Last year, as they were looking for something new to watch on TV, I recommended the third series of Fargo, which was just about to air at the time, to my parents.
Generally, there’s an overlap in our TV tastes, although Dad watches far too many of those American Pickers or fly-on-the-wall documentaries about customs officials than I can stand, and Mum can’t miss Coronation Street or Strictly, but often when it comes to dramas there’s a consensus about the kind of things we like, so I felt on fairly safe ground with this recommendation.
They were initially sceptical, mostly because they were concerned that, since they hadn’t seen the first two seasons of the show, they wouldn’t know what was going on, but I managed to allay their fears, and I think they enjoyed it. Certainly, there were enough positive noises to lead me to buy them the box-sets of Series 1 and 2 for Christmas, which I have told them are much better than Series 3. For whilst the latest series was good, the first two – the second in particular – are magnificent. I’m expecting the feedback soon.
I spent a good few weekends revisiting the first two series on Netflix recently, and you won’t be in the least bit surprised to learn that one of the things I was reminded that I love about the show is the soundtrack.
Here’s a cheerful example from Season 2, which some of you may also recognise from the Coen Brothers’ O Brother Where Art Thou:
More soon.
A History of Dubious Taste 