Fire in the Hole (Justified)
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Episode 1
| "Fire in the Hole" | |
|---|---|
| Justified episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Michael Dinner |
| Teleplay by | Graham Yost |
| Featured music | Steve Porcaro |
| Cinematography by | Edward J. Pei |
| Editing by | Victor Du Bois |
| Original air date | March 16, 2010 |
| Running time | 51 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Fire in the Hole" is the series premiere of the American Neo-Western[1] television series Justified. The episode was written by series developer Graham Yost and directed by Michael Dinner. It originally aired on FX on March 16, 2010.
The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode.[2] The series follows Raylan Givens, a tough deputy U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice. Following the shooting of a mob hitman, Raylan is sent to Lexington, Kentucky to investigate an old childhood friend Boyd Crowder, who is supposedly now part of a white supremacist gang.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 4.16 million household viewers and gained a 1.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. It was the highest rated show of the night in basic cable and it was also FX's second highest-rated series premiere, behind The Shield. The episode received extremely positive reviews from critics, who particularly praised its "sharp" dialogue and acting.
In Miami, Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) approaches mob hitman Tommy Bucks (Peter Greene) at one of his parties. Raylan presses Bucks with his deal where he was supposed to leave the city within twenty-four hours (a time limit up in a few minutes) lest Raylan "shoot him on sight". Bucks pulls out a gun, but Raylan quickly draws and kills Bucks in self-defense.
The shooting sparks an investigation by Raylan's superiors, despite Raylan insisting that Bucks pulled the gun first. His boss, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Grant (Matt Craven), decides to transfer Raylan to Lexington, Kentucky, the jurisdiction of which covers Raylan's childhood home of Harlan County; Raylan is reluctant to take the transfer.
In Lexington, Raylan meets with Deputy Chief Art Mullen (Nick Searcy), an old colleague from the academy, and is introduced to his colleagues Tim Gutterson (Jacob Pitts) and Rachel Brooks (Erica Tazel). Mullen assigns Raylan to investigate Raylan's childhood friend, Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), who has supposedly become a white supremacist. That night, Boyd and his colleague Jared Hale (Ryan O'Nan) drive to an African-American church, which Boyd blows up with a rocket-propelled grenade. Mistakenly suspecting Hale of being an informant, Boyd kills him in their getaway vehicle.
Raylan connects Hale's murder to the church bombing, as Boyd used the phrase "fire in the hole" before launching the rocket–a common phrase he used when he and Raylan were coal miners. Meanwhile, after Boyd's brother Bowman is killed by his wife Ava (Joelle Carter), Raylan visits her house as an old friend. Ava defends her actions as her relationship with Bowman was previously abusive, although he was unarmed when she killed him. Boyd's associate Dewey Crowe (Damon Herriman) arrives to take Ava, but Raylan forces him out and threatens him to tell Boyd he wants to have a talk.
Raylan meets with Boyd at his church, where he deduces that Boyd is not actually a white supremacist, but rather using their forces as distraction for his own bank-robbing spree; Boyd targeted the "church" (a front for distributing marijuana) after being paid to do so by a rival gang. Raylan has Boyd show up the next day at the station for a suspect line-up. However, the church's pastor, marijuana kingpin Israel Fandi (Doug E. Doug) does not identify Boyd and he has to be released. Boyd tells Raylan that he knows about the Miami shooting and gives him a similar ultimatum: Raylan must leave Harlan County or Boyd will kill him. That night, Ava calls Raylan when Boyd unexpectedly shows up at her house. Raylan drives there but his team is caught in a gunfight with Boyd's men. He then catches Dewey and Derek "Devil" Lennox (Kevin Rankin) following him; he handcuffs them in their car before reaching Ava's house.
At Ava's house, over dinner, Boyd expresses his intent to kill Raylan in the same way he killed Tommy Bucks. However, Ava arrives with a shotgun aimed at Boyd, prompting him to reach for his gun. Raylan then shoots Boyd in the chest, seriously wounding him and putting him in the hospital. That night, Raylan visits the home of his ex-wife Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea), scaring her new husband, Gary. He talks to Winona about the shooting of Tommy Bucks, pondering if he would've killed Bucks had he not drawn the gun first. Winona then remarks that Raylan is the angriest man she ever met.
Production
Development
Justified (originally titled Lawman) was given a 13-episode order by FX on July 28, 2009, announcing Graham Yost as developer and Timothy Olyphant as the main character, Raylan Givens.[3] The first episode was referred to as the "Fire in the Hole pilot" during shooting and retains this as the name of the episode itself.[4]
Casting
The character of Boyd Crowder was intended to die in the episode, but Yost kept the character when test audiences liked Walton Goggins's performance. Goggins would later be promoted to main cast from season 2 onward.[5] Yost would later comment on the decision by the time the series ended in 2015, "I think it would have been a bummer. That was part of it, too. We wanted the show to be entertaining for six years. That was always our goal, and it's not really a tragedy. We felt this was the right way."[6]
Yost also explained that Dewey was supposed to die in the episode but the network told him to change plans, "the uproar was such that it was loud and clear that Dewey must not die until Dewey absolutely has to die."[7] Both Natalie Zea and Joelle Carter were credited as guest stars in the pilot and were promoted to series regulars beginning with the second episode.[8]
Filming
While the episode was shot in Pittsburgh and suburban Kittanning, Pennsylvania and Washington, Pennsylvania, the subsequent episodes were shot in California. The small town of Green Valley, California often doubles for Harlan, Kentucky. Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention Center appears on film as the small town "airport" and the construction of the new Consol Energy Center serves as the "new courthouse".[9]
