Quick Draw

I was pretty impressed when Netflix had a budget to produce their own TV series.  I watched Hemlock Grove and Arrested Development with mixed emotions.  The quality of the storytelling was excellent; Hemlock Grove was a topnotch thriller with complex characters, a layered mystery, and some stunning special effects.  That was the best werewolf transition I’ve ever seen.   And Arrested Development was simply hilarious.

The content was also reprehensible in both.  It’s not often that profanity bothers me—after high school, I barely register even the harshest swear words—but Hemlock Grove crossed that threshold again and again, along with some truly disturbing sexual sequences.  And Arrested Development, while even funnier than its original seasons, was too blasphemous for my liking in the middle of the season.

Because of that, I haven’t cared to see Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, or Derek.  I’m sure the storytelling is going to be phenomenal in each one, there’ll likely even be some important social commentary in them, and I’m also sure that I’ll want to take a long shower after I’m done, futilely trying to feel clean afterwards.

Hulu’s advertisement for its own series, Quick Draw, looked like it was going to have the same effect on me.  I avoided it for weeks but I finally succumbed because the scenes they showed had some genuinely funny lines.

Turns out the show is improvised.  They give the actors amazing setting, props, costumes, probably the situation, and then let the actors say whatever they want to say and see where it leads.  The improvisation can make it feel like there’s not much continuity from episode to episode; in the pilot, the sheriff is on his death bed, and the next, he’s just fine with no explanation as to why he’s still breathing.

The dialogue is genuinely funny, and while they make the sheriff an oblivious snob, they have enough storytelling instincts to make him competent in a few areas: he has incredible talent with his revolver, and his investigative skills, though hampered by his ego, are still pretty decent.

I’m unsure whether I’ll actually finish the series; I’m a little tired of raunchy comedies.  And by a little tired, I mean very.  However, this one has some genuine wit and should be enough to carry folks through.