FARGO Goes Back On Its Return

 Article first published as TV Review: FARGO Season 4 on Seat42F.

After a more-than-three-year drought, FARGO returns to FX for a fourth season. The latest installment in the anthology drama goes back to 1950 and is set in Kansas City, an oft-mentioned place in previous seasons, though not explored all that deeply. The story centers around two rival gangs, one African-American, one Italian, both considered minorities by the rest of the locals, as they try to gain control of illegal activity in the area.

As usual, FARGO’s season is in no hurry to get started, though the fourth season premiere provides quite a bit more historical exposition than previous openers. This may or may not be necessary, we’ll see as the rest of the run unfolds, but really sets up context for where this gang war comes from and how it might play out. Having glimpsed what the dominant faction becomes decades in the future, viewers will feel plenty prepared to get going by the time the title makes its appearance, about a third of the way into the premiere.

The gangs are stocked with plenty of familiar faces, as well as a few less so, as is FARGO’s custom, introducing us to new, terrific performers alongside talented veterans. Comedian Chris Rock (Saturday Night Live) heads one side as Loy Cannon, a family man whose people are not going to be pushed around anymore, and has ideas for legitimate business success if only a funder would take a chance on him. On the other side is Josto Fadda (Jason Schwartzman, Bored to Death), son of the long-time ruler who, at first glance, appears to be unable to live up to his father’s legacy, though he likely will surprise us. Standing out among the rest are Ben Whishaw (No Time to Die) as an Irishman who works for the Italians and Glynn Turman (House of Lies) as Loy’s elder advisor.

While gangsters are a staple of FARGO, three other types of characters usually make up the universe, as well. There’s the hapless person who sees themselves as good, but gets roped into the evil. This seems likely to be filled by mortician Thurman Smutny (musician Andrew Bird), though his daughter, Ethelrida (E'myri Crutchfield, The Kicks), has a larger part thus far, a rarity for a minor in the franchise. Second is the kooky weirdo, which is brillianty filled here with Nurse Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley, Chernobyl). And third is the noble member of law enforcement, which is completely absent from episodes one and two, though Marshall Deafy (Timothy Olyphant, Justified) may take up that mantle in the third hour.

By leaving out the cop, the fourth season of FARGO feels drastically different. The closest thing we have to a hero at the start is Ethelrida, but she’s not taking an active role in anything, and certainly won’t be solving any big cases. Funny that in a period piece, it’s this missing element that stands out more than sets or costumes as moving FARGO in a different direction.

I love the FARGO formula, and adored the first three seasons. I’m not sure it needed a shakeup, but perhaps creator Noah Hawley disagreed, as they really did follow the same pattern (delightfully) thrice. However, given the quality delivered previously, I’m excited to see what they’ve come up with this for the senior round, and hope for more in the future.

Only two and a half hours in (I plan to watch more as soon as possible), I am digging the differences and the tale unfolding. There are lots of interesting personalities, and while one major arc may be clear, there are undoubtedly many others slowly simmering that haven’t fully revealed themselves yet. The ending is only sort of known, given this year’s general tie-ins to other seasons, and it should be a fun ride.

FARGO returns Sunday, September 27th on FX and streaming the next day on Hulu.

New LEGION Of Powers

Article first published as LEGION Review on Seat42F.

As the Marvel universe, including Sony and Fox-produced products, as well as their own-made ones, continue to expand, some of the more obscure, weird characters are being brought into the fold. To that end, FX presents LEGION this week, one of the X-Men related properties still controlled by FX’s parent, Fox. Like Deadpool, he’s not a household name, and also like Deadpool, this series does not feel like any of the other programs in the genre out right now.

If you’re not familiar with the character of Legion, he is someone who has some serious mental issues along with his powers. The son of Professor Xavier, Legion absorbs others within himself, sort of, and often can’t tell what is real and what isn’t. To build a television series around such an unstable character is bold; to make it from his perspective, where viewers don’t know what is actually happening at any given time because he doesn’t know, is even bolder. LEGION chooses the latter route, making a confusing, stimulating series that is as exciting as it is odd.

