Ranu's Reviews

FX

10PM Tuesdays

The one thing I have to say about FX is that they sure know how to promote the hell out of new shows on their channel. I hate shows about the West and cowboys (with the exception of Deadwood), but their previews are so damn enticing that I just have to watch it—at least for one or two episodes.

The 411

JUSTIFIED is all about Deputy U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. He is working in Miami for about five minutes and then gets his ass transferred back to his home state of Kentucky for killing the bad guy from “Gone in Sixty Seconds” in literally 60 seconds!  If Raylan was on Match.com, his profile would point out his fondness of Stetson hats, cowboy boots and facial hair.

Once the good ‘ole boy gets home, he finds out that his former co-worker at the coal mine is now public enemy number one. Throw in the ex-wife, his dad that he hasn’t seen in years and the high school crush that all still reside in Harlan, Kentucky and you have yourself a plot that is as about as played out as MySpace.

The Good

Timmy Olyphant (one of the baddest badasses on Deadwood) plays the main character, Raylan Givens, and he can wear the shit out of a Stetson. He still knows how to kick ass and if you liked him in Deadwood, you should enjoy him in this new, less vulgar role.

The Not So Good

Waltin Goggins from The Shield, plays Boyd Crowder—Raylan’s nemesis. His Kentucky accent lasts about as long as Conan O’Brien did hosting the Tonight Show. His acting has always been pretty suspect and I don’t think he is ready to be the main villain in this new series. I think he is purposely surrounded by bad-guy idiots to make him look good, but even that little trick isn’t helping.

To DVR or Not To DVR?

Normally, I wouldn’t give a show like this a second chance, but FX has a history of making some quality television programming—so I am going to ride this out for a few more Tuesday nights. The show has potential even though I wasn’t totally blown away by the pilot. A preview of the upcoming episodes look pretty interesting, but if it doesn’t produce—deleting this from your DVR schedule will be completely JUSTIFIED!

For more info, visit the official site: http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/justified/index.php