Justified

JUSTIFIED makes its intentions clear from the first scene. This compelling drama is an old-fashioned Western. Yes, it takes place today, but just look at Raylan: He wears a Stetson and cowboy boots and packs a big pistol on his hip. And that questionable incident? Seems he gave a known bad guy 24 hours to get out of town. When time's up, Raylan tracks him down, gun at the ready. The meaning is clear: The lawman has challenged the criminal to a gunfight, and though the villain draws first, the marshal draws faster -- technically, the killing was justified, Raylan insists.

Transferred to rural Kentucky coal country, Raylan brings the same swaggering attitude and quiet, steely reserve. There's a new sheriff in town -- well, deputy marshal. The show is based on a book by famed novelist Elmore Leonard, who also serves as a producer and makes sure the scripts are always entertaining and unpredictable. Olyphant is wonderful as an old-school lawman who won't draw his weapon unless he plans to shoot to kill, because that's the whole purpose of a gun. It's worth tuning in just to hear him calmly deliver this line to a skittery punk with a shotgun, who promptly drops the gun and runs.