Fargo (TV series)

Started by Punch, March 19, 2014, 03:11:44 PM

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Jeremy Blackman

SPOILERS

A quiet episode for sure, but it would be silly to judge it by itself. Still loved it. Brutal cliffhangers delivered gently are maddening. I was dreading the episode ending.

Good stuff, 03. And I think this is your answer on The Six Ungraspables, from the AV Club review: "The title is a reference to a Zen koan, referring to the five senses and the mind."

I had the time jump spoiled for me by this AV Club article literally 30 min before I watched the episode. BSG deservedly having the #1 spot enticed me, so I scrolled down and came upon this: "12. Fargo (2014) [WARNING: Plot points from last night's episode of Fargo revealed below.]" Oh, thanks for that. I like how you subverted the concept of the spoiler warning there and just made it a spoiler instead. Good job.

Two weeks, even one week I understand, but to go around spoiling an episode from last night is a bit tactless. It obviously changed my viewing experience to be anticipating a freaking time jump. Why don't people understand spoilers?

samsong

tl;dr (did skim though) - is everyone praising this show for rehashing breaking bad tropes?  i caught up on the show based on word of mouth from friends and what seems like enthusiastic enjoyment from people here, and i have to say i don't really get it.  it's entertaining enough but it's pretty insane to me how derivative it is.  it even plays like some sort of quasi sequel where this is saul's new life and it turns out to be some weird limbo where life is more or less the same as what it was on the last show, but with snow.  it'd be quicker to list how the lester arc isn't like walter white's, random comedians fill small supporting roles, high brow episode titles... they did up the count on retarded sons to two on this one.  the references to coen bros movies are abundant and all stupid/lazy.  BILLY BOB IS ANTON.  right down to the bad haircut.  just about everything he does is lifted from no country from old men ie the choke out scene in the hospital restroom, the shootout where we just hear the action from the outside, giving shopkeeps a hard time with weird lines of questions, etc.  then there are the plagiarized bits from a serious man - biblical allusion, a parable told by a jew wherein the characters voice carries through into the enactments of the story.  constant little visual nods that are purely superficial, indicative of how shallow an homage to the coens this thing really is.  then there's the frances mcdormand surrogate who acts as the assurance that homeland fans will be tuning in.  (showtime: where dramatic irony happens.  actually i have no idea how valid this is as homeland is the only showtime show i've ever watched...)

not trying to be contrarian here, just calling this one like i see it.   i think the show's way closer to "nice time waster" than it is "insanely genius shit". 

03

and i thought we were friends

Jeremy Blackman

Malvo has some things in common with Anton for sure, but he's definitely his own character. Anton has a singular focus, but Malvo, by stark contrast, is a trickster figure who enjoys taking his time. Experimenting. Taking pleasure in messing with people.

I read your sentence about Homeland several times and am still not sure what you're talking about there. I hope you're not actually comparing her to Carrie.

I think you're getting hung up on superficial similarities. You're even comparing the sheriff to Saul? Because why? Because they're played by the same actor? Beyond that you didn't tell us why. I don't know how to help you.

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AMthey did up the count on retarded sons to two on this one.

Nice.

cine

Quote from: Jeremy Blackman on June 05, 2014, 11:05:06 AM
Malvo has some things in common with Anton for sure, but he's definitely his own character. Anton is an unstoppable force of evil with singular focus, but Malvo, by stark contrast, is a trickster figure who enjoys taking his time. Experimenting. Taking pleasure in messing with people.

I read your sentence about Homeland several times and am still not sure what you're talking about there. I hope you're not actually comparing her to Carrie.

I think you're getting hung up on superficial similarities. You're even comparing the sheriff to Saul? Because why? Because they're played by the same actor? Beyond that you didn't tell us why. I don't know how to help you.

yeah, this.

it's my favourite show right now and when i watch, i never ever think of Breaking Bad, nor do i have any reason to.

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
i think the show's way closer to "nice time waster" than it is "insanely genius shit". 

those are weird extremes. "something to pass the time" and "genius." why can't a show just have a great story and do a really terrific job telling it? because that's Fargo, and its entertaining as fuck.

Mel

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
not trying to be contrarian here, just calling this one like i see it.   i think the show's way closer to "nice time waster" than it is "insanely genius shit".

I mostly agree on general feeling, but there is a lot of nitpicking. It is hardly surprising that "Fargo" series is Coen-heavy, honest questions what did you expect? So I'll start nitpicking on my own.

Quoteit even plays like some sort of quasi sequel where this is saul's new life and it turns out to be some weird limbo where life is more or less the same as what it was on the last show, but with snow.

Quoting yourself is a bad habit, but I don't like to repeat myself:

"What do you make out of Lester? It is easy to compare it to "Breaking Bad", but morality in show is completely different. In BB actions have consequences, in "Fargo" there are no saints in the animal kingdom (so far). Lester doesn't seem to struggle with his choices, he is corrupted almost by flipping a switch."

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
random comedians fill small supporting roles

Other shows did better in that regard than "Breaking Bad" in my opinion - Patton Oswalt in "Justified anyone? Comic relief, guest appearances - those are integral parts of structure of old TV.