Legion is David Haller (Dan Stevens, Downton Abbey), and as the show begins, he is locked in a mental institution and has been for some time. Meeting the beautiful Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller, Fargo), who agrees to date David but won’t allow him to touch her, David seems to be getting along all right, despite everything. But when something big and tragic happens, things change. And whether the event is David’s fault or Syd’s remains to be seen, though doesn’t feel particularly important. What is important is that David’s life is set on a new course that pulls him away from what he knows and will likely lead to self exploration.

Stevens is excellent, as is Keller. Both have inhabited very specific characters, far from the roles they’re known for, whom viewers can latch onto, despite the insanity. There is something very essential to them that is relatable and familiar. They’re fully realized individuals, and whole they may not be like people we know, it’s easy to recognizable the humanity in them, no matter the craziness occurring.

The pair are joined by an excellent supporting cast, including fellow patient Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza, Parks and Recreation), David’s sunny sister, Amy (Katie Aselton, The League), a benevolent (?) doctor, Melanie Bird (Jean Smart, 24, Fargo), a shady interrogator (Hamish Linklater, The Crazy Ones), and more. It’s a really strong group playing characters that even most comic book fans aren’t too familiar with, so plenty of new ground to break.

The show itself is visually stunning. It’s like the Doctor Strange of television, with trippy sequences and worlds that could never exist. Guided expertly by the hand of Noah Hawley (FX’s Fargo), it explores concepts that are hard to show, and yet, manages to convey them in unconventional ways. At times, the soundtrack, which matches the rest nicely, almost feels like that of Stranger Things, and the look touches on a Wes Anderson picture. The concept of unreliable narrator feels a bit like Mr. Robot. Despite the many favorable comparisons, LEGION is all its own thing, appealing to fans of the above, but also standing plenty firm on its own.

The world presented in is hyperreality, bold colors and retro designs, music that is both old and timeless. The total package is a cool production design, fantastically meshing conflicted parts into the whole, much the way in which the characters are put together. There is a unique-ish quality, that is still relatable to the X-Men First Class movies, but is also outside of them.

I cannot recommend LEGION enough. It premieres tonight at 10/9c on FX.

Fargo Year Two

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'Fargo Year Two' on Blogcritics.

Last year, FX’s Fargo was a standout in a great year of television. With its Minnesota accents, oodles of charm, stellar cast and guest stars, and hilarious mayhem, it provided a unique, high-quality viewing experience. It was so good, I wondered if they could possibly recapture that same magic in the second go-round, since it’s an anthology series that isn’t reusing the same cast members. Thankfully, recapture it, they did, and the second season, which only recently concluded its ten-episode run, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.

For season two, the action moves to 1979. It is still in the same part of the country, and has much of the same tone, but now has a period component added in. The music, the cars, the fashion, even Ronald Reagan (Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice), help sell that image. As such, it takes the specific spirit of season one and ups the weirdness even more, with great results.

In order to reach out to existing fans, Fargo Year Two does have two characters that connect it to the freshman run, and covers a case referenced in the premiere outing. Lou Solverson is the detective on the case. Played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) now, he is more than two decades younger than Keith Carradine’s version of the character. (There’s a bonus feature on the disc in which Wilson and Carradine discuss the shared role, and it’s a very welcome way to bring the stories together.) Lou’s daughter, Molly, the hero of last year, is five years old in this season. She doesn’t get involved much, but it’s still gratifying to see her.

Lou is going through a tough time when this season begins. His wife, Betsy (Cristin Milioti, How I Met Your Mother), is sick and, going by what we learned last year, doesn’t have a lot of time left. Thankfully, he has a good father-in-law, Hank (Ted Danson, Bored to Death, Damages), also in law enforcement, to help him out. This trio is by and large my favorite part of this run.

