We need a thread for the FARGO TV show yah? Oh, yah!

To keep the heat off himself, maybe?

Because it's teevee

who kills a guy who is at his lowest and wants to die? gotta wait until he's living well for the good revenge

Thats a very good point.

Haven't read the thread recently but did just finish season 3, and holy crap what a good show this is. All seasons, of a piece but all very different. The acting, the writing, the direction and cinematography, just top notch all around. This season in particular has been like Coens meet Twin Peaks. In fact, as I was watching it made it harder to return to Twin Peaks: The Return, which I was having trouble getting into. (But which I may get back to now.)

Just finished season one of this. What a show! Was initially put off how it overstates so many of the movie's motifs, but the plotting was incredible, performances were a joy, and there was such sweetness at the heart of it all. What a joy it was to watch a crime caper with a fundamentally decent view of humanity.

Season 2 is even better!

It really isn't.

Three episodes into the first season--will take me the rest of the year at least to catch up. Billy Bob's character is a venerable movie cliche--the implacable, unstoppable killer--but he carries it off well. First impression is that, exactly like the movie, it's about two kinds of people involved in grisly crime: those who do it for a living, and those who are completely unsuited to be anywhere near it.

Great ending for the one-year-later episode, where Lester spots Lorne (Billy Bob) in the bar. It would have been even better, though, if, just before the credits, Lorne had slowly turned around to look back at Lester and smiled.

goddamnit when is hawley doing the next season

we'll always have season 2

I love how divided s2 opinion is. You're either on board with the UFO thing or you're not.

(I was firmly on board!)

new season not happening til 2020 apparently

yeah I think I mentioned that some time back, Hawley's done Legion, and a movie?

It was only announced this week that S4 has been commissioned, to go into production next year. No TX date, month or year yet.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DjsLGv3XcAAGxKY.jpg

Chris Rock? Uhhh

When Lester sends his new wife into the office to get their passports, geez--in the annals of spineless, simpering movie creeps, he's right up there.

Finished the first season. I wish--and I'm rarely bothered by things like this; I don't like it when currency feels forced--it had been Molly rather than Gus who put down Malvo. Not a big deal, but it felt wrong. Otherwise, captured the film well.

They did mitigate that, though, with the granddaughter grabbing the gun and joining her grandfather on the porch.

I'm confused on a very basic point. Malvo was a contract killer with Oliver Platt and the other guy he took out to the forest, but with Lester and the suitcase full of recordings, that was just...a hobby? And at no point did he ever intend to kill Lester, right, because that would end the game? Otherwise, why didn't he just kill him in the elevator with the other three?

Three episodes into Season 2. The performances are so good, especially Bokeem Woodbine and Jean Smart. Woodbine seems very familiar, but when I look through his filmography, all I come up with is a cop in Dead Presidents--did he really make that much of an impression on me in what was probably a small role? I must be overlooking something.

He’s done a lot of TV one-offs and he bears a strong resemblance to Dave Chapelle.

That's it--he really does look like Dave Chappelle, and even delivers his lines in a similar way. I don't know Chappelle's work well, but I've seen his post-election SNL monologue, which was excellent, three times, so that's imprinted on my mind.

That treatment outline for the new season feels a little too similar to S2, with the warring crime clans.

I've seen Patrick Wilson in four or five films, and every time I end up looking up his character to remind me of who he is--he's like the most nondescript-looking actor I can think of. I won't forget his name after Fargo.

(Loved Nick Offerman laughing at his own pomposity during the credits for episode 6. Unless it was an outtake, but I'm pretty sure he was still in character.)

Three episodes into Season 2. The performances are so good, especially Bokeem Woodbine and Jean Smart. Woodbine seems very familiar, but when I look through his filmography, all I come up with is a cop in Dead Presidents--did he really make that much of an impression on me in what was probably a small role? I must be overlooking something.

― clemenza, Sunday, September 23, 2018 9:19 AM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Had the same reaction, and the answer I found: music videos.

Busta's Light Ya Ass On Fire, Wu-Tang's Protect Ya Neck and Gravel Pit, several others (can't find a solid list, but I feel like there's plenty more)

i really enjoyed season 1 and 2 and i'm enjoying season 3 so far (just a few episodes in). i find this show slightly frustrating though. the acting is generally excellent, the music cues are great, and there's usually something beautiful or interesting happening visually. but the stories for all three seasons are pretty similar (bad people get mixed with up even worse people, chaos ensues), and are overly reliant on graphic violence - each season ends up with someone shooting someone else who shot someone else etc etc., which is kind of played out in the world of prestige tv. i would love it if they would maintain the aesthetic but tell a slightly different kind of story.

