Fargo TV Show (FX) Spoilers

[Huntn]

I like this show, the story is moving along nicely, however what I know about forensics, I find it questionable that Lester could kill his wife and not have her blood on his clothes, or be in close proximity to the sheriff being shot with a shotgun and not have his blood on him. So I'm curious if this will be addressed or it's a go-with-the-flow situation?

 

[smithrh]

My guess is that much like the movie, there will be a lot more focus on the human side than on any procedural or technical bits...

Right now, the TV show is jarring in a few ways, and what you noted is part of it.

But let me first start off with the movie, which I'll start by saying is a masterpiece. I know the area well, and have relatives up there, including LEOs on a couple of the departments involved in the stories (TV and movie). But I'm not actually from there, so I've been able to observe from a distance as it were.

The movie is spot on about the people, weather, situations and all that. So so so many little things were just perfect, things that people probably never picked up on. The names of the people, for example, was a work of art. Direct hit. The mannerisms, the diction and accent and sayings, all perfect.

So, the character Marge in the movie? I know several people from the area who talk *exactly* like that. That's not crummy acting, no sir, she absolutely nailed it. Hell, I have a relative from the area named Margie...

But while the people aspect was great, you had to go with the flow on some of the situations with the police work. Multiple homicides with an trooper shot too? There wouldn't have been just 2 "city" cops on scene having a look-see. And no, the law enforcement "up nort" aren't idiots.

So, in the TV show, they also go a bit overboard in portraying the "up nort" cops as basically hicks. That bugs me; a little bit more thought and they could have done a lot better with the small town aspect of law enforcement without making people look, well, bad (although I suspect there will be some rising character arcs yet to come).

The worst thing, so far, the thing that has made it difficult for me, is that the accent for the Marge character is just crap. It's as if the actor looked at was done in the movie and tried to be different - can't have the TV show be the exact same, right? But the result is, well, nothing I've ever heard up there.

So, we'll see how it goes. I like how they filmed on location (I recognize landmarks in quite a few shots) and how they shot in wintertime (it can be brutal up there in winter), so I'll watch it for that alone but I fear it won't be as awesome as the movie was.

Oh yeah - many people from Minnesota were not thrilled with how they were depicted in the movie, I don't have a feel on the TV show yet.

Not what you wanted, OP, but I had to vent!

 

[Huntn]

My guess is that much like the movie, there will be a lot more focus on the human side than on any procedural or technical bits...

Right now, the TV show is jarring in a few ways, and what you noted is part of it.

But let me first start off with the movie, which I'll start by saying is a masterpiece. I know the area well, and have relatives up there, including LEOs on a couple of the departments involved in the stories (TV and movie). But I'm not actually from there, so I've been able to observe from a distance as it were.

The movie is spot on about the people, weather, situations and all that. So so so many little things were just perfect, things that people probably never picked up on. The names of the people, for example, was a work of art. Direct hit. The mannerisms, the diction and accent and sayings, all perfect.

So, the character Marge in the movie? I know several people from the area who talk *exactly* like that. That's not crummy acting, no sir, she absolutely nailed it. Hell, I have a relative from the area named Margie...

But while the people aspect was great, you had to go with the flow on some of the situations with the police work. Multiple homicides with an trooper shot too? There wouldn't have been just 2 "city" cops on scene having a look-see. And no, the law enforcement "up nort" aren't idiots.

So, in the TV show, they also go a bit overboard in portraying the "up nort" cops as basically hicks. That bugs me; a little bit more thought and they could have done a lot better with the small town aspect of law enforcement without making people look, well, bad (although I suspect there will be some rising character arcs yet to come).

The worst thing, so far, the thing that has made it difficult for me, is that the accent for the Marge character is just crap. It's as if the actor looked at was done in the movie and tried to be different - can't have the TV show be the exact same, right? But the result is, well, nothing I've ever heard up there.

So, we'll see how it goes. I like how they filmed on location (I recognize landmarks in quite a few shots) and how they shot in wintertime (it can be brutal up there in winter), so I'll watch it for that alone but I fear it won't be as awesome as the movie was.

