Justified: City Primeval

 

Justified is back on FX in an 8 part miniseries based on Elmore Leonard's City Primeval. I haven't seen the premiere but the critics have - and they liked it. May not have seen the show yet but I have read the book and it seems some changes have been added. Really looking forward to this.

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh - now the 8 Northwestern students who claim they were the victims of hazing have hired legal representation. That endowment fund is going faster than I thought. Now now it seems like only the college President and AD are without legal representation. How long before they lawyer up?

- I think about this song and how prevalent it became in Hollywood often

- Alan Sepinwall of the new Justified miniseries.

- If you know your Bible this is both relevant and amusing

Justified

 

One of my favorite shows of all time.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- This is why the Boston Marathon is different.

- Disney used to make hundreds of millions from Netflix. Now they will spend billions to fight them.

- Heh Heh

- An appreciation of the TV show Justified.

- Interesting profile of comedian Neal Brennan.

- Where is "Old Zealand"? 

- Really cool George R.R. Martin story.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Interesting - why you won't find big discounts on Subarus

- Why Ian McShane never appeared on Justified.

- Was William F. Buckley talking about this year's election?

- Heh heh

- National Donut Day always makes me think of this. "Have another donut you fat pig!"

- There is a certain similarity

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The AFL-CIO, a group of 21 scientists and the New England Patriots all filed amicus briefs in support of Tom Brady. Filing in support of Roger Goodell and the NFL was the Church of Satan... Interesting - Epix will be producing a series based upon Elmore Leonard's Get Shorty. I'm guessing this is in part due to the success of the Elmore Leonard based series Justified... .. The Shakespearean phrase "I'll tickle your catastrophe" just tickles my fancy... TJ Miller and Stephen Tobolowski equals gold...  Mae West said it 100-years ago "Those who are offended easily should be offended more often" and it is still true today... Just saying but a belly-dancing class should be a great place to meet women. Chances are you'd be the only guy...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- ESNet - the 100 Gbps shadow internet that only the Government has access to

- Raylan vs Boyd - the final Justified showdown

- Losing by 20 and you sack the back-up QB.

- This Jim Carrey as Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ad was great. Wish I knew who the writer was.

- A history of Ultron - the villain in the new Avengers movie

- Interesting - the football genius of F. Scott Fitzgerald

- Heh heh - funny because it's true!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh heh - Braveheart re-written

- Seven Steps to living a Bill Murray life

- How big the extinct Megoladon sharks were in scale

- Interesting cast additions for the final season of Justified

Justified Season Five

It's been a couple of weeks since the final episode of Justified's fifth season and I just wanted to comment on what was by consensus the weakest season of a great show.

There were two main issues with this season. First Daryl Crowe Jr. and his clan just did not match up to the level of badassness of Bo Crowder, Mags Bennett or Robert Quarles from previous seasons. It's a given that those three represent three of the "best" heavies in modern TV drama history so it was a tough bar to match to begin with but Michael Rapaport never rose above a certain cartoonishness in my eyes. It was tough to root for or against him. I just didn't care that much.

The second issue was the storyline of Ava Crowder in jail. Once again - I just didn't care that much. Honestly I would have much preferred that most of her screen time instead be spent with Raylan indulging in his ice cream habit or random barroom singing acts (like season 3's Jack and Coke scene).

The good news is next season seems to be lined up pretty nicely with the final showdown of Raylan versus Boyd Cowder. Looking forward to it!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Justified returns on Tuesday night - the show reflects on the loss of Elmore Leonard

- Frank Sinatra getting out of a helicopter with a drink in his hand. Cool!

- Interesting profile of Freddy Mercury's longtime girlfriend

- Epic take-down on Jerry Jones and what he's done to the Cowboys

- Richard Nixon - man of the people!

- I mean come on - who hasn't been upset by the lack of beer?

- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee - Jerry Seinfeld and Louis CK. Awesome!

- Interesting interview of Bill Simmons on his experience in podcasting

- Cool photo of Mount Fuji circa 1920

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Kids today probably think that mustard gas is something that happens to you the day after eating a pastrami sandwich... 22 cast members and one almost cast members describe how their auditions for SNL went... I wonder if the people who now know they will be losing their healthcare because of Obamacare were allowed to change their vote if it would have been enough to elect Mitt Romney... Gabe Kapler has a great take on the PED guessing game...  I wonder who would win an MMA fight in the octagon - Joe Rogan or Jay Glazer... After hearing of Elmore Leonard's death I re-watched the first season of Justified and the Tarantino flick Jackie Brown. I have come to think that Robert DeNiro's best role was as Louis Gara the pot smoking criminal...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

