Justified

I don't just watch classic television shows and movies-- I also watch quite a few new TV series.  Currently, I'm caught up in the third season of Justified which began a few weeks ago on FX.  This crime drama was originally adapted from best-selling author Elmore Leonard's story Fire in the Hole.  The TV series has since expanded beyond the story's original characters and storylines.  One of the things I like most about Justified is that the bad guys (the criminals) in the series are given just as much character development and humanity as the good guys (federal marshals).  It's also interesting to see a show's setting located somewhere other than Los Angeles or New York--Justified takes place in Kentucky.

Would you mess with quick-draw Marshal Raylan Givens?

Have you seen the first season episode "Long in the Tooth?"  While it is not a Christmas-themed story, it does contain a familiar Christmas TV reference.  In this 2010 episode, US Marshal Raylan Givens is after a fugitive, former drug kingpin Roland "Rollie" Pike who has been underground working as a dentist for years.

Different hat and a different series: Olyphant as Sheriff Bullock on HBO's  Deadwood.

It is explained as part of the backstory that Raylan has been chasing Rollie for years.  Roland fled from Raylan’s custody by insisting on watching the end of a Christmas TV special and instead using that time to escape.  Years later, Roland explains that he’s been working as a dentist because he was inspired by Hermey the elf from Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Rollie Pike is played by actor Alan Ruck

You may recognize the actor who plays Roland Pike as Alan Ruck.  Ruck has played other unforgettable chracters such as Stuart from the '90s sitcom Spin City and Cameron in the 1986 teen movie classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Could this character inspire you to be a dentist?

Justified airs on FX on Tuesday nights.  Anybody else addicted to Justified?  I'm also currently watching Downton Abbey on PBS, House of Lies and Shameless on Showtime and The Good Wife on CBS.  What new shows are you watching?