The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 25, 2014 2 By Cassie Dresch TV Media W alt Longmire is living in relative obscurity. You won't see his name splashed across huge billboards or shouted from Hol- lywood's highest towers com- manding attention and acco- lades. In fact, you won't find it on any Golden Globe, Emmy, Critic's Choice, People's Choice or one of the countless other major awards that spring to mind. And yet, there he is. Dusty cowboy boots, sturdy Stetson hat and the stern introspection of a sheriff who's seen so much and says so little. He's the title character in A&E's Western-in- spired crime drama "Long- mire," which airs a new epi- sode Monday, July 28. Based on the "Walt Long- mire Mysteries" novels by best-selling author Craig John- son, the TV show has been a major success for A&E since the get-go, despite the sore lack of recognition. The series premiered in June 2012 and set a record for the network, becoming the most watched original series launch of all time with 4.1 million total viewers. The first season fin- ished even stronger than its premiere, notching 4.3 million total viewers, and season 2's premiere and finale numbers were higher yet. Now in its third season, "Longmire" picked up where it left off and continues to boast strong numbers and a dedicat- ed fan base ... but still no hype. It's odd, though, that it contin- ues to dwell in anonymity. The writing is top notch, the acting is spot on and overall it's been very well received since the be- ginning. In a review for "Newsday" back when the series pre- miered, Verne Gay said it "ar- rives as silently as a dust devil kicked up by a high wind on the Wyoming plains (where the show is set). With little in the way of fanfare and a lead actor unacquainted with household name status, it must instead rely on a quiet fortitude, much like its namesake. Unassuming 'Longmire' doesn't shout 'LOVE ME!' but instead works its charms subtly, quietly." Leading the charge as Sheriff Walt Longmire is Australian ac- tor Robert Taylor, most well known for his role as Agent Jones in the sci-fi action flick "The Matrix" (1999). He is, as Gay pointed out, quite unac- quainted with being a house- hold name — at least in the U.S. — but that doesn't take away from what he brings to the role. Johnson has described Walt's character as "a detec- tive for the disenfranchised, a man whose secret weapon is his compassion for the less for- tunate or forgotten members of society." Taylor epitomizes all of that, to the point that Johnson was brought almost to tears when they first started bringing his books to life. "My eyes started welling up, and I had to turn away and walk off the set," he said in an article for "CriminalElement.com." "There was something about watching these characters, these people I'd created, going about their lives and discussing the innermost workings of their hearts that hit me like a war lance." Starring alongside Taylor is a cast that brings poise and ex- perience to the fictional Wyo- ming town of Absaroka Coun- ty, and since the first season, they've each seen their charac- ters grow and develop. Katee Sackhoff ("24," "Bat- tlestar Galactica") plays Walt's deputy Vic Moretti, who, it turns out, kick-started an in- vestigation into corruption against a former colleague in Philadelphia, causing her to flee her former job hoping for anonymity. It seems to have been all for naught, though, as her colleague's former partner has found her in Wyoming. Of course, no show is com- plete without some personal drama to mix in with the pro- fessional. As Walt struggles to move on from his wife's death and — spoiler alert! — tries to find out who actually mur- dered her, he has to contend with his lawyer daughter Cady, played by "Smallville's" Cassi- dy Freeman. Throw in the fact that his oldest friend and confi- dant Henry Standing Bear (Lou Diamond Phillips, "La Bamba," 1987) is in some hot water le- gally (albeit for an honorable reason), and there is no short- age of storylines to follow as the show barrels towards the season finale. There's some light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who is hoping to see "Longmire" catch fire even more and finally garner the respect it deserves. Adam Bartley, who's had bit parts in shows such as "Chuck" and "Justified," plays Deputy "The Ferg" Ferguson, and he's seeing it grow in pop- ularity before his eyes. "Me and the sheriff (Taylor) will go to the gym in Santa Fe (where the show is filmed), and people will recognize us," he said in an interview with "Albuquerque Journal." "That's a really cool feeling be- cause we get the chance to meet and chat with the fans." But it's not just in Santa Fe that Bartley says he's seeing a surge in fans. Because TV view- ing is changing so rapidly with the emergence of Netflix and the rush to get shows to DVD, "Longmire" is ready to burst into common conscience. "The way of watching TV has changed," he said in the same interview. "With Netflix, people don't have cable and are binging on seasons at a time with shows. We're finding more people finding the show later than others, but we'll take any viewer we can." And so, as Sheriff Walt Long- mire continues to watch over his county like a shepherd guards his flock, "Longmire" continues to plug away, put up solid numbers and entertain its ever-loyal fan base. If middling in obscurity bothered Walt at all, you wouldn't know it. With a grunt and a shrug, he'd go on his way, clearly with more pressing things on his mind. Stop by Absaroka County and catch a new episode of "Long- mire," airing Monday, July 28, on A&E. Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 coverstory Robert Taylor and Lou Diamond Phillips as seen in "Longmire" Living in the shadows A&E's 'Longmire' lacks the hype but packs a punch By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: What happened to "Rake"? Every time I find a good show it either gets canceled or just disappears. A: The network canceled the series in early May, a month af- ter pulling it from the schedule, with one episode of its 13-epi- sode first season left unaired. Rather than just let it disappear, though, as you say, Fox aired the remaining episode — the de facto series finale, though no one knew that when it was made — in June. The dark comedy starred big-screen supporting man and ro- mantic-comedy mainstay Greg Kinnear as a mouthy defense lawyer whose self-destructive tendencies were played for bleak laughs. It was actually based on a much more popular Australian series of the same name. The show's ratings started off bad and only got worse. It was subsequently bounced around the schedule, starting off on Thursdays, moving to Fridays, then to Saturdays, but to no avail. It returned to Friday for the finale in June. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A B/ Fly Creek 2 x 4 G ENERAL S TORE FL Y CREEK Cafe GROCERIES DELICATESSEN