialogue. Not only the funny lines, like "You're the hillbilly whisperer", but the old-fashioned, a bit theatrical way the characters talk, all "They'll come over that hill and bring hell with them, and they won't leave until they've bled the county white". I love it.
- The best cast of secondary characters I've seen in a while. Boyd Crowder, obviously. After the pilot, I wouldn't have imagined feeling anything for a former neo-nazi church-bombing white supremacist, but he's a fantastic character. Everyone in the Marshall's office, starting with Rachel. We don't see much of her, but I've loved her small interactions with Raylan ever since last season, when she took his hat in the car. And I want to know more about the sharp-shooting one. Oh hell, everyone, including the villains. But I have to say, my favourite is now Dewey Crowe, after his Raylan-imitating antics, because it takes some artistry to be that fantastically stupid (and hilarious).
In other TV news:
- Fringe remains amazing, even though I'm a bit iffy about recent developments. But then again, I'm in it mostly for Olivia and Walter (John Noble! When he was playing an over-the-top Denethor in RoTK, I didn't know he was so good. I blame that one entirely on Peter Jackson) and I'm rather indifferent to Peter and to his relationship to Olivia. I don't much like it being front and center, but all the rest is great. Why aren't more people watching it? It has Lance Reddick in it, people! Any show giving him work already has an in with me.
- The Good Wife is excellent. I was reluctant to watch it because I wasn't much interested in the premise, but it's good! I maintain that she should ditch her husband (I'm sorry, Chris Noth is so smarmy, blech), put her kids in boarding school and live for herself, but once I ignore those minor annoyances, which are much less prominent in season 2, to my great joy, it's really a great show. That may sound like damning with faint praise, but it's not. I just have a problem with excessive abnegation in fictional characters, it makes me want to shake them a lot. But still, watch it, just close your eyes when smarmy Chris Noth in onscreen.
- Also, there are some things starting next month. Doctor Who, as usual, and some show you probably haven't heard about, A Game of Thrones, which is the signal for me to 1)reread the books, 2) FINALLY read A Feast for Crows, which I'd kept in reserve because FOR SOME REASON, I had doubts about the release date of Dance with Dragons. Now that said release date appears to be a sure thing, I'll get to it. I've forgotten at least half of what happened in those books.
- Timothy Olyphant being his lanky, apparently nonchalant but really fucking intense self
- The dialogue. Not only the funny lines, like "You're the hillbilly whisperer", but the old-fashioned, a bit theatrical way the characters talk, all "They'll come over that hill and bring hell with them, and they won't leave until they've bled the county white". I love it.
- The best cast of secondary characters I've seen in a while. Boyd Crowder, obviously. After the pilot, I wouldn't have imagined feeling anything for a former neo-nazi church-bombing white supremacist, but he's a fantastic character. Everyone in the Marshall's office, starting with Rachel. We don't see much of her, but I've loved her small interactions with Raylan ever since last season, when she took his hat in the car. And I want to know more about the sharp-shooting one. Oh hell, everyone, including the villains. But I have to say, my favourite is now Dewey Crowe, after his Raylan-imitating antics, because it takes some artistry to be that fantastically stupid (and hilarious).
In other TV news:
- Fringe remains amazing, even though I'm a bit iffy about recent developments. But then again, I'm in it mostly for Olivia and Walter (John Noble! When he was playing an over-the-top Denethor in RoTK, I didn't know he was so good. I blame that one entirely on Peter Jackson) and I'm rather indifferent to Peter and to his relationship to Olivia. I don't much like it being front and center, but all the rest is great. Why aren't more people watching it? It has Lance Reddick in it, people! Any show giving him work already has an in with me.
- The Good Wife is excellent. I was reluctant to watch it because I wasn't much interested in the premise, but it's good! I maintain that she should ditch her husband (I'm sorry, Chris Noth is so smarmy, blech), put her kids in boarding school and live for herself, but once I ignore those minor annoyances, which are much less prominent in season 2, to my great joy, it's really a great show. That may sound like damning with faint praise, but it's not. I just have a problem with excessive abnegation in fictional characters, it makes me want to shake them a lot. But still, watch it, just close your eyes when smarmy Chris Noth in onscreen.
- Also, there are some things starting next month. Doctor Who, as usual, and some show you probably haven't heard about, A Game of Thrones, which is the signal for me to 1)reread the books, 2) FINALLY read A Feast for Crows, which I'd kept in reserve because FOR SOME REASON, I had doubts about the release date of Dance with Dragons. Now that said release date appears to be a sure thing, I'll get to it. I've forgotten at least half of what happened in those books.