Originally Posted by
Art
We finally got around to watching every episode of this series (the wife cakes loves it by the way.)
The characters are extremely well drawn and many are very complex as you would expect from any project created and worked on by Elmore Leonard. The title comes from the main character's (Raylon Givens) practice of putting bad guys in a position where he is "justified" in killing them. This practice actually does occur with some cops. I can think of some cops in Houston who considered themselves in the two legged vermin extermination business. One was actually sacked for the killing of an old boy who it turned out was not a thug. The Chief when asked why he fired this fellow who had not been charged with a crime said the shooting may have been "justified" but it was also unnecessary. Givens is suspended more than once for insubordination and violations of policy and as the series goes his co workers start to distance themselves from him because he's a problem.,,,yup, that happens too. The main plot twist is Givens transfer from Florida, which he loves, to Harlan County Kentucky, where he was born and raised but definately doesn't love, because of the fallout from the "justified" but problematic killing of a top mob enforcer.
Givens is an emotional wreck though you'd never know it superficially, he is attractive and glib but a seething cauldron underneath. His ex wife calls him "the angriest man I ever met." Not only does he drink too much and have the love life of a Hollywood star but his taste in women is questionable on his good days. He, for example, defies the advice of his boss to stay away from the widow of deceased criminal (she killed him) and winds up in an affair with her, his other sexual liasons are also show questionable judgement.
Except for the excessive amount of killing, the interplay between the criminals is pretty well depicted. They betray each other with amazing regularity both to each other and the law. They sometimes manage to be really bad, complex and even sympathetic at the same time; especially Boyd Crowder, a local small time gang leader, who Givens once had a friendly relationship with (they "dug coal and drank beer together") but is now his bete noir.
The firearms chosen by people, especially the bad guys are often interesting and reflect their pasts.
The violence is graphic and there is a lot of it.
Deputy US Marshalls are indeed the feds most likely to shoot you and as in the series they do announce their intent to "shoot to kill" in conflicts.
This series, to me, is worth watching just for the number of fascinating, complex and incredibly well drawn characters (my favorite is Givens long suffering boss Art Mullen) that inhabit it. I recommend it highly.
