There was certainly a lot of buzz about Justified before it started about a month ago. All the advance reviews were excellent and it sounded like it was going to be the next big thing for FX. The ratings have certainly faded with each new episode, and I have been asking myself: has this show fulfilled the promise of all that early hype?
I’m enjoying the show, and haven’t missed an episode yet, even if they tend to hang out on my DVR for a while before I get around to watching them. There is so much to like about the show: the production value is impeccable, the characters are strong, as is the writing, and the stories keep my attention. Certainly the Raylan character, portrayed by Timothy Olyphant, seems like a modern day version of his Deadwood character Seth Bullock, but there are enough differences to make him feel fresh and not just a clone. The show does an excellent job of setting the mood and tone of the story. Through all the episodes to date, there has been no straying from the flavor of Justified.
With all that being said, though, there seems to be something missing here, at least for me. There was so much promise in the pilot. At the time, it was unclear what direction the show was going to go in. Perhaps others were better informed than I was, but at the end of the episode I didn’t know where the show was going to go. Was this going to be a procedural, with a new story every week? Was it going to be a serial focusing on Raylan’s attempt to clean up the area from the white supremacists? As it turned out, the show is mostly a procedural.
I’m really having a hard time pegging what it is that is failing to capture me. That’s the problem, though: my imagination is just not being captured by this show. I don’t look forward to it every week. I recognize that it’s a well made show, with good writing and acting, but that doesn’t seem to be enough. Perhaps I can write it off to not loving the genre, or perhaps I want more development in the relationships between Raylan and the other regulars on the show. I’m certainly not ready to give it up, but I am yearning for something more from it.
How are you feeling about Justified?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Apr 20, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Are we watching the same show?
By no means is it a simple procedural. True there seems to be a case of the week, but each seems to dig back into Raylan and his history. This past week was about his relationship with his father. This is about the deepest, richest show I’ve seen in some time, and I absolutely look forward to it each week. It does warrant being WATCHED and paid attention to, and not just “watched at”.
By no means would I call it a simple procedural, but I would like to see more connection between the weekly stories, I think.
Yes, I enjoyed this past episode that delved into Raylan’s history with his father, but will this week’s episode build on that? Or it will it just move on to something else?
I’m not questioning the quality of the show, just why I haven’t connected with it yet. I really thought I was going to love this show, and at this point, I only like it.
Maybe you’re just too picky!!! It has is in your words “impeccable production values,strong characters & writing” What else do you want????
There’s no ongoing storyline. No mystery. No “will they, won’t they”, no “You can run but you can’t hide”, no Nemesis, no forbidden fruit…
But wait. There is. There is a forbidden fruit. There is a Nemesis. There is a background story.
The problem is with all that shootin’ you don’t really care about it. If the gun’s the law then honestly how much of a dare is sleeping with the women who shot the brother of her husband she shot who’s the only witness that you didn’t shoot to kill and bla bla bla bla bla.
I for one don’t really care about the story. There’s no money train on this show, there’s no Saloon owner threatening, there’s no gang of drug dealers who use single-use cellphones that need to be wiretapped… this show is like “Treme”. Looks great but lacks a good story but you come back because it looks and feels like “that other show you know the actors from”.
Makes you wonder what lead to the cancellation of “Deadwood” in the first place when all it gave us was “Kings” and “Hitman” *yuck*
Apparently you can’t see the forest for the trees.
Raylan had escaped. He had gotten out, away from his childhood home in poor rural Eastern Kentucky, and now he has been thrown head-first back into where he grew up. Family, friends, ex-wives, the works, and now all that history and baggage is back. That’s the story, and I’m loving it.