Fargo season 1 - episode 1

'You can't turn the film, Fargo, into a TV show! Sure, Hannibal did it but that was based on a series of books with enough material to expand on. What are they going to do here?'

Well those were some of the thoughts that initially passed though my mind as I caught a short trailer to the new TV series Fargo on Channel 4, that seemed to arrive completely out of the blue. I've only seen the original film once and really enjoyed it, but despite my first reaction, there was something about this show that intrigued me so I went into it having steered clear of other reviews with a fresh mind that was curious to see how they would adapt the Coen brother's classic. And when I finished watching, like the reviews I saw afterwards, I have nothing but praise for this fantastic first episode.

To set the scene for those unfamiliar with the story, a drifter, played by an astonishingly good Billy Bob Thornton, arrives in a small town in Minnesota and influences a down-on-his-luck car salesman, played by an equally amazing Martin Freeman, to 'take control' but things soon take a turn for the worse. Bodies then start appearing with the arrival of Thornton's Malvo, and it's up to Allison Tolman's police officer Molly to make sense of it all. Performances here are all round amazing, and even, dare I say, outdo the original cast. Most in particular is Freeman, who has somehow managed to make time for another large production, and his casting is a stroke of genius that exceeds William H Macy's performance.

For an opening pilot as well, the show packs in so much yet it never seems to rush. Freeman and Thornton's first encounter in a hospital is fantastic to watch and is handled with such care and precision so that it feels as if it were taken from a film, where there's time to focus on moments such as this. Quite often other shows such as Game of Thrones are packed to the brim with content that scenes almost weighed down by the wealth information it has to tell within ten episodes. Here, Fargo uses the film as a template instead of drawing the story out and expanding each scene. Through this open approach, it creates the opportunity to freely expand into new territory, while maintaining the quirky, random, day-to-day feel of the film, which works to show's advantage.

While I am trying to hold back on my praise for what is only the first episode, Fargo has all the materials for one great show. Striking the perfect balance between the dramatic, humorous and gory moments, Fargo gets my full recommendation to both newcomers and fans of the film.