Will: thanks, but I think it's Dave Chappelle for me. My familiarity with videos after about 1999 is pretty minimal.

there's usually something beautiful or interesting happening visually

I think the use of split-screen in Season 2 is beautiful--better even than De Palma.

i find Fargo a bit more refreshing than the usual prestige TV since it does have a decent amount of humor and odd narrative turns, and i wouldn't call it "feel bad" TV, which remains a bit of a crutch for so many shows and has been one for far too long. Which is why i've found GLOW refreshing, or something like Justified (which had a lot of violence but never tipped over into sadism, and somehow ended on a beautifully poetic note.)

S2 is really terrific, I watched it before S1 (also good, but not quite on par with S2.) Lots of good-to-great performances from a number of interesting actors: Bokeem Woodbine is a standout for sure, Patrick Wilson too. Kirsten Dunst is pretty phenomenal i thought, and Cristin Milioti possibly even better in a role that could have been thankless, sort of dealing w/the cancer and likely fate with a kind of wry humor and sadness that reminds me of someone else, but I can't think of who it is now...

The whole Gerhardt clan is conceived perfectly and that works even better because of the superior performances; Jean Smart, Jeffrey Donovan, Angus Sampson, Rachel Keller -- all great.

s2 is better than s1 but allison tolman is so much more compelling than patrick wilson

and wilson was good in s2! he's just kind of a generic hero

they missed the boat in not having an it's always sunny cast member in s2

Tolman was indeed great (and a nice echo of McDormand, without being an imitation), but I do think Wilson's great in his own way. The way he stood up to the Gerhardts was totally different than Grimly in Season 1. There's something about his performance I don't find generic...I loved the scene where he sat down the butcher and his wife and explained who was coming for them.

Found the treatment of Reagan fascinating. Not a cartoon...yet when cornered on how exactly any American was supposed to exercise these unlimited powers to fix things, he just kind of waved and walked away.

I loved Tolman but I don’t think anybody in any season has gotten a line as good as “Am I the only one here who's clear on the concept of law enforcement?”

Basically every time Lou interacts with Dodd is a fucking gem. I kinda forgot about some of those moments until just now looking that up on wikiquote and now I’m grinning at my phone like an idiot

It is just really difficult to picture Chris Rock being good in this

yah

Maybe the fourth season is set in 2016 and Chris Rock is Obama, like how Bruce Campbell was Reagan

"Locomotive Breath"! That was so good.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, but whereas the first season was a very good approximation of the movie, the second is much closer in tone to Miller's Crossing/No Country for Old Men.

I liked Season 2 until the last couple of episodes. Season 3, on the other hand, started badly (I really hated the idea of McGregor playing brothers) but got better and better, in a seriously dark and even depressing way. I didn't need the camera to be shoved into David Thewlis's mouth as often as it was, but Carrie Coon was fantastic in it.

I'm bracing myself for the worst with the alien subplot--interesting so far, but not really necessary that I can see.

Agree that the last couple of episodes tailed off a bit. The big shootout was great--the way they'd freeze the frame--but a certain point, it was like they'd killed off almost every interesting character. The deus ex machina moment provided by the aliens was okay, I guess (reminded me a bit of the frogs in Magnolia--the whole alien thing wasn't all that intrusive in the end. Lots of great music: "Sylvia's Mother" was especially good. Didn't really need all the narration in the last couple of episodes.

Words I never thought I'd say outside of Cheers: I was so impressed by Ted Danson.

you should check out The Good Place

Yeah Danson's been good in a few more recent things: this, Good Place and Bored to Death are all great.

Wasn't he in Damages? He was good in that too, iirc.

I didn't need the camera to be shoved into David Thewlis's mouth as often as it was

A good character way overused generally. Would've been much more effective only appearing every few episodes.

i really love the music in this show, it really gives me that feeling of when you're listening to a great song and you can imagine yourself being in a movie or tv show with that song on the soundtrack. "sylvia's mother" was a good one. s3 uses this jam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VsmF9m_Nt8 (highly recommend watching that video).

and yeah there's been a dansonaissance over the past 10 or so years. he was fantastic in damages in particular.

Yeah Danson's been good in a few more recent things: this, Good Place and Bored to Death are all great.

Curb Your Enthusiasm, too.

I was very disappointed that they didn't make a season 3 OST album.