Oh yeah - many people from Minnesota were not thrilled with how they were depicted in the movie, I don't have a feel on the TV show yet.

Not what you wanted, OP, but I had to vent!

No problem. I thought Marge in the movie was great. She caught the bad guy.

I lived in Minnesota for 25 years, I never new anyone who had that strong of an accent, nor talked like that, but apparently that is how many of the Sweds/Noreigans spoke at a point when immigrants first appeared, because many of the locals I knew would fall into this method of speaking when they wanted to exaggerate or be funny and some of the terms like "don't ya know", "you betcha" were real and a more subtle version of that accent can be heard.

As far as the TV show versus the movie, in the TV show, it is stated this is a real story from 2006, however the movie was from 1996, so this is a different story but it maintains the feel of the movie.

 

[oldhifi]

Yep a good show, and the new 24 will be out next month...

http://www.fox.com/24-live-another-day/

 

[smithrh]

No problem. I thought Marge in the movie was great. She caught the bad guy.

I lived in Minnesota for 25 years, I never new anyone who had that strong of an accent, nor talked like that, but apparently that is how many of the Sweds/Noreigans spoke at a point when immigrants first appeared, because many of the locals I knew would fall into this method of speaking when they wanted to exaggerate or be funny and some of the terms like "don't ya know", "you betcha" were real and a more subtle version of that accent can be heard.

As far as the TV show versus the movie, in the TV show, it is stated this is a real story from 2006, however the movie was from 1996, so this is a different story but it maintains the feel of the movie.

To expand on my comments a bit...

My experience with the region encompasses basically the whole state, but mainly outside of the cities. Or Cities I suppose I should say. I suspect the urban part of Minnesota lost the speech patterns earlier than the rural parts did, with the impacts of mass media and such.

In addition, the people who would be speaking this way naturally (not as an affectation) were older as well. So someone of the Marge character's age in the movie would almost certainly not be speaking that way. It's a movie, liberties are taken... It's not a documentary!

But so so many things in the movie were on target - the husband that was up for the wildlife stamp was perfect. I know people that do this and... well maybe it is a documentary! The other really great thing in there is that the father-in-law is watching a Gopher hockey game on television, and naturally, they're playing the Badgers - back in the day that was a ridiculously serious rivalry. For the movie makers to pick up on that and get it into the movie was awesome.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I'm still following this show -- slowly. (I've only finished watching episode 2. )

Does this remind anyone else of Twin Peaks?

I'm not suggesting it is copying. but it is strongly reminiscent -- pleasantly so in my book. The far north setting that looks forty years behind the times; the murder investigation; the slow, deliberate, moody pace at which the story unfolds; the otherwise likable guy who commits a horrible murder; and of course the fact that almost everybody in town is incredibly quirky. Even the chief law enforcement officers' names are similar: Sheriff Truman; Chief Thurman.

I am not, however, expecting any weird dreams involving red curtains, zig-zag tiles and dancing dwarfs.

 

[Huntn]

I'm still following this show -- slowly. (I've only finished watching episode 2. )

Does this remind anyone else of Twin Peaks?

I'm not suggesting it is copying. but it is strongly reminiscent -- pleasantly so in my book. The far north setting that looks forty years behind the times; the murder investigation; the slow, deliberate, moody pace at which the story unfolds; the otherwise likable guy who commits a horrible murder; and of course the fact that almost everybody in town is incredibly quirky. Even the chief law enforcement officers' names are similar: Sheriff Truman; Chief Thurman.

I am not, however, expecting any weird dreams involving red curtains, zig-zag tiles and dancing dwarfs.

I thought TPs was awesome due to its edginess for the time, but as I recall there was lots of really strange stuff going on. Fargo while very good due to Billy Bob, is not as strange, but I'll grant you that the way it's filmed seems somewhat TPish.

 

[Huntn]

Finally watched last weeks episode that lost a bit of its shine. Besides a slow first half, snowing fish really?

 

[Huntn]

Snowing fish= tornado in snow storm! I guess. Lester is a real turd. He started out as a victim and has gone down hill ever since.

 

[smithrh]

Squealing tires on a snow-packed road, I'm out...

