Justified, The Best Show on TV

Ever since 'The Wire' left the airways a couple of years ago, I've been looking for a TV show to replace it. I haven't seen one episode of 'Lost' and never had the energy to go back and watch previous episodes to see what that show is about. I've tried to watch 'Fringe' and 'Lie To Me' but neither of them interested me. I used to be a huge 'Law & Order: SVU" fan, but seriously that show becomes old because all the plots are basically the same. Then one night while watching a movie on FX, I saw a preview to one of their new upcoming shows called 'Justified.'

I've always been a fan of FX original shows. I always loved "The Shield" and once upon a time loved 'Nip/Tuck'. And who can forget about the wildly entertaining "Sons of Anarchy'. So FX has always been able to produce top notch TV shows. So I was intrigued by 'Justified.'

I watched the pilot episode and was immediately hooked on the show after the first 5 minutes. I've seen every episode since (there has actually only been 3 episodes so far) and haven't been disappointed since.

The show is about a US Marshal Raylan Givens. He's a gun totting badass who looks like he got out of time machine from the 19th century Old West. In the pilot episode, Givens is originally based in South Florida. In the very first scene of the show, Givens shoots a Miami drug dealer who Givens gave 24 hours to leave the Miami area. Because of the bad publicity of this shooting Givens is transferred to the Lexington, Kentucky office.

Givens grew up in Kentucky and has clearly stated that he can't wait to be transferred. There have been mentions about Givens often-jailed father, which could be a reason why he never wanted to return to Kentucky. Either way there is tension in Givens because all he wants to do is leave Kentucky.

In the first episode after Givens has returned to Kentucky, he must tracked down a former friend and white supremacist Boyd Crowder who blows up churches. He also catches up with Eva Crowder, portrayed by the hot Joelle Carter, before his final confrontation with Boyd. Givens and Boyd stare each other down at the dinner table before Boyd draws his gun only to be shot by Givens. Boyd survives even though Givens intended to kill him. All of these acts of violence by Givens are "justified" because the other person always draws first.



This all happened in the very first episode. I haven't even talked about last week's episode or the one from last night. This show started out with a bang and it keeps getting better and better with each episode. With that I'll give you reasons why you should also watch 'Justified.'

Timothy Olyphant: Olyphant plays the lead character Raylan Givens. Olyphant brings a special quality to this role. He once played a Old West sheriff in 'Deadwood' so he knows how to pull off the role. But he brings a lot more to the role than that. He passes the 'eye test'. You know when you see someone portraying a character they just look right for the part. That's Olyphant as Raylan Givens. He just looks right for the part. He can even pull off wearing a Stetson hat. Not only do these qualities work, but he can also pull off the complicated Elmore Leonard dialogue. I can't picture anyone else more perfect for this part.

The Dialogue: The show and the character Raylan Givens are based on Elmore Leonard's books Riding the Rap and Pronto. Many of Leonard's books have turned into movies, including 'Jackie Brown' which was directed by Quentin Tarrantino. His books feature great dialogue and realism. Both of those features are in the show 'Justified.' One instant of great dialogue was in last night's episode. Raylan discusses how to draw a gun out of a holster with an ex-con who is dying to have a showdown with Raylan. Just this short dialogue is reason enough to watch 'Justified.'

Tension: The point at the very beginning of the series is that Raylan doesn't want to be back in Kentucky. This creates great tension. It hasn't thoroughly been discussed why Raylan doesn't want to be back in Kentucky but all fingers point to a bad relationship between Raylan and his father. Every time Raylan's father is brought up in discussions it's mentioned that A) his father is a criminal and has done time in jail B) that Raylan hasn't seen his father in a long time C) Raylan has no interest in reconnecting with his father. All of this brings an interesting dynamic to show.

Violence: While there is violence in this show, it's subtle and not over the top. It kind of reminds me of the old Spaghetti Westerns that Clint Eastwood used to star in. Usually if violence is involved, there is great dialogue leading up to this point.

All these factors makes 'Justified' the best show on TV at the moment. I highly recommend watching this show or at least watching an episode to form your own opinion. My opinion is set, I'm a fan of 'Justified' and plan on watching every episode until it's off the air.