I'm giving FX the benefit of the doubt, based on track record. I think the mistake they're making is that they're trying to do what Fox did to Dollhouse (a show that proved pretty entertaining once they let Joss Whedon have his overarching mythology episodes). They're trying to make each of the first four-five episodes stand alones for people that want to get into the show. I'd really like them to get into an SoA style, where the eps not only have their own stories, but they all tie in to the season. It was nice to see Cameron from Ferris Bueler again, though. Haven't seen him since shitty Spin City reruns that I flip past.
Episode 3 was dreck but episode 4 was a little better. The one thing that bothers me is the formula/format of the "showdown" scenes between Raylan and the bad guys. Raylan calmly explains that he's going to kill them, the bad guys try to bluff and get a quick draw on him, Raylan fires one bullet and cleanly kills or incapacitates the criminal. It's very bland. I like the character's calm, cool demeanor but they need to mix up the action scenes a little because I'm bored of it already. Also if these Miami drug guys all know that Raylan is a crack shot badass why wouldn't they just take him out from afar or run him down with their vehicle. The calm, slow get up close bullshit is terribly written. Mix it up. I'll stick with the show for now since it compliments Southland which is also on Tuesday nights.
Anyone else notice the 'Elmore Leonard executive producer' title? I don't know how much he has to do with the day to day shit, but the tone of the show reminds me of some of his other works. The Get Shorty Chili Palmer character reminds me of the Raylan character. That kind of effortless cool. Now, if only he used a better gun than a Glock, the attitude would make more sense. This character should be using a 1911 or at the very least an older wheel-gun. (Before the red dots fly, Glock makes a fine product. It just looks generic.)
Like everyone else has said, this show would benefit from a plot/storyline style similar to SOA, The Shield, etc. For one thing, it would be more realistic. The US Marshalls don't just work on one case at a time, solve it neatly, and move on to the next. For another, it's not engaging as a viewer. With SOA, I wouldn't let myself miss a single episode, because they all tied together and were important. Sure, they had little mini plots in each episode, but the overall plot line was always there. When they first started running ads and teasers for the show, I figured that Boyd was going to be a constant presence in the show as the bad guy. That could have led to some great plot lines because of their history together. Dropping that character from the show the way they did just doesn't seem right. Of course, maybe using the realism argument above is a mistake, because any law enforcement officer, no matter what agency/department, that was involved in that many shootings in such a short amount of time would be chained to a desk for the rest of his career. Or dead. Whatever, I'll give it a few more episodes and see if it starts to improve or not.
I'm not sure how far in you are, but it does. The last 3 episodes or so have all been mostly about the larger storylines.
The last episode I saw was #5. It seemed to be picking up, so hopefully they're getting things figured out.
I found out about this show because of this thread, and I haven't missed one episode. It looks like everyone else jumped ship though. Anyone still watching?
I still really enjoy it. I am glad they have somewhat moved off of the case of the week format or at least blend it around the main storylines of the show. I hope it makes it, because I really like the characters.
I'm still watching... but only because nothing else is on after Deadliest Catch on Tuesday nights. This show has slowed down WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much over the last 3 or so episodes. Also they keep dancing around the same character interactions but unlike say, Breaking Bad, they're not building up to anything. I'll keep watching only for lack of something better on in it's time slot.