... which is no mean feat in a "western" that features such strong actors and piercing dialog.
In earlier reviews of Season 1 I flagged when McShane wrapped up entire scenes and walked away with them, gift-wrapped. I flagged when one of the Carradine brothers did a "Wild Bill" as good as or better than any of the full-length Hollywood spectacles that have been done on the man.
And in my review of the last episode of Season 1, I complimented Milch and his team for allowing Olyphant to reach his stride and "come from behind" to walk away with that one.
As a stand-alone dramatic episode, you could argue that this opener drags a mite, but that is to be expected in any episode with the words "Part I" in the title.
The treat however is watching Powers Boothe in action. If you check out the credits for the whole series, you will see that Boothe's agent negotiated a special credit for him at the end of the off-the-top roll. The reason he could do that is because Boothe isn't just any old TV actor, look him up on IMDb, he is a former A-lister from the feature side who was, we now know, kept in reserve for occasions just like this one.
Stunning to watch.
In earlier reviews of Season 1 I flagged when McShane wrapped up entire scenes and walked away with them, gift-wrapped. I flagged when one of the Carradine brothers did a "Wild Bill" as good as or better than any of the full-length Hollywood spectacles that have been done on the man.
And in my review of the last episode of Season 1, I complimented Milch and his team for allowing Olyphant to reach his stride and "come from behind" to walk away with that one.
As a stand-alone dramatic episode, you could argue that this opener drags a mite, but that is to be expected in any episode with the words "Part I" in the title.
The treat however is watching Powers Boothe in action. If you check out the credits for the whole series, you will see that Boothe's agent negotiated a special credit for him at the end of the off-the-top roll. The reason he could do that is because Boothe isn't just any old TV actor, look him up on IMDb, he is a former A-lister from the feature side who was, we now know, kept in reserve for occasions just like this one.
Stunning to watch.