Joe Pickett

For some reason I've been putting off watching Joe Pickett ever since it came out. Now that I've actually seen it I'm mad at myself for waiting so long. It was so much better than I expected it to be. I'm not sure why I waited so long because I'm a big fan of westerns. Michael Dorman is terrific as Joe Pickett. I remember Dorman from one of the most underrated shows of all-time in Patriot. This is another underrated show that he's terrific in. It's not the best show I've seen but it's definitely worth watching. It may start a little slow for some but stick with because after an episode or two it becomes addicting and the next thing you know you're going to want to binge it as fast as you can.

The TV series makes Joe out to be a fumbling "Barney Fife" of a game warden and not true to the character of the books. The plot lines and suspense are well structured but the dialogue is rough and predictable. It will entertain and engage you but the series could have been so much more. Does not do justice to the books, characters or franchise.

My main complaint is the series short changes the lead character of Joe Pickett. In the books, he is an intelligent, resourceful investigator with a sixth sense about criminal investigations but in the series, he is a stumbling, bumbling idiot that is a magnet for bad luck and only solves the crimes by falling into the situation/solution often as the last one to figure it out.

Many TV shows will, in the end, not be perfect with things like poor cgi, editing, writing and acting. For the most part, Picket was pretty darn good for the first 6 episodes before any major issue surfaced.

By episodes 7-9 the needed information or thing just started to fall into the lap of the good guys and the bad guys seemed to get dumber or suddenly acted out of character. Episode 8 went on way too long and episode 9 wrapped up halfway through.

There is a little environmental preaching in here and what little there is fits into the overall story and I don't feel like I have been clubbed.

Even with that the show was entertaining and I found myself liking the main characters. All of the actors did an excellent job, even the children.

I have never read the books but want to and I will be clicking on season 2 here shortly.

As a huge fan of the books I had reservations. Especially after Big Sky turned out to be such a disappointment. I was won over quickly by the actors. They brought the world of the novels to life for me. Joes commitment to his family,job,and sense of right and wrong is a breath of fresh air in our troubled times. One quibble would be the casting of Nate as a softer guy than I would have liked but future seasons could correct that. Please make more seasons!

Joe Pickett is a must watch for any western fan. It seems most people who've watched it seem to really like it. The only people who seem not to like it are fans of the book that are mad that it isn't exactly like the book. They don't understand that it's based off the book and has to be adapted for television. Try not to compare it to the book and just take it for what it is and that's a very good show. This started off as a Spectrum original but gained a much bigger audience when it went to Paramount Plus. I have to say I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'm really looking forward to more seasons in the coming years.