Raylan Givens once gave a man a day to leave town; then shot him on site when he didn't obey. Raylan Givens shot his boyhood friend. Raylan Givens was once knocked out and locked up in a freezer, but more offended the crook stole his hat. Raylan Givens isn't afraid to publicly threaten Harlan County's local meth kingpin. Raylan Givens is the angriest man alive. Raylan Givens is a man born in the century. Timothy Olyphant brings life to Elmore Leonard's creation of Deputy US Marshall, Raylan Givens, a modern day cowboy in a world civilized in appearance only. "Justified" the newest action/drama series from FX strives to do two things what few have done before: adapt an Elmore Leonard story successfully and then continue to explore those characters with original stories. Running 13, one-hour long episodes, "Justified" starts at a sprint, adapting Leonard's original short story "Fire in the Hole" as the pilot episode. An extremely faithful adaptation, with a few notable changes, "Fire in the Hole" sets a very high bar for this freshman series to live up to, and while "Justified" does exactly tell viewers where its headed, by the time the season finale, the aptly titled "Bulletville" rolls around, the only sure bet I'd make is Raylan's coming back for a second season.

"Justified" is the brainchild of Graham Yost, a man whose career highlights include work on "From the Earth to the Moon," "Band of Brothers," and "The Pacific." For Leonard fans, Yost is saint, as he strives to keep that unique Leonard style going through the remaining 12 episodes, succeeding where others have failed. I'll fully admit, I wasn't sure where "Justified" was headed in its first few episodes, and while the series does tease a larger story arc, many of the episodes in the first half of the season are solid standalone efforts. The focus is on our hero, Raylan, who would likely strike viewers as more of an antihero, if it weren't for his old fashioned manners. Olyphant is a brilliant casting choice, brining the Old West style he perfected on "Deadwood," but finally getting to bring his natural talent for sly humor to the table. Having been an Olyphant fan for years, even arguing his villain in "Live Free or Die Hard" was a solid character (a nerd with a bruised ego is infinitely more unpredictable and dangerous than any thief), "Justified" is finally something I can show people how talented and, frankly underrated Olyphant is.

Raylan is a complex man: a modern day gunslinger, whose frustration with protocols and policies are easily understandable. He's a man thrown back into his hometown to deal with white supremacists, thieves, unhinged ex-convicts, and an absentee father, Arlo (Raymond J. Barry) whose run afoul of the recently released Harlan meth kingpin, Bo Crowder (M.C. Gainey). If that weren't enough, Bo's son, Boyd (Walton Goggins) is the childhood friend Raylan shoots in the pilot, and Boyd's husband shooting sister-in-law, Ava (Joelle Carter), is quick to strike up an unethical romance with Raylan. On paper it sounds very soap opera-ish, but the slower pace "Justified" takes to take some of these arcs to conclusion as well as build some for further expansion in later seasons, ends up being a smart move in hindsight. The biggest treat for viewers is the way Walton Goggins upstages the entire cast in the acting department, Olyphant included. Initially introduced as a one-note bigot, Yost and company send Boyd down the path of the Good Book and evolving him into a complex character that no one, viewer or character alike, can read. His "I have been saved" routine is easy to dismiss as a not-so-clever ruse, but through solid writing and Goggins' amazing talents, Boyd becomes the series' most grey character; at war with himself, his former ways, and at times Raylan, a man who claims he holds no ill will for.

"Justified" isn't without its missteps. At least three episodes are entertaining, but lacking in the grand scheme of the things, with the second episode "Riverbrook" being the worst offender. A pure standalone tale, it feels like it was made when the creators weren't entirely sure they had the larger supporting cast locked down. It gives a little insight into Raylan as a character, but is very much a by-the-books affair, sending Raylan after an escaped connected with a string of serial burglaries. Likewise "The Collection" falls into the same category, but the powerful final scene alone leaves the episode with a bit of a shine. Last but not least, "The Hammer" is just plain weak and disengaging, despite a fun guest spot from Stephen Root . What all three episode do so well, is the same thing many of the standalone episodes do: allow Raylan to interact with those close in his life, most importantly, boss and obvious father figure, Art Mullen (Nick Searcy). Mullen is a man caught in the middle of toeing the line between the law and his close friend Raylan, who despite unconventional methods, gets things done and will stop at nothing to uphold the law. Like any stubborn child, Raylan often ends up following Mullen's advice, episodes later, but not after getting into a bit of trouble first. The perfect encapsulation of Raylan as a character comes when challenged to a duel by a third-rate, wannabe thug. Raylan verbally explains everything that could go wrong a in a gunfight, revealing just how deadly he is with a gun; however, not content to stop there and let the freshly wary crook back out, Raylan demonstrates his draw, re-holstering his gun with a chuckle. There is an arrogant, cocky child trapped in Raylan that gets him into many of the series' situations, but we the viewer love him for it all the same.

"Justified" has a bright future on FX, filling the void left by "The Shield." If this season is an indication of how Yost plans to run the show from a big picture point of view, then Season Two is going to be mind-blowing. Nothing is rushed and the focus of this series is wisely on characters, an approach that the creators of "LOST" and "Deadwood" employed. The result is a rich, collection of real people, whose problems are all very similar and ultimately intertwined, with Raylan Givens, one angry, charming, no nonsense US Marshall at the center of it all, struggling to ensure everyone gets what's coming to them.