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How Well Do You Know Your Classic Literature?
Okay, lit majors: name this classic:
The queen of a city-state rules with a fair but firm first, along with her sons, the princes.
One day, a minion breaks one of the kingdom’s rules and the queen has the minion killed. That leaves an orphaned daughter, whom the queen adopts. She tells the girl that her father is away on a quest.
One day a knight comes along and saves the girl’s life. He also plants the seeds of doubt about the queen’s motives. The girl begins asking about her father and his mysterious quest.
The queen’s love for the adopted girl grows, and she grooms the girl to become heir to all the land. That draws the jealousy of the two princes. The younger prince’s hatred rises and he begins plotting against his stepsister.
Question: Is this:
a) A Shakespearean tale?
b) Part of the Arthurian saga?
c) A theme of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle?”
c) Translated from “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights?”
The answer?
Season two of FX’s television series, “Justified.” I kid you not.
Are you watching it? Why the hell not?
I’m Justified in Watching This Show
On television, I look for great writing first and foremost. That gets me long before a super-star actor or exotic locale.
I currently am madly in love with “Justified” on the FX channel (although I admit I watch it on Netflix and thus am a full season behind). The scripts, by Graham Yost, novelist Elmore Leonard, V.J. Boyd and others, are whip-smart, hilarious, shocking and subtle. The dialog is pitch perfect.
The series is based on a short story, “Fire In The Hole,” by Leonard and features hero U.S. Marshal Rayland Givens, who has returned to his roots in rural Kentucky and who has a tendency to shoot folks in the midst of his investigations. The cast includes the chameleon-like Timothy Olyphant (“Deadwood,” “Damages”) and Nick Searcy (the brilliant character actor whom you’ve seen in a thousand things, including the under-rated cult favorite “Seven Days,” 1998-2001).
A promotional still from FX Channel's series "Justified," which is in its third season.
The superb is dialog, delivered in deadpan and as dry as a played out coal mine Kentucky dialect. Examples:
Nick Searcy’s Chief Art Mullen, to Rayland: “I tell you to do one simple thing – refrain from screwin’ the witness in your own shooting (investigation) – and you can’t even do that!”
Rayland, when questioned by Internal Affairs about missing money. “Just ’cause I shoot the occasional person doesn’t make me a thief.”
That’s David-Mamet-level dialog. Wonderful.
Audience participation: What are your nominees for the best dialog in a television series (time is not a factor; go as far back into the television archives as you’d like).
