TV Series Notebook: Castle Rock. Godless.

“Castle Rock.” (Hulu.) Horror. Two Seasons. Featuring and inspired by characters, settings, and themes from the stories created by Stephen King and his fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. The lineup is topnotch: Sissy Spacek, Scott Glenn, André Holland, Lizzy Caplan, Tim Robbins, Barkhad Abdi. 

       

Special mention to Ms Caplan as Annie Wilkes, a mentally ill nurse who gets stuck in Castle Rock—although she tends to overact in some instances. The overall horror/thrill though is run-of-the-mill Stephen King. That is, if you are familiar with Kingsville as cinema scares.

       However, these two castle rocks can be sluggish and at times blurry or vague. But as I said if you know your King, you already pretty much know what’s up next. Overall acting is cool though. And still, this is a not too shabby dalliance on a lazy weekend. Especially if you are the snotty kind (like me) who’s sick and tired of the politically correct “contrivedness” in most shows on streaming. Besides, I am a horror fan since a child.

“Godless.” (Netflix.) Limited series. Western drama. Set in 1884, a young outlaw on the run from his vengeful mentor winds up in a small New Mexico town populated almost entirely by women. I have always been a huge fan of Westerns, especially the less grand dramas. 

       Examples: The old-oldies Cimarron, Viva Villa! Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, High Noon to the new-oldies Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Shootist to, of course, 1992’s “Unforgiven.” But there’s been a deluge of good Westerns in the 2000s except, perhaps, the remakes of “3:10 to Yuma” and “True Grit.” Many are pseudo-Westerns, I mean—Stetson hat guys struttin’ in the present time even if it’s set in New Mexico or Wyoming. Those are not Westerns to me.

       “Godless” is Western. Not just the time-element but its swagger, grit, and earnest. Not so bombastic with its thematic center, not too flashy with the gunfight, and cool/dark enough with its stride. Central characters are Ray Goode (Jack O'Connell), an outlaw on the run from his former boss; Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), an aloof widow managing a small ranch; Bill McNue (the ever-stressed-out Scoot McNairy, always underestimated), the obligatory sheriff with a conscience, and his sister Mary Agnes (the always-superb Merritt Wever), the intrepid widow of the late mayor of La Belle, a town in the story. Add two other Western imperatives: Whitey Winn (Thomas Brodie-Sangster), the cocky young town deputy, and the evil outlaw Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels). And so we have a show! Western!