Once more, Fargo also has an average, quirky citizen mixed up in murder. This time, it’s Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man), a hoarder, klepto housewife, and unlike last year’s Lester, her spouse, Ed (Jesse Plemons, Breaking Bad), is not the victim. Peggy doesn’t mean to do wrong, but she’s scared when events occur outside of her control. While she doesn’t handle them as well as we’d like to think most people would, it’s hard to hate her.

What’s interesting about what happens with Peggy in the first installment, which I don’t want to give away, is that it ties into a familiar urban legend. Fargo bills itself as a ‘true crime’ story, with words on the screen at the beginning of each episode proclaiming that what you’re viewing actually happened. It didn’t; that’s part of the conceit of the show, that it’s done in the style, but is not actually real, so those words are a lie. However, tying in something that lots of people think happened will only reinforce the believability of the premise.

For villains, there’s an entire mob family led by Otto Gerhardt (Michael Hogan, Battlestar Galactica). Otto has a wife, Floyd (Jean Smart, 24), three sons, Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice), Bear (Angus Sampson, Insidious), and Rye (Kieran Culkin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and a granddaughter, Simone (Rachel Keller, Hollidaysburg), and they have no small share of foes to compete with, including ones played by Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Bokeem Woodbine (Saving Grace), and Zahn McClarnon (Longmire).

The Fargo Year Two release has no shortage of interesting extras, going above and beyond what most shows are doing these days, despite its quick turn-around. I mentioned the Lou featurette already. There’s also a bit on “The Films of Ronald Reagan,” a Skip Sprang TV commercial, a two-part making of, and an extra about true crimes in the Midwest. In all, this is a lot more than the normal deleted scenes and audio commentaries, and all complement the set nicely.

Visually, Fargo is stunning. With lingering shots over desolate landscapes and a design and color palette that enhance the experience, it is worth it to shell out for the high-definition edition.

Fargo Year Two is available now

10 Binge-Worthy Shows

Article first published as 10 Binge-Worthy Shows on Seat42F.

The leaves are turning, the air is growing chillier, and it’s beginning to be the season where a lot of us just want to curl up on the couch and stay inside. For just such an occasion, I have a list of ten television dramas (sorry comedy fans) that would make great binge-watching projects this winter. They are not in any particular order, but all are worthy of your time.

Gilmore Girls ~ Last week, Netflix announced it was making a brand new season of Gilmore Girls! What better time to relive the seven previous years than right now? Netflix has the entire quirky, charming series ready to welcome you back to Stars Hollow. Just have some tissues ready whenever Richard Gilmore comes on screen. His presence will definitely be missed when the show returns.

The X-Files ~ Similarly, FOX is bringing back The X-Files in January. Some people say it may be a little late to tackle all nine seasons, but personally, I think it’s a challenge to accept. You’ll get all the Mulder and Scully, all the weird aliens, and all the Smoking Man. Just login to Netflix or Hulu and let the marathon begin! (And invite me over, because this is the one show on this list that I haven’t managed to get to yet, but I know it’s awesome!)

Lost ~ For my money, Lost is one of the best shows ever made. The twisty ABC drama kept fans obsessed and guessing for six years, all of which are now free for Netflix subscribers. This is definitely a series that begs for binge-watching, as so many little details dropped in one hour matter several installments later. The ending was admittedly polarizing for fans, but if you enjoy character-driven programs, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ~ As far as rewatchability goes, Buffy is at the top of my list. The tale of the Slayer, who faces the demons and forces of darkness, never gets old. From the goofy high school days, to the uber-depressing sixth season, to the heart-breaking series finale, Buffy is great all the way through. It’s the perfect mix of humor, action, and compelling drama. And while you’re at it, stay on the Joss Whedon kick and go through Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. (On Netflix and Hulu.)

