True Detective

Im writing this review solely on the first season. I never finished the second one as i write this.

I can easily say that Season 1 of this show was absolutely stunning. Some of the finest TV Crime hours of my life. We have Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey in some of their best roles of their career. Especially the latter of them. McConaughey made the talk of the town with his role as the smart, and deeply intellect detective Cole and to be honest, i have rarely seen a role played out so well by an actor in years. He absolutely grabs you in and keeps you there for the entire show.

It is all set in the rural deep humid swamps of Louisiana. The photography here is top notch. It is shot in a way that you can actually smell the place while watching. It just brings you that close to the swamps of the south.

Featuring a great selection of music by T-Bone Burnett who scored Coen´s brothers "O´Brother Where Art Though" to critical acclaim. He is the number one man to bring in for some true Americana music to movie and TV projects. He seldom fails. It opened eyes to many new artists for me.

The show has a great momentum until the end. Somehow the end of the season, i felt, was very rushed and simplified. In my opinion, could been done smarter to justify the rest of the show. But that is just nitpicking. For why bother the rest of the show is near perfection in TV making and gives you so much to weigh in on. You should not miss it at all. It will leave you wanting to smell the swamps even more after the last episode. Shame about Season 2 that was a bit of a disappointment to me. Although entirely unrelated to the Class-A first season.

Essential TV-viewing.

Hooks you deep-don't miss it any cost if you're a fan of dark, psychedelic cinema!

For season 1

This show has something going on for it that if it's for you, it'd take you to some different level of analyzing yourself and life altogether and if it ain't, then it's your bad luck I'd say.It just grips you from your soul; questions you on every single thing you believe in; plays with your emotions, thoughts; breaks you apart; gather the pieces back up and turns you into a different person.Still confused, aloof, lost, but a bit better I suppose. Everything linked with the show is a genius.The cast, even the tiniest of characters, the lingering music, the locations, the setting, the writing, the story, the direction, everything about it was just flawless.It didn't matter to me whether they were ever gonna solve the murders at all, but just the way the whole thing was building up, watching it all was plain bliss. Only watch this show if you have the taste for something dark, slow paced, deep, layered, intense, but satisfying and fulfilling.I haven't seen anything like this ever though in any genre.This is something that's gonna stay with you for a long long time. And hats off to Woody Harrelson "Martin Hart" and Matthew McConaughey "Rust Cohle" for giving us the pleasure of watching something like this.. If you think it's for you, go for it..It hits the right spot!!

I almost didn't watch passed by it a few times. I'm glad I did it doesn't take long to get into the first episode it turned out being one of the best shows I've ever seen. Parts 2 and 3 are pretty good but I think it's the first season that was5h3 best I great crime/mystery that would be hard not to enjoy.

Thoughts on the third season

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

• Matthew 24:36

Happy are those who can relieve suffering with prayer. Happy those who can rely on God to see them through. They can wait patiently for the end. But we who have put our faith in the goodness of man and now see man's image debas'd lower than the wolf or the hog – Where can we turn for consolation?

• Paul Fussell; The Great War and Modern Memory (1975)

If you are your life story, what are you without your memory?

• Nic Pizzolatto

A murder mystery set in small-town southern America, focusing on a dedicated cop who drinks too much, letting the case burrow under his skin and destroy his personal life as he chases answers across multiple time periods. But underneath, it's about more than that – it's about personal demons, good and evil, the soul, American identity, memory, time. And as the case progresses, a conspiracy slowly comes into focus. There may even be a supernatural element. Thus was the first season of True Detective. And thus is the third. With one major difference – season one was ground-breaking, one of the finest seasons of TV ever made, a defining early example of prestige TV. Season three, on the other hand, is, well…put it this way, of all the shows I've ever seen, season three of True Detective is one of them.

Okay, okay, I'm being flippant. But there's no denying the similarities between seasons one and three. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing – I mean who would want a repeat of the horrendous and universally panned second season? So creator/writer/showrunner Nic Pizzolatto returning to his roots for the third outing is, on paper anyway, a good idea. The problem is that because this season is so similar to season one, it's practically crying out for people to judge it in the light of those glorious episodes from 2014. And the contrast is not flatt...

