Tag Archives: Twin Peaks

‘Fargo’ strikes right absurdist tone

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One of the most pleasant surprises at the movies in 1996 was “Fargo,” the Joel and Ethan Coen movie about cops and crime in Minnesota.

But if you’d asked me if the movie would provide fodder for a TV series 18 years later, I would have scoffed. Politely, of course. We are talking about “Minnesota Nice” here.

But “Fargo” the TV series on FX is a surprise that’s similarly pleasant to the Coen Brothers movie. It’s a little weird and a little funny and really promising.

“Fargo” is part of a genre of stories about offbeat people in offbeat towns that stretches back past “Twin Peaks” – and the current Twitter revival of that 1990s show – and encompasses more police-oriented series like “Justified.” “Fargo” and “Twin Peaks” share some DNA with the “Welcome to Nighvale” podcast. All of which is fodder for a future entry.

But for now, “Fargo” has the market on small-town neighborly mayhem cornered.

The series isn’t a continuation or expansion, really, of the movie. There are some familiar settings and characters, but there’s a big difference: The central antagonist in the series appears to be Billy Bob Thornton’s Lorne Malvo, a man who arrives in the town of Bemidji, Minnesota with a man locked in the trunk of his car. After an accident and the captive’s short-lived escape, Malvo settles in Bemidji. Much to Bemidji’s misfortune.

That’s because Malvo spreads chaos and discontent wherever he goes. Besides the odd haircut and facial hair, Malvo appears to be something of a devil, quietly suggesting to people that they take some action that turns out to be ill-advised. It’s not until the second episode that we get a good idea of what Malvo is all about.

In the spirit of Jerry Lundegaard, the Bemidji businessman played by William H. Macy in the movie, the series introduces us to Lester Nygaard, played by Martin Freeman of “Sherlock” and “The Hobbit” fame, a put-upon businessman who makes some crucial mistakes, including the bludgeoning death of his wife.

That murder propels other incidents, including the death of the police chief at Malvo’s hands. It’s the push that prompts the Frances McDormand surrogate in the series, Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) to begin investigating. It’s likely that Solverson will at some point collaborate with Officer Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks), an over-cautious cop who has an early run-in with Malvo.

In the first two episodes, “Fargo” has become populated with characters who, we intuit, will pay off before the season is over. They include Adam Goldberg and Russell Harvard as another couple of menacing strangers in town and Oliver Platt as a crass local supermarket chain magnate whose dilemma, we learn, brought Malvo to town.

Keith Carradine is present for low-key wisdom as Solverson’s father and Jordan Peele (of Key and Peele) is due to show up at some point.

As unlikely as “Fargo” seemed to be for a TV series prospect, the show is entertaining and intriguing so far. I’m looking forward to what the pride of Bemidji does next.

Madchen Amick all choked up in ‘Mad Men’s’ ‘Mystery Date’

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Last night’s “Mad Men,” besides giving the characters — and viewers — the creeps over the Richard Speck mass murders, presented me with a real brain-teaser:

Who played Andrea, the old flame of Don Draper who showed up in an elevator and, later, in Don’s flu-induced fever dreams in the episode called “Mystery Date?”

The actress looked undeniably familiar but I missed her name in the credits.

Today I discovered the actress was Madchen Amick, one of the most memorable young actresses on TV two decades ago.

Amick played Shelly Johnson, the high school girl and waitress in “Twin Peaks,” the cult TV mystery series that aired in 1990 and 1991.

Considering the nightmarish stuff of “Twin Peaks,” it’s perfectly appropriate — somehow even fitting — that Amick played Andrea. In last night’s macabre episode, Andrea encountered Don on an elevator and immediately went into purring seductress mode … until Don introduced his wife, Megan, who was standing some distance away.

Later, Andrea showed up and offered herself to Don, whose weakened condition on account of the flu apparently didn’t extend to the bedroom.

When Andrea, getting out of bed, told Don that she expected a return visit, he became enraged and choked her to death, stuffing her body under his and Megan’s bed before passing out again.

When Don woke up, however, Megan was there … and the encounter with Andrea never happened.

Part of the fun of seeing Amick again was that I haven’t seen her on TV a lot in the past two decades. According to her biography, she’s worked pretty steadily, with roles in everything from the “Fantasy Island” reboot to “Dawson’s Creek” to “CSI: NY.”

Who can forget this famous 1990 Rolling Stone magazine cover, with Amick and “Twin Peaks” co-stars Sherilyn Fenn and Lara Flynn Boyle?

That’s a lot of hair. But Amick looks great.

If Andrea indeed isn’t stuffed under the Drapers’ bed, maybe Amick will pay a return visit to “Mad Men” this season. Although some have theorized that Don’s hallucinatory choking of Andrea symbolized his efforts to leave his past behind and be faithful to Megan, I’ll believe Don has become monogamous when I see it.