Justified

Bullets knock Bandits out, gain amnesty

CAHABA COUNTY, AL - Justified is an American neo-Western crime drama television series that premiered in March of 2010 on the FX network. Developed by Graham Yost, it is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly from his "Fire in the Hole" book. Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a cool, tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. Olyphant does an excellent job as the no-nonsense deputy in this ever-twisting plot between good and bad. Givens is something of a 19th-century-style, Old West lawman living in modern times. Think Dirty Harry meets Matt Dillon. His unconventional enforcement of justice makes him a target of criminals and a problem to his superiors. In the pilot, his controversial but "justified" quick-draw shooting of mob hitman Tommy Bucks in Miami, gets Givens reassigned to the Eastern District of the Kentucky U.S. Marshal's office in Lexington. This jurisdiction includes Harlan County where Raylan was born and raised, an area and lifestyle that he thought he had escaped for good after his youth. The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture of this rough Appalachian mountains region of Eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up and in Lexington. The series comprised 78 episodes and aired over six seasons, concluding in April of 2015. Reminiscent of a solid shoot 'em up Western, there are 172 documented deaths in the show over the six years. Justified received critical acclaim throughout most of its run, and has been listed by several publications as one of the best shows of the 2010s. Its acting, directing, art direction, unique characters and witty writing were praised, as well as the performances of Olyphant and Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder, Givens' rival throughout the series. The BDFL doesn't rate TV drama shows as a rule, but if they did, Justified would be very high on the list. It should still be available on Hulu for streaming. The only bad mark against Raylan Givens was he thought Lynyrd Skynyrd was overrated. In Week 15 of the BDFL, the Bullets defeated the Bandits 41-16 to improve their regular season record to 7-8. The Bullets were one win short of the eight wins needed to make the BDFL's prestigious "Elite Eight" of the Big Daddy Championship Series (BDCS) under the league's long-standing "Bullet Rule", but were "justified" in receiving amnesty under the league's generous "Amnesty 2022" policy this season for finishing with the highest in Total Amnesty Points (TAPs) among the ten teams considered for post-season amnesty. The Bullets will be seeded at #7 in the BDCS beginning in Week 16 of the BDFL. Maybe this will hold back the Black Belt Rebellion that had been brewing in Benton the last few weeks?

You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive by Ruby Freidman & Nick Page (2012)