DB and I are enjoying season 2 of "Justified". Timothy Olyphant does a "bang up" job as Raylan Givens, but Walton Goggins (Boyd Crowder) does amazing work. I have seen him before in bit parts and never paid much attention, but he really is good. Actually all the actors do a good job. Margo Martindale's character, Mags Bennett, was introduced in an episode we viewed last night and she stole the show. We had never heard of the show before a friend gave us these discs. Now we are hooked.
I am sure the locale of the story adds to its appeal to us. The stories center mostly around Harlan, Kentucky. My parents were born in Woodbine, KY and raised in Corbin, KY. When I was a kid and my family used to drive from Cincinnati to Florida, my dad would always talk about how rough Harlan and Jellico were. He said a lot of folks there would just as soon kill you as not. With my mother and aunt now living in Corbin, we are pretty familiar with the area, but I have always avoided Harlan and Jellico . So it is fun when the show refers to places we know. So many movies take place in big cities like LA, NYC or Chicago. I wonder if residents of those cities say things like, "Oh, I know that place!" when they watch movies which are set in their city, or does it become old hat.
I think a few years back Corbin voted to allow liquor to be sold by the drink. It sits within two dry counties (Whitley and Knox)--three if you count North Corbin which is in Laurel County, also dry--well, moist now. Corbin just this year voted to allow retail liquor sales. About time. For a dry city, Corbin always had its share of drunks and I doubt they all left Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties to get their booze. Harlan County is a moist county. No wonder moonshine was so popular. Anyway, the alcohol situation in the area adds to the story line of "Justified". Besides illegal liquor, the series covers just about every other type of crimes. In fact, "Justified" often features stories about the illegal drug trade in the area. For quite a few years, Kentucky's number one crop was marijuana, not tobacco. Now other illegal drugs, especially oxycodone (oxycontin) outsell marijuana there, I think. It is a huge problem.
This series has sex, violence, drugs, and bad language along with interesting characters and story lines, as well as fine acting. I even like the catchy music that is played, but not overdone, as the theme to the series.
