TV Review: "Justified" (FX, Tuesdays)

I've never written about television on here (mostly because I only watch "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad" with any regularity) but last night the series premiere of FX's "Justified," starring Timothy Olyphant, caught my attention.

Ever since "The Shield," FX has become a seal of quality as of late. I haven't watched "Damages" or "Sons of Anarchy," but both do very well critically and are probably two of the highest quality non-premium cable shows going.

Based on an Elmore Leonard character, "Justified" is a southern drawl crime drama following the exploits of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Olyphant) who is transferred back to his hometown in Kentucky after a questionable shooting at a seaside Miami establishment in the opening scene.

Givens certainly has the kind of reckless yet admissible stoicism of a Clint Eastwood or a Jimmy Stewart and any comparisons of the series to a contemporary Western are certainly valid. Besides the obvious fact that Olyphant's last hit series was HBO's "Deadwood," this land of lawlessness and white supremacists (watched over by a pistol-wielding badass who snorts about his quick hand) certainly has westward machismo to burn - let's hope it doesn't bust a wheel. [B+]