Television Fargo (tv series)

walsh

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Well the opening scene is a (movie spoiler alert)
flashback that clearly follows on from the end of the movie as the character played by Oliver Platt finds the case with the ransom money that Steve Buscemi buried before he was killed and put in the wood chipper.
I assumed that was what you were referring to, been a long time since I've seen the film though. Maybe it was just a bit of fan service rather than anything that will truly link the series and the film?
 

CassiusClaymore

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You think they'll explore that link any deeper or just leave it there?

Edit: I mean do you think characters from the film will be referenced or have any part to play?
I've no idea. You'd expect Marge Gunderson at least would be a bit of a legend in the local police department.
 

Sally Cinnamon

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Just watched the latest episode, very good again.

I have no problem with the pace. To be honest I don't even find it that slow, and there's another 6 episodes anyhow. Plenty of time.
 

Solius

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I have no problem with the pace either. Enjoyed the latest episode. Find it strange how people constantly want action.
 

Sally Cinnamon

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I have no problem with the pace either. Enjoyed the latest episode. Find it strange how people constantly want action.
It seems to be a common complaint with nearly every show. I love a slow burner personally.
 

Solius

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It seems to be a common complaint with nearly every show. I love a slow burner personally.
Yep, had the same with GOT recently and even Breaking Bad. Surprised they managed to get through The Wire.
 

walsh

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Well in the GoT thread when there's a huge battle, a guy has his neck snapped and another has a sword stuck through the back of his skull it's apparently 'dull' so this poor bastard of a show has no chance.
 

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Game of Thrones is actually intriguing though. With Fargo, we know the killer(s), it's just a case of how they get caught now. It's not really building towards anything bigger than that.
 

Solius

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It's more about just enjoying what's in the episodes though. Too many people get caught up in the overall arc of shows. The police station scene with Malvo stealing those glasses and slowly changing his appearance was a good watch.
 

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For me a TV show has got to have an arc. Without an overarching purpose it's just a scattershot of pointless narrative scenarios that, while individually might be enjoyable, don't contribute to the show as a whole. That sort of approach is alright for a 90-minute film, but for a 10-hour piece, that just doesn't cut it, in my book anyway.
 

VeevaVee

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It does sound Canadian but yeah, Minnesota.

I agree with the lack of direction like I've said before. It's kind of strange and adds to the weird feel of the show but also takes away from it and makes it seem a bit meaningless.

Still enjoying it though, it's different.
 

walsh

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For me a TV show has got to have an arc. Without an overarching purpose it's just a scattershot of pointless narrative scenarios that, while individually might be enjoyable, don't contribute to the show as a whole. That sort of approach is alright for a 90-minute film, but for a 10-hour piece, that just doesn't cut it, in my book anyway.
I don't see why people always think a show has to get you from A to B as quickly as possible. The dialogue, atmosphere, character progression and the sense of intrigue that the show gives me is exactly what I want from it. Why do TV viewers always have to be in such a rush to see everything resolved?
 

J-Stander

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Is that a gunshot pellet in his hand? If so, how didn't the hospital clock it?
 

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I think it's part of the powder of the shell when it was fired, you saw when he woke up that he'd covered it with his top.
 

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I don't see why people always think a show has to get you from A to B as quickly as possible. The dialogue, atmosphere, character progression and the sense of intrigue that the show gives me is exactly what I want from it. Why do TV viewers always have to be in such a rush to see everything resolved?
This isn't going from A to B, though. It's going from A to f*** knows.
 

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So basically you want to know the ending?
No, I just want to know it's heading somewhere. Right now it's just a meandering procession of quirky characters and oddball situations. There's no substance to it. It might as well just be a bunch of Minnesotan vignettes edited together.
 

CassiusClaymore

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No, I just want to know it's heading somewhere. Right now it's just a meandering procession of quirky characters and oddball situations. There's no substance to it. It might as well just be a bunch of Minnesotan vignettes edited together.
And in that respect it's very true to the work of the filmmakers that the series is based on. You ever seen a Coen Bros movie? Don't watch 'A Serious Man' for Christs sake.
 