 

[Huntn]

Squealing tires on a snow-packed road, I'm out...

I've pulled the plug too. I've found I don't care about Lester, and Billy Bob is not enough to hold me.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Billy Bob was barely even in this latest episode (8). (It was a good scene, however brief. I've never seen someone murdered that way before.) I'm going to bull it through to the end of the series. That's the way I am...I want to see where they're going with this. And it is only five more episodes.

Edit: I saw in a couple of places that there are only two more episodes. I coulda sworn they said thirteen. Either way, it's ending soon.

 

[vulcanvillalta]

I wanted to watch this show, but never started. Would people who ARE watching it recommend it? I'll probably wait till the dvds come out.

 

[Huntn]

I wanted to watch this show, but never started. Would people who ARE watching it recommend it? I'll probably wait till the dvds come out.

It's different and could appeal to you. I was enthusiastic when I first watched it. Take a chance!

 

[vulcanvillalta]

It's different and could appeal to you. I was enthusiastic when I first watched it. Take a chance!

I probably will at least give it a chance. I like the Coen Brothers a lot, so I think it would be worth a go. I'm currently watching Eureka, because amazon was having a special sale on the complete series. It's not too good so far, but I think I need to give it at least until the end of season one.

 

[Thomas Veil]

I wanted to watch this show, but never started. Would people who ARE watching it recommend it? I'll probably wait till the dvds come out.

Check your On Demand channels, if you have them. FX still has the first eight episodes out there.

And yeah, I think it's worth it. If you liked the movie, it's very much in that style. Of course, we haven't seen how it concludes yet.

 

[JohnLT13]

Just cough up after missing the last month. Show is fantastic. A few of the shows I have watched have ended or between seasons so this has been a pleasant surprise.

 

[Thomas Veil]

Just caught last week's show tonight. If anybody was worried that the show was losing its way, worry no more.

Lester is fast becoming almost as big a creep as Lorne Malvo. The main difference right now is experience.

Spoiler

Deliberately sending his new wife to her death, wearing his hooded coat...that's cold, man.

I can't wait to see the finale. I think Lester is finally running out of options.

 

[vulcanvillalta]

Check your On Demand channels, if you have them. FX still has the first eight episodes out there.

And yeah, I think it's worth it. If you liked the movie, it's very much in that style. Of course, we haven't seen how it concludes yet.

I don't have on demand...I'm a bit of a neanderthal, I only have a dvd player and a vcr. I am excited for this show, though.

 

[JohnLT13]

Fantastic ending. What a great series.

 

[Webb]

Why that guy that was cop ended up a mail man ?

 

[Thomas Veil]

Fantastic ending. What a great series.

I'm satisfied. I didn't expect some of it to end the way it did, particularly Gus simply shooting Malvo -- not in self-defense, just shooting him. That bothered me a bit, but you know what? Malvo was an extremely dangerous, wild animal. Any time anyone gave Malvo an opening, that person ended up dead. So, from that point, it's understandable.

Lester's death was almost comical, like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

I do like the fact that at the beginning, Lester was so bullied and put-upon that you felt sorry for him. Even after the impulsive murder of his first wife, you still felt you understood why he snapped. But then Lester turned to deliberate, calculated crimes, and all you wanted to know at that point was who was going to get him first -- Malvo or the police.

Why that guy that was cop ended up a mail man ?

In one episode in a blinding snowstorm, Gus shoots at a vague figure that he believes to be Malvo. It turns out he shot Molly. At that point, he decides to hang it up.

 

[JohnLT13]

I'm satisfied. I didn't expect some of it to end the way it did,

I thought it was fitting. Gus got his redemption.

 

[Tsuchiya]

I thought it was awesome, short but sweet.

Lesters transformation over the series was interesting, towards the end I wonder if he was actually any better than Malvo or not.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I've pulled the plug too. I've found I don't care about Lester, and Billy Bob is not enough to hold me.

This show has been excellent. The humor, antagonist, acting, very well-written scripts, etc. The twist in episode eight changed the course of the season for its finale and catapults it into feeling like a sequel series, even though this season is self-contained.

Haven't seen the finale yet so don't quote me with a spoilery discussion just yet.