Landman (series): It's good but not great

Between waiting for episodes of Monte Cristo to come out I have to fill my time with something. I had hoped that Silo was going to fill that void but there is just something about that particular show that just doesn't do it for me. I find as though in Silo they are intentionally dragging things out and introducing a bunch of stuff that doesn't need to exist. I'll write my opinion about that a bit later but for now I want to talk about a show that initially had me seriously hooked but my interest is kind of waning after certain elements of the story are introduced and constantly revisited.

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Starring Billy Bob Thornton and some other big names such as Demi Moore and Jon Hamm who haven't yet really had much to do with anything in the plot, this series follows the oil industry in the United States and in particular in Texas near the border with Mexico. It follows Tommy Morris (Thornton) as he does the job of being a "landman" for a fictional oil company with vast resources. It doesn't matter how it has to happen, it only matters that it does happen at any cost. The world needs oil and he is going to get it.

Some great lines are in here such as how he is not at all intimidated by cartel members and the line comes out where one Cartel boss is threatening him and Tommy says "you have a product that you must get to your customers right? Well ours is the same thing only it is a lot bigger."

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The Cartel sub-bosses or whoever these people are don't take this very well but herein lies what I consider to be a very big and perhaps not so intentional purpose of this series: The energy industry is the most powerful industry in the world despite what valuation of companies would indicate. Without them, nothing else works and therefore they control every aspect of humanity. This is highlighted in several billionaire meetings where they talk about how the price of oil is intentionally kept at a certain range and scarcity is an illusion in order to maintain the price threshold of energy. They could make it higher but have discovered over the years that beyond a certain price every aspect of the economy suffers and the politicians will start to not honor the bribes (lobbying) of the oil companies. A "sweet spot" of maximizing profits while ensuring the politicians are kept happy has been pre-determined and the oil companies work very hard to keep it in that level even though they could make it much cheaper if they wanted to.

This series also points out something that I have suspected my entire life as well in that energy companies merely create the illusion of competing with one another when the reality is that they are all in on it together with the price fixing. I wont spoil more of it than that but even if it is just Hollywood speculation, it makes sense.

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The show also points out how dangerous and hard the work that the actual people on the ground go through is and while they are rewarded quite handsomely for their efforts, their remuneration is a mere pittance compared to how much money is flowing through these companies. I have personally known a few people that worked in the oil industry on a "doer" level and they are very well off but nowhere near as well off as the people that are truly in control.

I enjoyed all of these aspects of the show but unfortunately, and I can only presume that it is in order to try to engage a wider audience and lighten the mood a bit, they introduce the relationship issues that Tommy has with his ex-wife and kids into the show as well.

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While I am sure it appeals to a lot of people and well, it does to me as well for a bit, the inclusion of newcomer Michelle Randolph in the role of "Ainsley " is in there just for the eye-candy bits. She rarely plays any sort of meaningful role other than to sex it up a bit. She is almost always wearing next to nothing in each of her scenes. So while it was fun for a while I have the internet and if I want to have a look at young women in slutty outfits this is really easy to find.

Even worse than Ainsley is Tommy's ex-wife "Angela" who is just insufferable. Perhaps they were going for a Breaking Bad's "Skylar" approach to annoy the audience because everything that this woman does seems to be a detriment to Tommy, his kids, and the oil industry in general.

If there is ever a time to step away from the TV to get a snack because what is going on in the show at that time is irrelevant to the overall story, it would be any time that Ali Larter who plays "Angela" is on screen.

For the most part I like the story, but I have very little patience for what appears to be intentional time-wasting so that they can fill up 45 minute episodes with "something" and someone decided that some eye candy and family drama is a perfect way to waste 40-50% of each episode. I guess they are right to a certain degree because there is only so much strife with oil derricks breaking down and injuries caused to workers that can be built into an episode.

Should I watch it?

I think this one is worth a shot if for no other reason than to have your eyes opened up a bit about how powerful the oil industry is and how they are a very corrupt organization or at least, that is how they are portrayed in this series. There is also some great writing in the dialogue that for the most part comes from Tommy and other people who are a major part of the industry. The only time the dialogue gets to be tiresome is when Tommy's daughter and ex-wife are involved because well, nothing of substance comes out of either of their mouths at any point. I can see a fast-forward button being used in my future.

Minor downsides aside, I can see this series staying relevant for 2 or maybe 3 seasons just like Ozark did a few years back. After that amount of time has passed they will likely have no choice but to simply re-hash old plot points over and over until it gets cancelled. For now, it is worth seeing.

_{You can legally stream this on Paramount+ at the moment}