TV’s only true Western is back in style last night with a Saturday night third season premiere that almost no one watched because it was Saturday night. [Although I like that AMC is thinking outside the box, and that I could have a show to watch if I’m ever at home or bored on a Saturday.]
The two-hour premiere was as good as any episodes of the show, which is the rare TV drama that seems to improve with each subsequent episode. I didn’t care much for the first season of the show, although I think the second season rebounded nicely, and the intrigue level of building this railroad is already much higher than previous seasons.
The first hour set up the rivalry between the railroad we’ve been following and a competing railroad that is in much better financial shape (I loved the little historical details like the fact that the U.S. government’s backing doesn’t mean much in the Andrew Johnson/Lincoln-assassination days, and a British bank’s backing is probably better). Also, Thomas Durant is sprung from prison on a bribe and scheming on ways to wrest control away from Bohannon. Plus——-and perhaps most crucially——-a confrontation is set up between the railroad and a family of violent Mormons that have already gunned down one officer of the railroad who was there to take their land and don’t look like they’ll be going quietly anytime soon.
Dueling railroads, political intrigue, and the cowardly but vicious head of a Mormon family using piety to justify murder? Oh yeah, this thing is getting good. Grade for the Premiere: B+