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
high brow episode titles...

What is original about this? Sorkin did, Milch did... more a question who didn't?

Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
the choke out scene in the hospital restroom

For me it is straight from interviews with Richard Kuklinski. Scene from film adaptation of his story (about 1:20):



Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
the shootout where we just hear the action from the outside



Quote from: samsong on June 05, 2014, 09:31:02 AM
giving shopkeeps a hard time with weird lines of questions, etc.  then there are the plagiarized bits from a serious man - biblical allusion, a parable told by a jew wherein the characters voice carries through into the enactments of the story.

Generics again. I mentioned two writers earlier that probably used bible references more often than anyone else on TV... one even created series which could be perceived as a second coming of Jesus.

In a way I share your feelings about "Fargo", for me it is like Tarantino referencing Coens, but in the end it premise of the show. It is great? I don't think so, since it is very unlikely that show will go beyond what is offered initially. Yet it is solid craft and I'm guilty of enjoying it.
Simple mind - simple pleasures...

samsong

the two extremes were just culled from earlier posts, made into an arbitrary gamut.  my hang ups are with the superficial elements because i really do think that's all there is to the show.  it doesn't go much deeper than that when i watch it.  that's my experience with it.

calling the sheriff saul was facetious, and yes, entirely because it's bob odenkirk.  and yes bringing up homeland was to suggest that her being a female law enforcement agent who feels there's a different story than the one everyone else is buying is like carrie, again a reductive, jokey parallel meant to illustrate how derivative the show is.  and yes, i understand that a lot of these archetypes exist outside out these shows, i just found it convenient that they all exist in the most popular shows at present.  it all just looks like lazy patchwork to me.  there's nothing to be helped. 

and obviously the fact that coen references are in it aren't the issue, it's how they're employed.  the playful nods in the form of "easter eggs" is what i guess the kids call em these days, fine, whatever.  harmless.  plagiarizing full bits, recontextualizing them in a way that, for me, has no meaning... just rub me the wrong way, i don't know.

so malvo is anton with a better grasp of the english language and a sense of humor.

i intended my opinion to be stated in a dismissive manner because that's basically how i regard the show.  there's nothing wrong with a great story told well.   fargo doesn't have that going for it for me, precisely because all i can think about is how much like everything else it is, and how it doesn't engage me to consider it as anything more than a mixtape of what works in tv of late.  i'm glad that isn't the case for everyone.

Reel

Well, I failed at my second attempt to finish ep 1. I'm going to forgo this one.


Drenk

Well, if you can't see how Fargo, even if it's not revolutionary, tells a good story, with interesting characters, great cinematography, in a organic and cinematic way, I'm sorry that you can't enjoy nice things.  :yabbse-grin:

But seriously, I don't see the show as a collection of BB tropes. Lester isn't even, to me, the show center. We have Molly, Gus, H.W, the Yellow King, I loved the two agents who were punished. It has a sense of humour that I love. The scene where the neighbor tells his story was great. Some odd yet terrifying peaceful moments. That's what the show does best.

Time waster? Well, we're all wasting our time;  Fargo is a high quality time waster, then.  :bravo:
Ascension.

Jeremy Blackman

Lester even has crucial differences from Walter White, which they've been talking about in the AV Club reviews. Here's my take on it.

Walter White's transformation was slow and happened in a series of incremental choices big and small and a number of key events. As his progression was happening, we saw him struggle with his own morality, and you could even see him forcing himself to transform in certain crucial scenes, like Jane's death for example.

Lester is completely different. He flipped a switch. He instantly unlocked what had been there all along, repressed under layers of meekness and politeness. The character is a playful take on midwestern passive aggression.

diggler

I was enjoying it mostly on the "interesting time waster" level, thinking it was all a little derivative, kind of like a more elaborate version of what Gus Van Sant did with Psycho. Whereas that was a shot for shot recreation, this was just aping the overall vibe of the film. Then the story hits a great conceit a few episodes in and the approach came into focus. I don't want to ruin it, but a big grin came across my face when it happened. It's worth watching, and one of the most cinematic shows I've seen lately (even more than Game of Thrones or Mad Men in terms of framing and cinematography). It'd work better as a one off miniseries than dragging it on and on, but it's definitely not a time waster.
I'm not racist, I'm just slutty

Drenk

But it's just one miniseries, isn't it?
Ascension.

Jeremy Blackman

Yeah, from what I understand, it's just a limited run 10 episodes or whatever. Not even an anthology.

Noah Hawley needs to immediately make something else when this is done.

Mel

Spoilers 1x09

Yet another weak episode. I feel like last two episodes could be compressed into the one without loosing much. Not much humor, beside FBI agents, not much tension either, beside coffee shop scene. I liked two quotes:


  • I'd call it animal, but animals only kill for food.
  • Best piece of apple pie since the Garden of Eden...

One is indication that Malvo could be a devil in the end. Other opens a questions, what he feeds on? Fear, malice? That somehow reminds me "Twin Peaks".
Simple mind - simple pleasures...