Tv Gives Fargo A Go

• Allison Tolman and Bob Odenkirk on the not-really-an-adaptation Fargo

It’s not impossible to turn a movie into a good TV show. But for every MAS*H, there are a dozen Baby Talks. (C’mon, you remember Baby Talk, the ill-fated sitcom based on Look Who’s Talking. Great idea, world.) Movies are stories and stories have arcs—beginnings, middles, and ends. Expanding on one can feel unnecessary, plus it smacks of greed and laziness, like a bunch of fat, mustache-twirling execs are smoking cigars in a boardroom somewhere, plotting ways to profit off something’s existing popularity.

It’s violent and funny, and it sets up female police officer Molly Solverson (relative newcomer Allison Tolman) to become a bigger part of the story in the future. And then there’s Funniest Man in the World, Bob Odenkirk, as a hapless cop who vomits at the sight of blood. So, yeah, it’s way better than Baby Talk.