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And in that respect it's very true to the work of the filmmakers that the series is based on. You ever seen a Coen Bros movie? Don't watch 'A Serious Man' for Christs sake.
Yeah Fargo's a good film, though. The writing and characters are both better than the TV show's. The Coen Brothers' style works well in a 90 minute film - 10 hours of it? No thanks.

And I've seen 'A Serious Man', it's a shocking film.
 

walsh

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Yeah Fargo's a good film, though. The writing and characters are both better than the TV show's. The Coen Brothers' style works well in a 90 minute film - 10 hours of it? No thanks.

And I've seen 'A Serious Man', it's a shocking film.
So are you watching it or not? Sounds like you shouldn't be bothering.
 

Sally Cinnamon

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Another good episode. Nice little O Brother Where Art Thou-esque opening.

The actress playing Molly is brilliant.
 

Cina

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Just binged through the first five today. I thought it was great. Hopefully that'll hold up when I'm waiting a week between episodes though.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Meh. Think it jumped the shark on that last one.

Way too many plot contrivances and clichés, lots of stuff ripped off from other films/shows (insomnia, magnolia to name two) and generally just a bit of a mess.

Also I'm not really invested in any of the characters at all bar Molly but even 'that bit' didn't bother me much.

Tim seems to have have gone from a bumbling fool to a complete scheming weasel in the space of a couple of episodes. I don't buy it.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Meh. It's nearly lost me. It's developed what I like to call true detectivitis.

Doesn't help that it's not nearly as clever as it wants to be. Stuff like the opening sequence moving backwards seemed to be there solely because someone thought it would look cool.

The story line to... I mean where to start... She turns away from Malvo holding a feck off big gun in a snow storm to shoot at someone she can't see? Likewise with Deputy feckwit.

And I wish they'd stop putting up that 'based on a true story' motif at the start of every episode. It works with the film (which could easily pass for a true story). It doesn't here.
 

walsh

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Thought this weeks episode was excellent. The lady cop is really good and the scene where Malvo shot up that building was hilarious.
 

Dr. Dwayne

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I've watched a few episodes but it lost the appeal once I realized it was a TV series based on a film. Creativity is really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days. What's next, a TV series based on the HBO series Dexter/Breaking Bad/The Wire etc..?
 

Cina

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I blitzed the first five in one sitting when I was hungover and I loved it. But I haven't really enjoyed the last two episodes a lot, maybe waiting a week between episodes doesn't suit it, because it doesn't give me the feeling of really wanting to know what happens next and it also gives me time to reflect on how daft it is in parts. Malvo was stupid in the last episode, I hate this superhuman breeds of "cool" villains we're getting on so many shows and films nowadays. Molly is a very good actress though.

I've watched a few episodes but it lost the appeal once I realized it was a TV series based on a film. Creativity is really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days. What's next, a TV series based on the HBO series Dexter/Breaking Bad/The Wire etc..?
it's not directly based on Fargo the film though, just set in the same area. The plot and characters and year its set are all different. it does have lots of easter eggs to the film though.
 

walsh

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I've watched a few episodes but it lost the appeal once I realized it was a TV series based on a film. Creativity is really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days. What's next, a TV series based on the HBO series Dexter/Breaking Bad/The Wire etc..?
Seems an absurd reason to stop watching a TV show, out of some weird principle?
 

Dr. Dwayne

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I blitzed the first five in one sitting when I was hungover and I loved it. But I haven't really enjoyed the last two episodes a lot, maybe waiting a week between episodes doesn't suit it, because it doesn't give me the feeling of really wanting to know what happens next and it also gives me time to reflect on how daft it is in parts. Malvo was stupid in the last episode, I hate this superhuman breeds of "cool" villains we're getting on so many shows and films nowadays. Molly is a very good actress though.
it's not directly based on Fargo the film though, just set in the same area. The plot and characters and year its set are all different. it does have lots of easter eggs to the film though.
Nah, it's like they took the script for the film and stretched it out into a TV series. It's worse than Criminal Minds coming up with new serial killers loosely based on the previous week's plot of Dexter.
 

walsh

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Nah, it's like they took the script for the film and stretched it out into a TV series. It's worse than Criminal Minds coming up with new serial killers loosely based on the previous week's plot of Dexter.
I don't even understand what that means because obviously it has completely different characters and plot lines. It takes inspiration from the film, it's not linked at all.