Series 2: Below are my observations after watching series 1 a second time, so now I will briefly enter thoughts after rewatching Series 2. I can’t say I enjoyed much of this season. I should point out that it is great drama; it grabs you by the throat and moves you along through the river of violence and betrayal and prolific cursing. (I am known to drop an occasional F-bomb as are my friends and family, but if they all did it this much my Thanksgivings would be quiet ones without company). Plus I was hard-pressed to find people to root for here. The few I liked had little or no power and were, like me, just along for the ride. And I found it ironic that, populated with the modern flawed anti-heroes we get a lot in modern dramatic thrillers or cop shows, there seemed to be an old fashion tendency for arranging fit endings for characters, like a sprawling morality play. But this is typical HBO fare: rather addictive even as I grumbled about my minor complaints above.

Series 1: I recently re-watched the first series of True Detective many years after watching the first time. I don’t know if I will watch the subsequent two series again, and they are unrelated to the first series anyway, so each series should be reviewed separately.

So taking series one on its own, I found it to be great entertainment, despite the presence of a massive, walking and talking stereotype. I refer to one of the two lead detectives. Woody Harrelson’s detective Marty Hart is sort of a cliche character, straight out of many other police procedural mystery series. He checks off several boxes of that two-dimensional role: cheats on wife yet applies his violent double standard at the thought of her doing it, drinking too much, breaking the law to further his investigation, with his anger always near the surface. But I like Woody Harrelson and he does give a textured and layered performance, his sense of humor and how he cares about the plight of people he encounters (except his family, of c...

True Detective: Night Country is a gripping and atmospheric thriller that takes the anthology series to new heights. Set in the remote and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness, the show follows two detectives who must overcome their personal and professional differences to solve a mysterious case that involves a missing research team, a severed tongue, and a possible connection to an unsolved murder of a native activist.

Jodie Foster delivers a stunning performance as Detective Liz Danvers, a hardened and cold cop who has been exiled to the small town of Ennis for her attitude and past failures. Foster portrays Danvers as a complex and flawed character who struggles with her own demons and regrets, but also shows glimpses of compassion and vulnerability. She is matched by Kali Reis, who plays Evangeline Navarro, a state trooper of Iñupiat descent who is obsessed with finding justice for the slain activist, Annie. Reis brings a fierce and fiery energy to Navarro, who clashes with Danvers over their methods and motives, but also develops a grudging respect and understanding for her partner.

The show is written and directed by Issa López, who creates a captivating and chilling vision of Alaska as a place of both isolation and freedom, beauty and danger, darkness and light. The cinematography is stunning, capturing the stark contrast between the snowy landscapes and the cozy interiors, the eerie silence and the sudden bursts of violence, the long night and the brief dawn. The soundtrack is also haunting, featuring a mix of native songs, folk tunes, and ambient sounds that enhance the mood and tension of the story.

The plot is intriguing and unpredictable, weaving together elements of crime, mystery, and supernatural horror. The show explores themes such as identity, culture, history, trauma, and redemption, as well as the environmental and social issues facing Alaska and its native people. The show also pays homage to the previous seasons of True Detective, with refe...

True Detective is a series so far spanning four seasons. Each season tells a new tale.Thus, far I've watched all of season three and four episodes, of season four.

Well crafted and intelligent for the most part this is an engrossing series, with what appears to be a supernatural twist, in the latest iteration, "Night Country".

Acting is of a high standard and characters are well rendered, with the kind of traits and flaws, you would expect to find, in real people.

The only downside is a dose of the the usual woke BS many of us could well do without.White people or more accurately, Europeans, are not responsible for the worlds woes, get over it. I'll add too, there's a thread of what I'd describe as misandry that's more than a little noticeable, by the 6th episode.

In summary, mostly well written, intelligent and engrossing. I'd have rated it higher again, if the woke nonsense and the misandry had been left on the cutting room floor, where I feel, it belongs.