Timothy Olyphant plays a US marshal transferred to Hicksville USA (in season 1), his home town. Home to his past, his mistakes his family and his family problems.
What results is a performance that puts him in the model of a modern young Clint Eastwood (which the cover artists have clearly picked up on), you find yourself talking to the TV when someone crosses him , saying "Oh dear... you really didn't want to do that" you know some one will get their comeuppance, yet the threats are subtle, this is not a hero that needs to shout swear and throw his weight around, like Eastwood its his reputation that does the damage to the bad guys.
I have seen Timothy Olyphant in some other roles that he carried off ok, but this one is his niche, this is the one that i think defines how good he can be, and that coupled with some great direction, some great casting of the peripheral characters and the setting all combine to make this a really unforgettable show.
I found that season 2 was improved by Raylan being conscious of the issues and paper work involved with shooting people, and so the "really go on i dare you look" is even more present. His relationship with Boyd is explored in more depth and we met more of the people from Harlan county, giving this series a much more rounded plot to go with the amazing characters
Highly recommended, i had this pre-ordered something i almost never do with DVD's
(Parm)