Justifying Justified

I don't have HBO anymore, I've never had Showtime, and I don't watch Breaking Bad.  Most people would agree the best show out there is on one of those two networks, or it is just...Breaking Bad.  But for me FX has done it again in creating my favorite show on TV, Justified.  Like with most of my favorite shows in the past (Dexter, Mad Men, Scrubs, Frasier) I came late to the game, and had to catch up on Seasons 1 and 2, which was no problem at all after the pilot.  This show is written sharper, shot grittier, acted better and laced with humor better than anything I've seen on TV since...well it's predecessor Nip/Tuck (possibly my favorite show of all time).
Timothy Olyphant (who has struck TV gold again after staring in the brilliant Deadwood) plays Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (a character created by novelist/screenwriter Elmore Leonard who appears in 2 of his novels and a short story).  This seems like the role Olyphant was born to play, and hopefully will have more than 3 Seasons to expand on this character.  He's just as likely to throw a joke your way, before a punch...but will then will follow with said punch.  But he's not just a gun totting cliche either.  Sure he wears a cowboy hat, boots, jeans and a bad tie...but he also is an oddly touching character who goes out of his way to make sure he protects everyone he cares for.  And this sometimes blurs his sense of right and wrong, and it's fascinating to see which way he decides to go.  His relationship with his father is also the most compelling and complicated father/son storyline I've EVER seen in a TV show.  He's a true lawman for the 21st Century and I live for characters like this...these are the kind of guys you root for.

TV's Biggest Badass: Marshal Raylan Givens

His Lennon to his McCartney is the absolutely brilliant Walter Goggins (who plays the morally grey Boyd Crowder).  I don't think I've hated a character more than I hated Boyd Crowder during his introduction in this pilot episode.  By the end of Season 1, he was one of my favorite characters on the show...now what does that say?  Interested yet??  He chews up the dialogue and scenery like it's good ol' fashioned spittin' tobacco. Walter Goggins has a couple awards in his future and his rocky back and forth character ride he takes us on is the most compelling storyline of Season 1.

Walter Goggins' Boyd Crowder

This is a show that is constantly bringing in new complex storylines as well as new complex characters.  It's rich with scenery and lush with moral dilemmas that confront those characters.  Oh and it also has the best gunfights around...

So...check out my favorite new show on TV.  You have until 10 pm tonight to catch up...GO!