TV review: No sophomore slump for ‘Fargo’

  • By Neal Justin Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
  • Sunday, October 11, 2015 1:31pm
  • Life

The suspicious cloud looming over the new installment of “Fargo” isn’t the Coen brothers’ 1996 cult classic or the drama’s Emmy-winning first season. It’s “True Detective.”

The HBO series that played a pivotal role in transforming Matthew McConaughey from “Hee Haw” hunk to brooding leading man toppled so quickly from its high perch in its second year that the shark it jumped died from excessive laughter.

Fortunately, “Fargo” doesn’t take the same nosedive. In fact, creator Noah Hawley has managed to sustain a quirky sense of humor, Midwest moodiness and nervous tension with no indication that he’s operating from the same playbook.

The new season, debuting Monday on FX, jumps back 27 years to 1979, a time where the good citizens of Luverne, Minnesota, are still reeling from Watergate and grousing over long lines at the gas pump. Future deputy Molly Solverson is just a kid looking up to her wholesome father, Lou (Patrick Wilson), a sheriff straight out of the Gary Cooper Training Academy who hasn’t quite shaken off memories of the Vietnam War.

He’s assigned a head-scratching murder in a local diner and the disappearance of a mobster’s son, inadvertently run over by a bored hairdresser (Kirsten Dunst) who would be a budding feminist if she weren’t so obsessed with becoming a Hollywood starlet.

Also searching for the young gangster: a Kansas City syndicate that wants to take over rural operations.

The chase is not nearly as fascinating as the characters, most notably officer Hank Larsson (Ted Danson, whose demeanor and accent are so Minnesotan you’d swear the actor spent his childhood summers fishing on Leech Lake) and hit man Mike Milligan (Bokeem Woodbine, cool as a cucumber soaked in a Bloody Mary).

“You’re pretty unfriendly. But you’re so polite about it,” he tells Lou, the kind of smart Minnesota insult you’ll never find in a Sven and Ole joke book.

Hawley once again fills his narrative with nods to the Coens’ movie — the hairdresser’s husband puts a corpse through the meat grinder at his butcher shop — and other cinematic classics. The relationship between acting crime boss Floyd Gerhardt (Jean Smart) and her hot-tempered son (Jeffrey Donovan) suggests “The Godfather” in overalls.

There are a lot of inexcusable trimmings, including obscure music choices ranging from arias to Western ballads, and numerous references to alien invasions, with one early episode winding down with an excerpt from “The War of the Worlds.” There’s even an appearance or two from “Dutch” Reagan.

Will any of this add up? Maybe, maybe not. But based on the first four episodes, there are plenty of reasons to load up the station wagon and head back to the promised land.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

A stroll on Rome's ancient Appian Way is a kind of time travel. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves on the Appian Way, Rome’s ancient superhighway

Twenty-nine highways fanned out from Rome, but this one was the first and remains the most legendary.

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Inside Elle Marie Hair Studio in Smokey Point. (Provided by Acacia Delzer)
The best hair salon in Snohomish County

You voted, we tallied. Here are the results.

The 2024 Kia EV9 electric SUV has room for up to six or seven passengers, depending on seat configuration. (Photo provided by Kia)
Kia’s all-new EV9 electric SUV occupies rarified air

Roomy three-row electric SUVs priced below 60 grand are scarce.

2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD (Photo provided by Toyota)
2023 Toyota RAV4 Prime XSE Premium AWD

The compact SUV electric vehicle offers customers the ultimate flexibility for getting around town in zero emission EV mode or road-tripping in hybrid mode with a range of 440 miles and 42 mile per gallon fuel economy.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.