Fargo ~ Looking for a show that’s still on the air to get into? Might I recommend FX’s Fargo? Season two just began, so you can plow (sic) through the first year’s ten episodes in a weekend on Hulu, if you’re so inclined. It’s an outrageous show in the style of ‘true crime,’ with a top-notch cast that includes Martin Freeman, Oliver Platt, Kate Walsh, Colin Hanks, Keith Carradine, Allison Tolman, Key & Peele, and, surprisingly enough, Billy Bob Thornton. (Trust me, Thornton is the best you’ve ever seen him.) Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, you should definitely check out the series, which tells a different tale. And season two has a new cast and story, so you can jump in at any time.

The Wire ~ Are you tired of all your friends telling you that The Wire is the absolute best show ever made and you having no frame of reference? I was, too, but now I’m almost done with season one, and I totally get it. Last year, HBO released all five seasons of the David Simon drama in HD for the first time ever. If you already have an HBO subscription through your cable company, you can login via HBO Go to watch. If not, HBO Now is available as a stand-alone service you can sign up for directly, and if you start soon, you’ll be all ready when Game of Thrones comes back in the spring. (Or binge watch Game of Thrones on the service, too.) Simon’s excellent Treme is another great one to check out.

Justified ~ Like Westerns? FX has a doozy of one that recently came to an end in Justified. Starring Timothy Olyphant, each of the six seasons found a lawman tangling with various gangsters and locals in the underpopulated, heavily treed state of Kentucky. The first scene of the pilot will hook you right away, Olyphant’s smoldering hero radiating cool, and the ending of the show is about as perfect as any series finale I’ve ever borne witness to, with four words just as meaningful as those that famously conclude 1984. It’s all available now on Amazon Prime.

The West Wing ~ If the craziness of the current presidential election primaries are bumming you out, why not go for the ideal administration? President Bartlett saved me from my second-term-Bush woes, and I’m sure he can do the same for you, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on. With a smart, witty staff, whose dialogue is as sharp as the ideals represented, I cannot recommend it enough. Bonus points if you make it an Aaron Sorkin trilogy and take in Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom as well. (I wanted to recommend Sorkin’s Sports Night, too, but it’s a comedy, and this list is only for dramas.)

Felicity ~ The original Crazy (not quite) Ex-girlfriend, Felicity is a coming-of-age drama about a girl (named Felicity, duh!) who travels across the country for a guy, and it’s available on Hulu. For four seasons, there were only a few hints of weirdness underlying the surface (the shoe box episode, Pink Power Ranger Amy Jo Johnson’s small screen return, Greg Grunberg and Ian Gomez). Then, after the series finale the writers wanted, its forced resurrection resulted in a handful of hours that push the show far outside of its genre, and give answer to the concerns of those that think Felicity ultimately chose the wrong guy. Plus, see Jennifer Garner before she was famous! (Then continue on the J.J. Abrams train and check out Alias, which features Bradley Cooper before he was famous.)

Star Trek: Deep Space 9 ~ What can I say? I’ve been a Trekkie since long before I got into television. Deep Space 9 has always been the black sheep of the franchise, never being on the air alone, trapped between more popular siblings The Next Generation and Voyager. Yet, being confined to a single locale made it different than any other Star Trek series. Seven years of religion, politics, hopeless war, and a recurring cast of dozens make this one of my favorite shows of all time, and if you missed the overlooked gem, now is the time to redeem yourself. It is available on both Netflix and Hulu.

Honorable mentions ~ The original programs made by the streaming services themselves! We’re still in the early days of high-quality, long-form shows that you can’t get in your cable package. But from Netflix’s House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, to Amazon’s Transparent and Mozart in the Jungle, to Hulu’s… well, Hulu will get there some day, there are very good shows on a variety of platforms. Scroll through the offerings on each of these, and you’re likely to come across some really neat stuff.

"Waiting for" FARGO Over

Article originally published as FARGO Review on Seat42F.

Last year, FX’s FARGO delighted. With its Minnesota accents, oodles of charm, stellar cast and guest stars, and hilarious mayhem, it provided a unique, high-quality viewing experience.

