Longmire - The Premiere
With the exception of Lou Diamond Phillips, I was unfamiliar with any of the other actors - as most of you know, my television viewing is extremely limited these days so I'm not as familiar with actors as I have been in the past. But I think in many ways that helped me to be a little more unbiased. I didn't come in liking or disliking certain actors because of other roles they have performed in. That being said...
I have decided that I like the television show "Longmire" BUT I am going to watch it much the same way I have always watched "Bones." It is a separate entity unto itself. To try to see and make connections with the books "Longmire" is based on would only make me dislike the television show. The same is true for "Bones."
I also think I discovered why I don't watch as much television anymore. The lack of depth to plot has become disappointing to me. Obviously the television writers couldn't re-create the plot of THE COLD DISH in a one-hour show. And what they put together was very good, but it was very straight-forward and one-dimensional. One of the major reasons I love Craig Johnson's writing is that it isn't straight-forward and one-dimensional. There are layers and symbols and nuances and depth. You can do that in a 400-page book; a one-hour television show with commercials, not so much.
And that's where I'll stop my comparison with the books. As I said at the beginning, I'm going to view the show from here on out as a separate entity. So, let me run down a bit of what I really liked about "Longmire."
My favorite scene of the premiere was Walt handing "Branch" (a.k.a. Turk - sorry, I wasn't going to do that, right?) the HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and telling him he needed to work on his detecting skills.
The focus on the lack of a cell phone for Walt illustrated a lot about his character. Given that they've chosen to make Walt younger, I think that's an important characteristic to bring out in him.
I also like the fallibility of Walt's character.
I love that Henry doesn't talk in contractions...although I did catch a "you're."
I think Cassidy Freeman as Cady is wonderful. Having seen just this first episode I would say she was the best cast character. Even though he was completely different from what I imagined and only showed up for a few seconds, I thought Omar (Louis Herthum) was great. And his short stint in this episode can lend itself to future opportunities with his character.
Those are my thoughts. Now it's your turn. What did you like or not like about the "Longmire" premiere? And if you're going to include any kind of spoiler in your comments please note that in all caps at the beginning of your comment, so if someone is still waiting to watch and doesn't want to know what happens, they can skip over your comment.
