'Fargo' Review: Good TV, But Does It Measure Up To The Original?

Tuesdays on FX are going to get ever so politely bloody.

The premiere of "Fargo" last night brought the Coen Brothers adaptation to the small screen, and with it came the same brand of real-world horror that the movie offered...and practically the same star power.

Lead by the likes of Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, the show is wonderfully acted. Thornton's shadowy villain (of sorts) is a little less of Steve Buscemi's character in the movie "Fargo" and more Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh in "No Country for Old Men." His meddling in the lives of the people living in our small Minnesota town seems less motivated by an innate evil and more a cause of curiosity, or boredom. Pair it with Freeman's bumbling loser Lester Nygaard (who is very strange to see speaking with a Minnesotan accent, by the way), and the dynamic is thoroughly watchable.

The plot feels familiar to the movie, but it all plays out much differently. For starters, we're not actually in Fargo; rather, we're in Minnesota in a small town outside of Duluth. A car crash brings Lorne (Thornton) into town and into a chance meeting with loser insurance salesman Lester (Freeman).

Lester, who is put upon by everyone in his life, including his younger brother and his own wife, sparks what could be interpreted as pity from Lorne, who offers to kill Lester's long-time bully. From there, things quickly spiral out of control.

Freeman and Thornton provide a strong base for the show, but the rest of the cast really fills it out. Joey King is small-town charming as police officer Greta, and short appearances from Bob Odenkirk ("Breaking Bad"), Kate Walsh ("Grey's Anatomy") and Colin Hanks ("Dexter") are equally delightful.

The show suffers from pacing at points, as stuttering scenes with Lester are a bit too drawn out at times. While suspense through silent moments always work wonderfully in Coen Brothers movies, television doesn't have the luxury of that kind of time. However, those issues should be fixed when the show moves to a one-hour format as opposed to the premiere's 90 minutes.

So while "Fargo" the TV show isn't quite "Fargo" the movie (yet), it should still serve as a welcome addition into the lives of fans of the genre. If you've been in a television funk since the end of "Breaking Bad," this could be the fix you need.