Tonight begins season two, and because it’s an anthology series that isn’t reusing it’s cast (unlike American Horror Story), none of the familiar faces are back. This provides a considerable obstacle for the show to overcome. However, overcome it, FARGO does, immediately hooking fans in to what promises to be another excellent miniseries.

Season two of FARGO is set in 1979, or at least starts there. It is still in the same part of the country, and has much of the same tone, but now has a period component added in. The music, the cars, the fashion, even Ronald Reagan (Bruce Campbell, Burn Notice), help sell that image. As such, it takes the specific spirit of season one and ups the weirdness even more, with great results.

In order to reach out to existing fans, FARGO season two does have two characters that connect it to the freshman run. Lou Solverson is the detective on the case. Played by Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) now, he is more than two decades younger than Keith Carradine’s version of the character. Lou’s daughter, Molly, the hero of last year, is five years old in this outing, so she probably won’t get involved much. FARGO season two is a case referenced in the first season and we know Lou will make it out alive, but that’s about all we know.

Lou is going through a tough time when this season begins. His wife, Betsy (Cristin Milioti, How I Met Your Mother), is sick, and going by last year, doesn’t have a lot of time left. Thankfully, he has a good father-in-law, Hank (Ted Danson, Bored to Death, Damages), also in law enforcement, to help him out. I’m not sure yet how the case will unfold, but if Lou and Hank are the primary investigators, sign me up for the season pass!

Once more, FARGO has an average, quirky citizen mixed up in murder. This time, it’s Peggy Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man), a hoarder housewife, and unlike last year’s Lester, her spouse, Ed (Jesse Plemons, Breaking Bad), is not the victim. Peggy doesn’t mean to do wrong, but she’s scared when events occur outside of her control, and while she doesn’t handle them as well as we’d like to think most people would, it’s hard to hate her, at least at first. What she does next will determine if she remains sympathetic or not.

What’s interesting about what happens with Peggy, which I don’t want to give away, is that it ties into a familiar urban legend. FARGO bills itself as a ‘true crime’ story, with words on the screen at the beginning of the episode proclaiming that what you’re viewing actually happened. It didn’t; that’s part of the conceit of the show, that it’s done in the style, but is not actually real, so those words are a lie. However, tying in something that lots of people think happened will only reinforce the believability of the premise.

It’s less clear who the Billy Bob Thorton-esque villain is this year. There’s an entire mob family introduced in the premiere, led by Otto Gerhardt (Michael Hogan, Battlestar Galactica). It doesn’t seem like Otto will be long for this world, but he has a wife, Floyd (Jean Smart, 24), three sons, Dodd (Jeffrey Donovan, Burn Notice), Bear (Angus Sampson, Insidious), and Rye (Kieran Culkin, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and a daughter, Simone (Rachel Keller, Hollidaysburg), so it’s likely one of them will emerge as the bad guy. Or, it would be more fun if we’re left wondering who in the clan is the worst as the installments play out.

This year’s cast also includes Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), Bokeem Woodbine (Saving Grace), Zahn McClarnon (Longmire), and many more, so like last season, I doubt viewers will get bored or be hard up for a fresh face to come in and shake things around.

If the season premiere is any indication, FARGO has done it again, and I look forward to another excellent batch of television episodes.

FARGO airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on FX, beginning tonight.

FARGO Miniseries Finale Review

Article first published as TV Review: 'Fargo' - Finale on Blogcritics.

FX’s Fargo has sadly come to an end. Ten episodes of brilliant, thrilling, suspenseful storytelling ends tonight with “Morton’s Fork.” The tale concludes with finality, tying up the loose ends from this excellent freshman run, leaving a possible (probable) season two to seek out new characters and new cases. It’s both satisfying and regrettable to see it go.

