美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Fargo' Serves Up Double Dose Of Ewan McGregor In Season 3

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The third season of the hit TV drama "Fargo" begins tonight. And with it comes a challenge - maintaining high quality with new stories and new characters. Based on the first two episodes, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says "Fargo" delivers.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE¹: On any other show, this would be the worst kind of gimmick². But FX's "Fargo" somehow pulls off casting Ewan McGregor in two parts, as successful real estate mogul Emmit Stussy...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

EWAN MCGREGOR: (As Emmit Stussy) That was a Corvette.

DEGGANS: ...Speaking to his bitter, follically-challenged loser of a younger brother, Ray Stussy.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

MCGREGOR: (As Ray Stussy) It's a car.

DEGGANS: When Ray argues with Emmit while asking him for money, it's easy to forget there's just one actor playing both men.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

MCGREGOR: (As Ray Stussy) Look, I'm getting engaged.

(As Emmit Stussy) Again?

(As Ray Stussy) Don't say that.

(As Emmit Stussy) I'm sorry.

(As Ray Stussy) I just - I want to buy her a ring. And the way I figure it is you still owe me for my...

(As Emmit Stussy) I owe you from what happened when we were kids?

DEGGANS: This is one of the quirky quality moves cooked up by Noah Hawley, the creator of FX's version of "Fargo" and one of TV's most creative minds. He gives Emmit, the successful brother, a sticky problem. He borrowed $1 million from a company he didn't know, and when he tried to pay it back a slippery thug named V.M. Varga showed up, played with dirty teeth and skeevy charm by David Thewlis.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

DAVID THEWLIS: (As V.M. Varga) You had a problem, as you said, last year, so you tried the normal channels, the banks. But your company's still failing, so you come to us.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) For a loan.

THEWLIS: (As V.M. Varga) You never thought to ask why we might lend you $1 million with no collateral³ required.

DEGGANS: That's right, he didn't. And when Varga makes it plain that Emmit's business will be forced to launder⁴ money, there's only one bit of encouragement left.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

THEWLIS: (As V.M. Varga) Don't look so sad. By the time we're done you'll be billionaires - on paper, at least.

DEGGANS: For a third time, showrunner Noah Hawley has managed one of the trickiest⁵ feats⁶ in modern television. He's assembled a totally new story with a completely new array of oddball, often dim-witted criminal eccentrics, this time set in 2010.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MOANIN'")

JON HENDRICKS: (Singing) Every evening find me moanin'.

ANNIE ROSS: (Singing) Yes, Lord.

DEGGANS: In one scene, a rendition of the jazz classic "Moanin'" backs a stylish⁷ yet depressing montage that shows Ray Stussy, a crooked⁸ parole officer, collecting urine samples from parolees. Later, a desperate Ray pressures a parolee who failed a drug test to steal something valuable from his brother.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

MCGREGOR: (As Ray Stussy) A little robbing. Not wholesale⁹ burglary. Just a specific - just looking for a certain item. And if you do it, well, let's just say your little problem goes up in smoke.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) What are we talking about?

MCGREGOR: (As Ray Stussy) A stamp.

DEGGANS: Even the cops chasing these lawbreakers are a little odd, like smart old-school police officer Gloria Burgle, played by Carrie Coon, who you can also see in the final season of HBO's "The Leftovers¹⁰." Burgle has mysterious problems with electronics. Automatic doors and cell phones don't work around her, and she struggles to explain it all to a new boss.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "FARGO")

CARRIE COON: (As Gloria Burgle) The old way works just fine. Type out a report, send it via telex¹¹.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) You know what year it is - right? - the future. We don't use - who uses telexes¹² anymore?

COON: (As Gloria Burgle) So that's why no one ever writes me back.

DEGGANS: Here Hawley has created a world where Fargo is a state of mind. It's a frosty Neverland that hides the flailing¹³ of desperate, dense¹⁴ criminals beneath a veneer¹⁵ of politeness and down-to-earth folksiness. Watching Hawley slowly shred¹⁶ that veneer to reveal the ugliness below just might be the most rewarding part of visiting this fictional¹⁷ slice of North Dakota for a third time. I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF JEFF RUSSO'S "BEMIDJI, MN - FARGO SERIES MAIN THEME")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

3 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

4 launder   

v.洗涤；洗黑钱（把来路可疑的钱弄得似乎合法）

参考例句：

• She wore a freshly laundered and starched white shirt.她穿一件刚刚浆洗熨烫过的白色衬衣。
• The gang launders the steal money through their chain of restaurants.这帮匪徒通过他们的连锁饭店洗赃款。

5 trickiest   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的最高级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• Many believe this is the trickiest area to navigate. 很多人认为这是最难驾驭的领域。 来自时文部分
• Establishing confidence in a new monetary system was the trickiest part. 建立对新货币体系的信心是其最棘手的部分。 来自互联网

6 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

7 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

8 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

9 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

10 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

11 telex   

n.用户电报，直通专用电传

参考例句：

• I shall send you the information by telex.我将用电传把这一信息给你传来。
• He rushed in with an urgent telex from Hong Kong.他手里拿着一份香港发来的紧急电传冲了进来。

12 telexes   

用户电报( telex的名词复数 )； 电传系统； 经用户电报发或收的消息； 电传收发机

参考例句：

• It'sends up to800 telexes a day, mostly as confirmation for transactions. 它为它的1375个客户的其中50个客户维护184个电传帐号。
• Several telexes arrived this morning. 今天上午收到了几份电传。

13 flailing   

v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克

参考例句：

• He became moody and unreasonable, flailing out at Katherine at the slightest excuse. 他变得喜怒无常、不可理喻，为点鸡毛蒜皮的小事就殴打凯瑟琳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His arms were flailing in all directions. 他的手臂胡乱挥舞着。 来自辞典例句

14 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

15 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

16 shred   

v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少

参考例句：

• There is not a shred of truth in what he says.他说的全是骗人的鬼话。
• The food processor can shred all kinds of vegetables.这架食品加工机可将各种蔬菜切丝切条。

17 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。