True Detective: The Complete First Season [3 Discs] [DVD]

Yes, and it is very good. Even Jean-Paul Sartre when he was 'Being' would have enjoyed the 'Nothingness' of this quest for justice. Sorry about the pun but, you won't be sorry for buying this series. Tired of TV that talks down to you? Let this talk up to you.

I had heard some good things about the HBO series True Detective and so last weekend I finally got around to checking it out (thank you HBO GO app!) It was late Friday evening and I had only planned to watch one episode, but pretty early into it I was hooked. Found myself watching the next three and staying up to 3AM in the process, it was that good. Over the next two days, I then proceeded to watch the remaining four episodes of the first season (which concludes the story-arc, as it’s being done as an anthology type of series, with all new characters, setting and story for each season.) I’ve described the show to friends as being a police procedural, CSI-type of show, but one that was co-authored by Cormac McCarthy and H. P. Lovecraft – largely due to the frequent philosophical ruminations on the nature of humanity, the disturbing and nightmarish crime being investigated, and some pervasive elements of existential dread. So even though I could see the show thanks to having HBO, I ended up buying a copy on disc just so I could share it with friends. So yeah, I’m a big fan. I’ll also add that Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey’s performances are stellar. McConaughey in particular has a pretty unusual and difficult character, but he pulls it off in a remarkably compelling way. No surprise that he’s won awards for it and was nominated for the Emmy. The show is also shot gorgeously, and turns the setting of the southern Louisiana bayou region into a character in its own right. Warning though: the show is definitely not for everyone. It’s got some dark subject matter and is frequently rather disturbing, so if you don’t deal well with that, you might need to skip it. Think a little bit of movies like Se7en or Silence of the Lambs, to understand what I mean. If you’re fine with those, then definitely check out True Detective.

Not often you run across a work like this acted out so well. As far as two actors I enjoy greatly, MM and WH probably their most memorable acting jobs yet. I think what strikes me most about this is the philosophical aspect of the characters, their lives, desires, weakness, strengths and how the world perceives them wrongly. How sometimes you must embrace the darkness within to fight for what is good and right. All of this is framed within the 20+ years of cult/ritual killing and the disintegration of their lives/egos. All I can say is the play on good/bad, light/dark is completely profound. Stability in things/people you look down upon, complete degradation in the highest moral places and the battle two very different men fight within themselves to hold back evil. A tale of two very different people finding themselves and the meaning of life as they push back against evil.

Wow. That is seriously all I can say after watching the first episode. The episode is amazing. Will definitely be tuning in again and so will you. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey do a great job. The script is very well written and drives the story hard. This show is all about the story. It has the feel of a mini series not a TV show so it will be interesting to see where it goes. But it is one powerful script that is acted out great. This is the first 10/10 I think I have given on IMDb. Once you watch it you will know why. I will be shocked it this show does not win awards. It may be the best show on HBO now and I would say it's up there with orphan black with it's ability to grab your attention and keep you glued.

Especially since having viewed "Dallas Buyers Club" last summer, I can truthfully say that I am not the least bit surprised that the world is handing Matthew McConaughey every acting award there is in the book, because he is all that and a case of fine anejo. Woody Harrelson is no slouch in this show, either. "True Detective" takes the terms "dark and disturbing" to a whole new level, and intensiveness of that perception doesn't even begin to happen right away. You literally don't know you've been run over until the bus is exiting through the back wall of your room. Another brilliant HBO series, T-Bone Burnett does the music. Highly recommend. Hope the different actors and direction of Season 2 under the same director and creator are every bit as good!

I was blown away by this show. Matthew McConaughey gives the best performance of his career here, IMO. Yes better than Dallas Buyers Club. Expecting little from Woody Harrelson, I was surprised and richly rewarded with a fantastic performance by him as well. No spoilers here, just get ready for one of the creepiest mystery shows I have ever watched. This is Criminal Minds at an exponentially superior level. Everyone involved deserves recognition for putting together a show that brought me back to watching weekly tv for the first time since The Sopranos. I can't wait to see what they do next season. I know Harrelson and McConaughey aren't acting in the show next year, but I am psyched for the possibilities regardless.

Borrowing heavily from some of the darkest writings of cult author Thomas Ligotti, this opening season of True Detective is truly excellent. I think it took me until maybe the third episode before I was completely hooked in, but I think it's because there's an awful lot of groundwork to be laid at the beginning. In fact, the first episode is almost exactly NOT what you'd want as an opener because there's a deluge of information dumped on you & a LOT of talking. But punch through and face the rewards! Both McConaughey & Harrelson started their careers doing goofy bit parts & now find themselves A-list actors. And to have them teamed up (and pitted against each other in some ways) together to solve a dark series of cult-related murders is pretty rad.

This is an absorbing and dark crime drama on HBO that only lasts 8 episodes and will have a new cast and story next season. The writing is second to none and every supporting cast member, both small and large roles, fits just right. We all know by now that McConaughey can really act. After years and years of his talents being wasted, recent films like Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club have put him on a career track that few actors ever experience. His work here on True Detective is in my mind the best thing he has ever done. Just hand him the awards and get it over with. Woody Harrelson plays a great foil to his very dark view of the world and the chemistry between the two is outstanding. HBO has a real contender to fill that Breaking Bad void in my life.