An important element of “Morton’s Fork” is that both Lester (Martin Freeman) and Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) get what they deserve. The airwaves are full of dark, gritty crime shows these days, and those do not always leave the viewers with a good taste in one’s mouth. Bad guys get away to kill another day, and heroes question their moral compass. Fargo is lighter fare, though, mixing lots of off-beat humor and quirky charm in, so those who deserve to go down have to for it to be an ending that fans feel good about.

Equally crucial is that Molly (Allison Tolman), Gus (Colin Hanks), Greta (Joey King), and Lou (Keith Carradine) survive. They are a sweet family unit, and because of, not despite, their coming together late in the season, they have to have a happy ending. We cannot bear to see these characters who are so good at heart suffer more misfortune and pain. They need to win the day and come out the other side intact, and they do.

Gus has an interesting arc. He leaves law enforcement for good reason, being bumbling and inept. He runs into Malvo early, but backs off because he can’t handle that type of villain himself. Yet, with his family on the line, Gus steps up as a man, protecting those he cares about, killing someone his family will never be safe having in the world.. I’m not sure he should go back to being a cop again, but he certainly gets a chance to redeem himself here, which I think he deserves.

One might wish that Molly is the one who takes down Malvo, since she is really the main heroine of the miniseries, but she doesn’t get the short shift in “Morton’s Fork,” either. She still gets pay off for the detective work she’s completed, and she finally earns the respect and admiration of her boss, Bill (Bob Odenkirk), as he steps aside and recommends her for promotion. There is major triumph in this, even if she isn’t the one to bring in Lester or Malvo, which she is still instrumental in getting to a place where they are taken down.

Fargo proves that good and evil battles can still be thoroughly engrossing and entertaining without the grey areas that pervade a lot of modern fare. I have nothing against its peers, loving many of them dearly and intrigued by shifty players, but its also nice to get a whiff of Fargo‘s scent, unique for the time in its lightness when dealing with such heavy subject matter, and almost miraculously staying as well-developed as those darker programs.

Part of the reason for this is because at many points during “Morton’s Fork,” the audience thinks Molly, Gus, and / or Lou may not make it out alive. Whether it’s Molly rushing off to Lester’s house alone, not realizing the FBI agents there are dead and no back up is on the way, or Gus sneaking into Malvo’s hideout, then confronting the scary man mano-a-mano, or even Lou sitting on the porch with his shotgun, there are moments where things could turn dire.

Fargo does a terrific job with presenting danger, but knowing who it can and cannot spare. Agents Pepper (Keegan-Michael Key) and Burdge (Jordan Peele), lonely men with no real lives? Sure, they can die. Gus, who has a teenage daughter and is expecting a baby? No way. The sense that Fargo just might let Gus perish anyway keeps the action intriguing, but when the writers don’t go through with it, it’s a relief, not a cop out.

There’s a feeling of authenticity that is in the proceedings. The not-actually-based-on-truth story, even as the opening proclaims otherwise, is tongue in cheek, but always keeps itself grounded. There isn’t anything in the show that couldn’t actually happen, and Molly won’t be solving more major crimes like this week after week or even year after year. In this, Fargo is mostly unique.

There’s also an extremely high level of consistency in the miniseries. All ten episodes are written by the same guy, Noah Hawley (Bones), and that provides solid through-lines. There aren’t weak points or people acting out of character because no other voices go into writing dialogue for the players. Mix in an unusually talented cast with no weak links, handling the material like pros, and Fargo is very successful in what it sets out to do.

I could pick apart “Morton’s Fork” in a 10-page review and praise every scene for something special; it’s that good. But I won’t because I feel works of art on this level are meant to be appreciated and re-watched for new meaning frequently, not analyzed to death by any single perspective. For me, Fargo is right up there with The Walking Dead in that I couldn’t wait to watch it each week, growing excited at the prospect of each new installment, and rarely waiting until it actually aired to view it. (Thanks to FX for being more generous with early screeners than any series on any network in recent memory.) I rank it one of Top Five shows of the year, easily, and cannot wait to see what Hawley comes up with for Fargo next season, assuming its renewed, which it likely will be.

