True Detective

Season 1 still remains the greatest television I've ever seen. McConaughey's best performance to date and Harrelson goes toe-to-toe with him. Everything from the acting (including every minor character) to the writing to the cinematography to the score is phenomenal.

Season 1 of True Detective may be the best television I've ever seen. Its written brilliantly and has some of the best performances I've ever witnessed with Woody and Matthew. They were robbed by not winning an Emmy or Golden Globe.

Season 1 True Detective, different actors, different story, different class....absolutely amazing.....the following seasons average in comparison.

Before season one aired I had never seen anything so compelling in storytelling or filmmaking in my entire life. The following two seasons are watchable and well-made but nowhere near as phenomenal as season one. This is a paint-by-numbers example of how to do a gripping and unique story. There is nothing negative I can say about season one. Everything is top-notch. The acting, the story, the camera work, the music, the mood, everything.

We see through the relationship of the two main characters a complicated and sometimes volatile relationship. They aren't enemies but they aren't exactly friends either. The dialogues they share together are some of the most interesting filmmaking I've ever seen. They aren't good men or bad men either. They exist in the grey area. They are just good enough to not be bad but bad enough to not be good. They are stark contrasts of one another as well. The relationship Rust and Marty have evolves constantly throughout the series and is the highlight of the entire show. I cannot recommend this season enough.

If you want to skip this review just jump to the IMDb list of awards and nominations, and you're done.

If you want the skinny, let me say this is one of the most perfect dramas ever to grace your flat screen.

Harrelson, you need to understand, is no slouch. He does crazy better than crazy people. And he usually steals any scene not nailed down.

But Matthew McConaughey operates at such a level here -- not to mention the astonishing makeup which makes him appear to be playing his own father -- that he walks off with this production. Mesmerizing.

Everyone is pitch perfect, which I believe explains the casting awards. Even Michelle Monaghan, usually known for getting by on her amazing looks, does more acting her than anytime in her career

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))