David Ortiz of the Red Sox now has more stolen bases on the season (4) than Carl Crawford has for the Dodgers (3)... 8 brilliant scientific screw-ups... I saw that Geraldo selfie and all I could think was that the next thing he did was dance around with his junk tucked between his legs like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs... The voice of God as a young man... I wonder if you added up all the time a PBS station takes for pledge breaks and pledge drives - how it would compare to the time an average station plays commercials?... Being stubborn means continuing to drink coffee even when you have diarrhea...  This photo of Jim Boeheim sleeping akimbo is just awesome... Who is the bigger disappointment at 3rd base in 2013 - Brett Lawrie for the Blue Jays or Will Middlebrooks for the Red Sox?... What actually happens at the end of Trading Places... It would be cool if Michael Keaton made an cameo on Justified as Ray Nicolette... Some comedian should do a person in the street interview asking average people if they are upset that Piers Morgan was acquitted of shooting Trayvon Martin...

Justified Question

I love the show Justified and have thoroughly enjoyed this season which revolves around the mystery of who is Drew Thompson? The answer to that question was revealed in this week's show but since then a question about the plot has been bothering me.

The whole - who is Drew Thompson question got set in motion by Arlo Givens trying to retrieve a diplomatic bag with Waldo Truth's license which was hidden in a wall of Arlo's home. Here's what's bothering me:

A: If Arlo just left the bag alone - none of this happens and Arlo would still be alive. If a new owner of the house did some construction and found the bag - it would have little or no significance to them. Why take the risk to retrieve the bag?

B: Why did Arlo keep the bag in the first place? He knew who Drew Thompson was. He didn't need the license.

C: What was the significance of the diplomatic bag? Was this a secret that died with Arlo?

The show normally does a nice job tying up loose ends and on details (for example Adam Arkin has always had mismatched eyes with one looking like it could be glass even though it was only revealed that Drew Thompson shot Theo Tonin in the eye this season). Why did they leave this loose end hanging? Or did I miss something?

Justified

Justified is one of my top 5 favorite shows of all-time. It is one of the few must see - can't miss shows on TV as far as I'm concerned (the others being Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Archer and Mad Men).

The problem has been that unlike my other favorite shows - there was no way to watch past episodes without buying the DVD's. That's changed as Amazon Prime has announced an exclusive deal to stream both Justified and The Shield. I just powered through a re-watching of Season One and Seasons, Two, Three and Four will be re-watched very soon.

As an aside - kudos to Amazon Prime. The main benefit to Amazon Prime is the free shipping but considering that buying the Justified DVD's alone would have almost equaled the $79 yearly fee - this news is a very welcome bonus as far as I'm concerned. As another aside - I never realized how much Raylan Givens enjoys ice cream. Almost every episode there's a reference to it or a shot of Raylan eating some. It's like the sugar cereals in Seinfeld.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Boyd Crowder could not be reached for comment... I would love to hear Jon Lovitz read Obama's "You didn't build that" speech in his Master Thespian's voice. That would get a million YouTube hits easy... 18 Awesome Household Tips... Not sure who I find more heinous - Joe Paterno's son or Ted Williams' son. And yes I know John Henry Williams has passed away but he's still heinous... Very interesting story on Sherman Hemsley who just passed away. And by interesting - I mean bizarrely compelling... Orange barrel re-route! Orange barrel re-rout! Have you seen my baseball? Have you seen my baseball?... It would be cool if TV shows could trade actors the way MLB teams trade players... So it turns out that Ichiro was the player to be named later in the Jay Buhner deal... This is a real milk commercial...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Very Cool - Single A team shows fans that there's more to Jamie Moyer than they know

Interesting recap of all the killings in Season 3 of Justified

Arctic ice caps are melting! Well now that we look at the data - not so much

The Dalai Lama loves George W. Bush. World leaders keep saying great things about George W. Bush. Do you think it will be the same for Barack Obama once he's out of office?

Justified

I love the show Justified. I was a fan from the very first time I saw the commercial for the new show. The writing, the dialog and the action on the show are all top notch but one factor that really makes me love the show is the various actors who populate the world of Harlan County who have played roles in two of my other favorite shows - Deadwood and Band of Brothers.

