COVER STORY

FX’s new Fargo not to be confused with 1996 movie

Show is not for the squeamish

I can already hear the grumbles out there: “No way will FX’s new series be as good as the movie.” Maybe. Maybe not. But judge for yourself when Fargo debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday. If star power alone can draw a crowd, then the new black comedy should get a nice sampling.

I’ve seen the first four episodes and found the series compelling. I highly recommend it - with the obligatory caveat.

Just as with the movie, the TV series is not for the squeamish. I haven’t seen any wood chippers yet, but there is plenty of other bloody stuff - enough to earn the series a TV-MA rating for graphic violence, explicit sexual activity and crude/indecent language.

Bottom line: Fargo is for adults. And although there are plenty of lighter, humorous aspects (just like the movie), there is an abundance of shocking, dark moments.

Fargo is an original semi-adaptation of the 1996 Joel and Ethan Coen film that starred Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi. The film earned McDormand an Oscar for best actress, and the brothers’ screenplay earned another.

There are differences. In the TV version, the action again takes place in wintry Minnesota - but in Bemidji, a town of 13,000 that’s a couple of hundred miles north of the movie’s Minneapolis and a two-hour drive northeast of Fargo, N.D.

The series features an all-new “true crime” story that it claims took place in 2006. The names have been changed “to protect the survivors.”

So, we have the same frozen landscape, the same Minnesota accents (“Jeeze, you betcha”), new murders and new quirky characters.

Star power? The series features Arkansas’ Billy Bob Thornton (Sling Blade) as Lorne Malvo, a cold, manipulative contract killer who meets and forever changes the life of emasculated small town insurance salesman Lester Nygaard, played by Martin Freeman (Sherlock, The Hobbit).

Both turn in memorable performances. Thornton is especially effective as a brutal, sadistic killer with a curious touch of philosopher and observer of human nature.

Fargo marks Thornton’s first regular TV role since Hearts Afire (1992-95). How was he lured back to the small screen after all these years? The Hollywood Reporter quotes the Oscar winner at the recent TV critics winter press tour in Los Angeles: “The entertainment business can pretend all they want,”Thornton says, “but the movie world has changed drastically, particularly in [the] last five to six years. When I was coming up, if you went to TV from film, it meant something was wrong, so you may as well be on Hollywood Squares. Now it’s the opposite.

“For actors who really want to do good dramatic work or dark humor and drama, you have to do it on TV. If you want to be an actor, get on a really good series on TV because that’s where it’s at.” Others in the cast are Colin Hanks, Allison Tolman, BobOdenkirk, Oliver Platt, Kate Walsh, Keith Carradine, Adam Goldberg and comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as FBI agents searching for Malvo.

There will be 10 episodes in this limited series written by Noah Hawley (Bones, My Generation). The Coen brothers are among the executive producers.

If successful, Fargo could become an anthology series with new crimes and characters each season.

It’s a big cast, so here’s your handy player roster for other major characters.

Molly Solverson (Tolman) is a smart, 31-year-old Bemidji police officer whose (correct) theories on the murders are frustrated by her chief.

Deputy Gus Grimly (Hanks) is a Duluth police officer and single dad. One day he pulls Malvo over and his life is also changed forever.

Greta Grimly (Joey King) is Gus’ 12-year-old tomboy daughter.

Chief Bill Oswalt (Odenkirk) is Molly’s incompetent boss.

Lou Solverson (Carradine) isMolly’s dad and a retired state police officer. He owns the town coffee shop and frets about his daughter’s safety.

Don Chump (Glenn Howerton) is a dimwitted personal trainer in Duluth. He has big plans, however, and falls into Malvo’s clutches.

Mr. Numbers (Goldberg) is a contract killer employed by the Fargo crime syndicate and the partner of deaf killer Mr. Wrench (Russell Harvard). They come to Bemidji seeking to locate anddispatch Sam Hess’ killer.

Stavros Milos (Platt) is the wealthy owner of a supermarket chain. He has a dark secret and is being blackmailed. He hires Malvo to solve the problem. Bad idea.

Gina Hess (Walsh) is a former Las Vegas stripper and Hess’ widow. She’s also the mother of two idiot sons, Mickey and Moe.

Finally, will this adaptation be as good as the film? Hawley says he approached the project like a 10-episode movie that will stand on its own. Approach the series that way and you won’t waste time with comparisons.

TV Week, Pages 95 on 04/13/2014

Upcoming Events