Should I Check This Out - Justified season 1

So before my blog turns into a roller coaster on my thoughts of Homeland, now seems like a good time to check out a show I've been meaning to write about for some time, Fox's Justified.

Now if you're not familiar with the show, that'll be no surprise because in the UK, the show seems to get dumped on 5 USA with little in the way of advertising, while not looking all that great picture quality wise, which is a shame because this is certainly one of my favourite ongoing programmes right now. So rather than reviewing all four seasons so far in one review, I've decided to break them down into each individual one without fear of spoilers, allowing me to get into the fine details of this great show.

Starring Deadwood's Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens, a US marshal who adopts a cowboy hat complete with a 19th century Western 'shoot first, ask questions later' attitude, it's not long before his sensibilities find him in trouble. Think Han Solo in the modern day. Instructed to go back to his hometown in Kentucky until his recent incident blows over, he returns to the marshal office where he discovers what became of his old friends and flings of the past. Ok so that sounds like a sentimental drama about returning to your roots blah blah blah but this is anything but that. To start with an old girlfriend recently shot the head off her abusive husband who was the brother to an old friend of his, said old friend Boyd Crowder has become a neo-nazi (played by the incredible Walton Goggins) and his father is just as tough and unforgiving when Raylan first left. Out of the fire and into the frying pan.

While I initially found myself taking some time to adjust to the show (I watched the first episode and thought little of it. Watched it again much later on and couldn't stop), it's fast moving and does the usual crime-of-the-week formula to set up the main characters. However, and thankfully, the formula only lasts for a short while before some of the bigger players are introduced and the show really starts to take off. That said, the formula doesn't hurt the show in anyway; instead it is used to introduce and develop the characters, while also providing moments of humour. And by developing, I mean establishing as Raylan is the fore-focus of the show.

The cast are all fantastic, particularly Olyphant as Raylan Givens who brings charisma and charm to the role, but also manages to convey the signs of a tough childhood that shapes him today without it ever becoming overbearing to the audience. Also his chemistry with Goggins is brilliant thanks to excellent performances and a great script.

All in all, Justified season one is fantastic, getting better with each episode, leading to a great finale. While it may take some time to get used to, the style and tone of the show, like Deadwood and other great programmes, this is well worth checking out.