“The oil and gas industry makes $3 billion a day in pure profit, generates over $4.3 trillion a year in revenue. It’s the fourth largest industry in the world, ranked ahead of food production, automobile production, and at $1.4 trillion the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t even crash the top 10. The industries ranked ahead of oil production are all completely dependent on oil and gas. The more they grow, the more we grow. That’s the scale. That’s the size of this thing, and it’s only getting bigger …”
If Taylor Sheridan does not own a big chunk of stock at Paramount+, then he should be a major shareholder, because he’s bringing in more bucks than everything else combined except for Star Trek. I’ve enjoyed every one of his shows to date, some more than others. I think that Landman has to be the best of them yet. Yellowstone has been the great amber-captured jewel of the kingdom for over five years, but his split with Costner brings all of that to an early end, with the exception of spin-offs. I think I’ve found the new champ, and it’s Landman. Landman is absolutely as good as television gets or has ever gotten. Paramount has now released the second season on Blu-ray now, and if you’re not planning on adding it to your collection, then you need to get back up, move that rock you hit your head on, and order it now. Or wait for the paramedics and hope for the best. Up to you.
“I’ve got rabies, and you’re high on my bitin’ list.”
I’ve often expressed my opinion that Sheridan is a crappy storyteller. The second half of Yellowstone‘s final season is proof enough of that. Yet he continues to produce compelling drama that you just can’t stop watching. If ever there was a content king who invites binging, it’s Sheridan. He’s a bad storyteller, but he has a rare skill that makes the rest of it moot. He has the ability to create awesome characters, and he places them into the most authentic environment anyone has ever done, and most importantly, he knows how to cast. He has a natural gift for writing stuff that will only work for one actor. Then he secures that actor because the character is so good, and before long you’ve forgotten the story. You just can’t tear yourself away from these characters. Casting Billy Bob Thornton as landman Tommy Norris is nothing short of brilliant. Billy Bob doesn’t exist for as long as you are watching. Tommy is so natural and authentic that I can watch him doing this all day, and that’s pretty much what I did here. And you should watch this for that alone, and you got triple your money’s worth. And if that’s not enough to pull you in, how about that the second season adds Sam Elliott to the mix as Tommy’s father, Thomas?
“Look where we’re standing. This is America. Obviously we won something.”
Tommy is that guy. He worked for a billionaire named Monty Miller, played by Jon Hamm. But as the first season drew to a close, he died of a heart attack. Now his wife, Cami, played by Demi Moore, is just as dependent on Tommy. Tommy has to deal with workers in a dangerous business. When someone makes a mistake, a bunch of people die horribly. But there’s some pushback now. Monty didn’t really tell anyone else what exactly was going on. Now no one knows where the money is, and there is going to be big pressure. It will mean Tommy having to be “real” with Cami, and what he has to say isn’t going to be exactly what she wants to hear, and they could very well be heading for a split by the end of the season. You know Tommy’s going to land on his feet, but I will say season three is looking like an almost brand new show.
“Nobody told us there were television stations above the 600’s.”
Tommy was married to Angela, played by Heroes’ Ali Larter, and she’s back in his life and back in his crowded house. She, along with their daughter Ainsley, played by Michelle Randolph, are over-sexed, and it tends to get them in a lot of trouble. It makes her crazy desires a real pressure on Tommy, but he can’t resist. Ainsley is preparing for college on a cheerleading scholarship, and it’s opening her up to actually having to work hard and accept others. It’s a great growing year for her, but there’s still too much of their “sexy” antics for me in the show and is the only part that I find a bit tedious. The house also includes the company’s chief lawyer, Nathan. played by a friend to the site in Colm Feore. I love the guy, and he’s quite the put-out character here. Angela won’t use his real name, and he tries doing business with all of the family drama playing around him. The house is also shared by one of Tommy’s crew, Dale, played by James Jordan. He’s a roll-with-the-punches kind of a guy. For Nathan he now deals with the new young, up-and-coming lawyer in Rebecca, played by Kayla Wallace. She was pretty much just there last season, but she gets a ton of character development this season, and also a relationship which causes a conflict.
One of the more compelling support stories and characters is Tommy’s son, Cooper, played by Jacob Lofland. This has been a huge breakout year for the actor and character. Last season he wanted to learn his father’s business. As a boss he loses some of his crew, including the husband of Ariana, played by Paulina Chavez. Last year they started to get involved, and it gets really serious this season. I love this relationship, because it appears to be the only one driven by heart and not lust. On top of that he proves to be very lucky when he takes some spec leases and surprises everyone by going 6 for 6. The only trouble is where he got the money.
In the final episode of the first season we meet Andy Garcia’s Gallino. He’s Cooper’s money man. When we first meet Gallino, Tommy is tied to a chair, bloody with a nail in his hand and guns to his head. It had to do with last year’s drug cartel story arc. Gallino saves him, and now he wants to do business with Tommy, but Tommy knows where some of that money comes from. Garcia gets a lot to play this season. You can’t help wondering why he wants Tommy to trust him so much. With the company in financial trouble, Gallino wants to step in, and the chemistry he has with Billy Bob Thornton is quite awesome. By the end of the season he’ll be forced to trust the character, and I’m very eager to see where that all goes.
Of course, the best part of a great season of television is the addition of Sam Elliott. I have to say, I love that guy, too. His voice alone is golden. He’s an icon after spending over 60 years in the business. He plays Tommy’s father. As the season opens, we find out Tommy’s mother has died. It is a way for us to learn a lot about Tommy’s childhood and what drives him. Apparently after a family tragedy she turned to drugs and booze and was abusive enough for Tommy to pick up and leave as a child. Now his father has been in a nursing home, and Tommy decides to try to reconnect with the old man. Again it’s all about chemistry here, and watching those two together? I don’t care what the story is or what they’re talking about. I can just sit and watch them all day. There’s a scene that describes any Sam Elliott character. He has to stop on the side of the road to take a leak. He sees a rattlesnake. He’s not fazed at all. He just pees all over that thing, and I had to rewind it twice more to watch it again. That alone is worth the price of the disc release. With Garcia and Elliott full cast members this season, I can’t even imagine how this show can get better, but I suspect that it will.
You get all 10 episodes on three discs with the usual Sheridan behind-the-scenes extras. I don’t have Paramount +, so I end up having to wait until the full season airs and they release the Blu-ray discs. But this is going to be a hard wait. I suspect it’s going to be worth it. I’m hoping the discs arrive as soon as the season airs. “I’m feeling lucky. How about you? Are you feeling lucky?”
