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Justified, Season 1

Justified, Season 1

By Patrick Samuel • March 23rd, 2011
Static Mass Rating: 5/5
JUSTIFIED, SEASON 1 (DVD)
Sony Home Entertainment 

Release date: November 29th 2010
Certificate (UK): 15
Running time: 537 minutes

Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Walton Goggins, David Hill

Who doesn’t like a good western or cop series? In many ways they’re more or less the same thing. Westerns are usually characterised by gunslingers who deliver justice in one form or another and cop series’ are the modern day equivalent with more toys thrown in.

Justified, adapted from Elmore Leonard’s novels Pronto and Riding the Rap and the short story Fire in the Hole is a mix of the two. It blends law enforcement with some of the traits of the western, such as the cowboy hat, damsel in distress and the good ole fashioned shootouts.

Justified, Season 1

The show is set in Lexington, Kentucky where southern-bred US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) has just been re-assigned following the shooting of a drug cartel hit man in Miami. Now he has to pitch in with duties such as transporting prisoners and protecting witnesses while also catching fugitives.

With an investigation underway surrounding the shooting, life in the town of Harlan proves to be as much of a handful as it was in Miami. It’s also where he grew up and where his ex-wife, Winona (Natalie Zea) lives.

Most of the folks he crosses paths with are locals, including bad boy and born again Christian, Boyd (Walton Goggins).

EPISODES:

  • Fire in the Hole
  • Riverbrook
  • Fixer
  • Long in the Tooth
  • The Lord of War and Thunder
  • The Collection
  • Blind Spot
  • Blowback
  • Hatless
  • The Hammer
  • Veterans
  • Fathers and Sons
  • Bulletville

SPECIAL FEATURES:

  • What Would Elmore Do?
  • The Story of Justified
  • Justified: Meet the Characters

Raylan also takes to shacking up with Eva (Joelle Carter) but seeing as she recently shot and killed her husband, his superiors don’t look on it too well. But then Raylan isn’t the sort of fella who really cares about what people think. His way of enforcing the law is heavy handed, and while his approach is pragmatic, it’s his ethics which are called into question.

It’s been quite a while since I found myself so hooked on a series, but Justified is so easily and quite simply, one of the best.

Olyphant’s softly spoken ways, together with his tall, lean and effortlessly handsome frame is highly reminiscent of a young Clint Eastwood back in the Dirty Harry days. The role is complex, meaty and at times Raylan is heavily conflicted, not just with the law, but also matters of the heart where Winona and Eva are concerned.

Justified, Season 1

Every hero needs an anti-hero and Goggins as the misguided but despicable Boyd is perfectly cast. As he recites Bible passages, it’s hard to tell if he really believes it or if it’s another to game designed to mess with Harlan or get to Eva.

The episodes work their way to a thrilling showdown with some very unexpected and thrilling turns where we find out more about Raylan’s troubled past and why he was so desperate to get out of Harlan in the first place.

As a main character, Raylan’s flaws and trigger-happy attitude might turn out to be his downfall, but it certainly makes for interesting storylines.

As the show’s writers figure out where to take him in the 2nd and 3rd seasons, we can look back on Season 1 and say it shows great promise. And justifiably so.

Patrick Samuel

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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