Whether to Watch FARGO is Not a "Dilemma"

Article first published as FARGO Review on Seat42F.

FX’s new FARGO is the story of a pregnant police chief (Frances McDormand) tracking a pair of hit man (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) near the town of Fargo. The guys have been hired by a local failure (William H. Macy) to kidnap his wife in order to extort money from the woman’s father. But during the abduction, she is accidentally killed, setting off a series of dangerous, somehow funny, events. And bodies get put into a wood chipper.

No, wait a second. That’s the excellent 1996 film of the same name. Remarkably, pretty much none of what I said in the preceding paragraph applies to the story of the series, which goes in its own direction. I’m not saying that FX’s FARGO abandons the premise entirely. Although none of the character names have been changed, there are some very familiar character types.

Wimpy Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman, Sherlock, The Hobbit) encounters by chance a hit man named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton, Armageddon), who encourages Lester to find his inner man. The local police chief (Shawn Doyle, Big Love), who has a pregnant wife (Julie Ann Emery, Hitch), and his deputies, Molly (Allison Tolman, Sordid Lives: The Series) and Bill (Bob Odenkirk, Breaking Bad), are looking for Lorne, though they don’t yet know who he is.

By taking some characters that seem a lot like the ones in the movie and keeping the setting and the accents, FARGO ties itself to the earlier work enough to bring the fans of it in. Yet, in making some very different choices with the story from the first scene onward, it makes the action unpredictable, keeping viewers guessing what might happen and who could die next.

This FARGO expertly maintains the balance between blood and laughs that one might expect. Characters (yes, plural) that might be considered important die in the very first installment. At the same time, the dialogue and bumbling happenstances, especially when Lester is around, make the proceedings enjoyable and lighter than one may expect from a program with a high body count. There are numerous occasions when I could not help but laugh out loud, a distinction most sitcoms fails to reach on a weekly basis.

The pilot is titled “The Crocodile’s Dilemma.” For those unfamiliar with the logic paradox, this refers to a crocodile kidnapping a child. The croc promises the father that he can have the kid back if and only if the father is able to accurately predict whether the crocodile will give him back the boy. If the father states that the crocodile will not give back the son, then he has correctly predicted and the croc must hand over the boy, though then that means the father didn’t correctly predict because the crocodile didn’t keep him.

If that makes your brain hurt, I understand. FARGO isn’t quite as complex as all that. What it is, though, is a well-crafted series of events, some from cause and effect, others arising by chance, that intermix in such a way that there doesn’t seem to be an easy, logical way out for the main players. Since the show has ten episodes to tell their story, it isn’t obvious yet how unwinnable the scenario will be, but it does feel like this is the type of situation set up in “The Crocodile’s Dilemma.”

The cast is truly fantastic. Freeman and Thornton, of course, have a body of work that implies they can handle themselves, and they do, beautifully. But so do the rest of those named above, along with Kate Walsh (Private Practice), Colin Hanks (The Good Guys), Keith Carradine (Dexter), and numerous other guest and recurring roles, with a heck of a lot more famous folks signed to appear in later hours. Whoever put together this crew deserves major credit, as FARGO would not work without its cast.

Strangely, there are also a couple of parts that are left wanting, mostly because they are not played by big names, but seem like big names should have been obtained, meaning it feels like FARGO failed to get its first choice and settled for a replacement. The bully introduced in the first hour is definitely a “Tom Wilson type,” but is not portrayed by Tom Wilson. We also meet a “Stephen Merchant type” later on. I could be wrong about the second-choice standings, but these parts feel just too close to those performers to be played by anyone else.

Other than that, though, I have no complaints. FARGO is a compelling, highly entertaining masterpieces, crafted so intelligently, and executed in the best of methods. The tiny touches, such as a message spelled out on Lester’s refrigerator, kick the quality up yet another notch. I am already a firm fan of this miniseries. FARGO airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.