Deadwood veterans:
Timothy Olyphant is the star of Justified and was of course Sheriff Seth Bullock.
Jim Beaver plays Shelby and on Deadwood he was Ellsworth. Beaver seems to specialize in characters with just one name.
Brent Sexton was the dirty Sheriff from Season 1 and he played Harry Manning the bartender at Tom Nuttall's saloon.
The excellent Stephen Tobolowski plays FBI agent Barkley and was also Yankton's man Yugo Jarry.
W. Earl Brown had a memorable episode in Season 1 where he played Cal Wallace a dangerous prisoner. Of course he was also Dan Dority on Deadwood.
Sean Bridgers also had a stand-alone episode in Season 1 and he was Dan Dority's sidekick at the Gem - Johnny Burns.
Ray McKinnon was memorable as hitman Mr. Duke in Season 1 but he'll always be epilepsy sufferer Reverend Smith to me.
Pruitt Taylor Vince was an amusing Harlan roulette playing Glen Fogle and equally amusing Mose Manuel.
Peter Jason who was Con Stapelton on Deadwood played Owen Carnes in one episode in Season 1. I honestly don't recall him on Justified.
Clay Wilcox played a loudmouth drunk who cussed at Wild Bill and he was the drug dealer with the Samurai sword in Justified. He's actually the reason I put together the list. I saw him and thought "where do I know him from?" It was then I realized just how many Deadwood and Band of Brothers veterans were on the show. 

Band of Brothers veterans:
Neal McDonough is psycho carpetbagger Robert Quarles and was Buck Compton.
Rick Gomez is ADA David Vazquez and who played Sgt. George Luz.
Richard Speight Jr. plays one of Dickie's flunkies and in Band of Brothers he was Warren "Skip" Muck.
Frank John Hughes played a criminal in the witness relocation program and was also Wild Bill Guarnere.
David Andrews plays Sheriff Napier and he also had brief role as the General who interviews Major Winters and who tells him his men have earned the right to keep him around.

I may be missing a couple of actors but you have to admit that's a lot of crossover from those two shows on Justified.

I know that there is also a lot of Sons of Anarchy veterans but while that show is very good - it is not in the class of Deadwood or Band of Brothers.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

In the wake of NBC News admitting they edited audio from George Zimmerman to make him sound racist it should be asked if NBC would be better off just getting rid of their News Division completely. The money they will lose in a lawsuit from Zimmerman is bound to be more than any profits the News Division will bring to NBC for the next several years.. 17 offbeat holidays you can celebrate in April. Oh and happy National Tell a Lie Day. Seriously that's today - I'm not lying... I love the show Justified but one thing bothered me about last night's show. Mags Bennett made that $3.2 million everyone seems to be chasing by dealing weed. Boyd would have a monopoly on selling weed in Harlan at this point - why doesn't he just make the money the same way Mags did?... Heh heh - 10 brutally honest office signs... Damn it! "Keith Olbermann's Comfort Hookers" is too long to use as a fantasy baseball team name... Am I the only one who gets upset at the end of the movie Taken because Liam Neeson's ex-wife lets him take a cab home after he risks his life to save their daughter? She should have insisted on giving him a ride. They had a limo! It's not like they didn't have any room in the car for him... An honest snapshot of the Santorum campaign would look like this. He should drop out.

Bill Belichick an Anarchist? Ummm - NO

Charlie Pierce can really turn a phrase which helps to make him a fun writer to read. But the problem isn't how Pierce is saying something - it is the something he tries to say. In his latest Grantland offering Charlie Pierce puts forward the idea that Bill Belichick is the NFL's last anarchist. Ummm - NO!

Anarchists don't have a uniform way of doing things - the Patriot way. Anarchists aren't known for requiring people to just do their jobs. Any personal flair or on-field demonstrations of individuality are normally swiftly dealt with by Coach Belichick.

Bill Belichick isn't an anarchist. The very idea is stupid but that doesn't jive with Charlie Pierce's thinking. Describing Belichick as he is wouldn't allow Pierce to utilize his beloved quotes from Leftists such as Emma Goldman or Bob Dylan.

It is this mindset that will be the doom of Grantland. These people are writing more for each other than for a paying audience. It is a giant echo-chamber. The problem is the readers can only be sucked in so many times. For instance I was sucked into listening to the podcast of their TV critic guys mostly because they were going to talk about Justified. Problem is one of the critics couldn't get into Justified because he thought there was too much shooting - on a show about a US Marshall with a Western gunslinger mentality - too much shooting. Really. And the other critic agreed with him. Needless to say - you won't find me wasting any more time with those podcasts.

Grantland was a great idea. It was supposed to be this place you'd check every day because of the great content. But I'd guess I might check it once a week now (if that) because I already know what I'm going to see. What's the point of reading an article on Grantland if it is just the same viewpoint rehashed over and over?

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Graham Yost explains the season premiere of Justified

Acting is hard (Moneyball out-take)

17 of the most bizarre, obscene, or pointless entries on Wikipedia

Awesome Q&A w/ Teri Garr (it may be old but it was new to me)

Rob Gronkowski’s Friend Bibi Jones To Perform At Stoughton Club (what a great potential Super Bowl promotion)