Fire in the Hole 

Marshal Givens returns home and is assigned a case involving an old friend from his coal mining days who has become a white supremacist and blew up an African American church.

Director:

Michael Dinner

Writers:

Graham Yost (developed for television by), Graham Yost (teleplay by)

Stars:

Timothy Olyphant, Nick Searcy, Jacob Pitts

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Olyphant	...	Raylan Givens
Nick Searcy	...	Art Mullen
Jacob Pitts	...	Tim Gutterson
Erica Tazel	...	Rachel Brooks
Joelle Carter	...	Ava Crowder
Natalie Zea	...	Winona Hawkins
Damon Herriman	...	Dewey Crowe
Matt Craven	...	Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Grant
Peter Greene	...	Thomas Buckley
Doug E. Doug	...	Israel Fandi
Kevin Rankin	...	Devil
Ryan O'Nan	...	Jared Hale
Joel Marsh Garland	...	Pork #2
Daniel Stewart Sherman	...	Pork #1
Walton Goggins	...	Boyd Crowder

Storyline

Gunslinging U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens faces off against his oldest friend in Harlan, KY. -- a 21st century Wild West.

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Plot Keywords:

woman holds a shotgun | woman with a gun | man wears a ski mask | name calling | old friend | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Timothy Olyphant joked that his performance was just an imitation of Sam Elliott. Ironically, Elliott would turn up as a recurring guest star in Season 6.

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Goofs

After Ava gets out of the shower and sits on the couch with Raylan, she tells him that she heard he was in the US Marshals Service from Raylan's mother before she died. Raylan's mother died when he was still a child, and he was raised by his Aunt Helen; and she is still alive at this point. This line was taken nearly verbatim from Elmore Leonard's novella "Fire in the Hole," in which Raylan's father died years earlier and there was no mention of an Aunt Helen.

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Quotes

Winona Hawkins: What are you doing here, Raylan?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens: I'm going to be working in Kentucky- Working for the Marshal's office.
Winona Hawkins: Raylan? What are you doing here?
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens: I was in Nicaragua a while back, looking for this money launderer named Roland Pike, the cartel's gun thug, Tommy Bucks, looking for him, too. Bucks got me, took my gun, put me in a car with some other man, drove us to some old coconut plantation. Then he tied the man to a palm tree and asked me where Roland was. I told him what I knew. No sense in lying. And I ...
[...]

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Connections

References Tombstone (1993)

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Soundtracks

Long Hard Times To Come
(Title Theme) (uncredited)
Written by Rench and T.O.N.E-z
Performed by Gangstagrass featuring T.O.N.E-z

User Reviews

One of the best pilot episodes I've seen.

This episode was a little crazy, unique and filled with great music to perfectly set the tone of the show. The immediate introduction of Raylan as an old school, extreme "lawman" with a succinct and riveting first scene.

The unbalanced rambling of Ava and Boyd in their first conversations with Raylan immediately showed how different these characters were and the stark, depressing setting depicts a tragically isolated and backwards little corner of the US that we don't usually see on tv and in movies.

The music is incredible, awesome indie artists that Encapsulate the white trash, backwards country vibes, while still being great enough that I want every song on my playlist. Music truly sets the mood of this show as well as the stark wide angle shots that show the depressing countryside.

The first time I watched this premiere it was nothing like I was expecting. It had none of the slick style that you come to expect on tv, and made me feel just a little off kilter. That's the kind of thing I love in a tv show. Watching this pilot again in 2020, I appreciate this show even more. It was truly a show that could only live in the time between The Sopranos and Game of a Thrones.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 March 2010 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rooney McP Productions, Timberman-Beverly Productions, Nemo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9