Longmire: A Primer

[colls]

Reluctant hero Sheriff Walt Longmire is back in the saddle after coming to terms with the devastating loss of his wife and is dedicated to serving his community. But storm clouds are brewing…



THE SHOW

With the help of a variety of deputies and a trusted friend, Henry Standing Bear, Walt investigates a series of major crimes in his jurisdiction while preparing to run for re-election.

The show is based on the Walt Longmire series of mystery novels written by Craig Johnson.

The pilot episode opens like this....
"Steam rises around a ruggedly handsome middle-aged man as he showers in a partially constructed wooden stall. The jagged scars on his back reveal he is no stranger to violence. The phone rings, and he listens intently as a female voice on the outgoing message declares that no one is home at the Longmire residence. After the beep, a frantic woman's voice echoes through the house. The woman's name is Vic, and she commands Walt to pick up the phone. When he doesn't, she grudgingly continues her message, saying that Billy and Bob Barnes need someone to go out to Pronghorn Ridge, and since it's her day off, she doesn't want to go."

THE CHARACTERS


Walt Longmire, the long-term sheriff of Absaroka County. Laconic and introspective with a strong sense of duty and justice, his character is a throwback to the iconic lone hero of classical Westerns. As the stories build, we see that Walt has a knack for finding the truth behind the various crimes that have been committed.


Victoria "Vic" Moretti, a sheriff's deputy who formerly worked as a homicide detective in the Philadelphia Police Department. She recently moved to Wyoming following her husband, who works as a natural gas company executive.


Henry Standing Bear, a Cheyenne who is Walt's best friend and confidant. We learn their friendship goes back to their early school days together. He is the proprietor of the Red Pony Cafe, a local tavern and restaurant, as well as an expert tracker.


Cady Longmire, Walt's daughter and an attorney who works for a local law firm.


Branch Connally, an ambitious deputy who comes from a wealthy local family, and who has aspirations to be sheriff himself one day.


"The Ferg" Ferguson, an awkward but hard-working deputy hired by Walt as a favor to Ferg's father.

THE EPISODES

There are 23 episodes of the show, the season 2 finale recently airing. It has been picked up for a 3rd season (YAY!)

The series has a lot of Native American elements and often highlights the tension of having a divided population. Each episode focuses on a case and there is an overall arc which unravels at such a pace that it really draws you in without feeling like it's dragging.
Recurring characters include Ruby - the dispatcher, Mathias - the Tribal Police Chief, and Detective Fales - a Denver homicide cop.

I really like the pacing of this show. I like the characters and the plot and the overall dynamics really hit me in the 'found-family-feels'. Visually it's very beautiful and reminds me a lot of home.


(P.S. aren't they cute?)

Season 1 is available on DVD in most regions and is streaming on Netflix. Some episodes also stream on the main A&E site (video) but you may need to be a cable subscriber for that? It's available on Amazon & iTunes and most links seem active in *cough*certain communities.

Screencaps: grand-caps.net

sources used: wikipedia, A&E: Longmire, tumblr

Comments

[timetobegin]

I suddenly feel like allowing these primers was a mistake.

I HAVE MADE A HUGE MISTAKE.

but ok i'll watch this. I think i have time to shoe horn it in before sept shows

[colls]

LOL!!

Someone on my circle was talking about Longmire and said that it balanced Teen Wolf pretty well (something about adults vs. teenage werewolf drama) and I thought that was a pretty apt description. Consider Longmire the other end of the spectrum.... or something.

[timetobegin]

but i like this end of the spectrum. :D

nah i've not got much to watch at the moment! i think its like, literally breaking bad and that's it, so it'll be a nice change of pace from breaking bad i'm sure

[colls]

Oh, I meant in a chocolate-covered-pretzel sort of way. Like sweet & salty THEY JUST GO GOOD TOGETHER even though they're completely different.

[timetobegin]

i know.

hey if logmire and teen wolf had a baby would that baby be supernatural?

[colls]

mind.
blown.

[timetobegin]

ehehehehe

[skieswideopen]

Pity it's not on Netflix here! But maybe I'll go catch up. The last episode I happened to see did look good...

[colls]

Grr.... I don't get region differences. Or rather, I get them but they annoy me.

[laisserais]

Yay!!! I came for Katee, I stayed for the plot. I really dig this show. :)

I think you can watch the eps on the A&E site without needing a cable subscription? It's not big enough yet for them to lock it down. If you're out of region and there's a block, folks can check out the 'hola!' Chrome extension, which proxies traffic through the appropriate countries. *G* I think they also make an extension for Firefox.

[colls]

I had it in the back of my mind because of Katee and LDP, just hadn't gotten around to watching it until somewhat recently. I was all WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME HOW GOOD THIS IS when I did.

Thanks for the tip!

[timetobegin]

you are the worst
:(

[colls]

Does that mean you've started to watch this?

[timetobegin]

yessssssssss
sigh

episode 3 made me cry :( i'm on ep 5 or 6 now. should finish season 1 tonight maybe

[colls]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

[timetobegin]

:D

i really enjoy it so far. I like walt but Vic is my fave.

[colls]

Vic is pretty awesome

[timetobegin]

i like everyone!

its not a particularly fannish show, but i am enjoying it!

[timetobegin]

why is this so gooddddddddd

[colls]

IKR
why are so few people watching/talking about it?

[timetobegin]

i dunno!!! i love how the sheriff is like in charge of these 3 kids and they all have different relationships and then henry and his daughter aldsfkjga;ldkfjg

[colls]

Cady! Branch! i ship it
Ferg! Vic!
yes, Walt has a lot of kids. Thankfully he has Henry to help deal with them all.

[timetobegin]

ahahah i kinda ship vic/cady.
but i DO WANT cady/branch to work out actually. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO BE HAPPY.

oh henry. :D

[colls]

oh! Vic/Cady.... *ponders*
I could sail on that ship.

I ship colls/henry

[timetobegin]

ahahah.

yeah fair enough. that's a good ship :D

[snitchbitch]

Damnit, this looks as awesome as you say it is.
Because I TOTALLY need another TV series to fangil over..

[colls]

Hee!

[raktajinos]

LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS!!! lol. He's like the best thing ever.

I'm not a huge fan of the show, but my Dad absolutely loves it, so I enjoy watching it with him.

[colls]

He is pretty great. :)

[raktajinos]

my sister has had a weird kinda-crush on him since she was like 9. We'd rent the weirdest films just cause he was in them. lo.