Interview with Abe: Martin Starr

It's been fun to watch Martin Starr do something different on “Tulsa King” and return in a familiar role in season three of “Party Down.” We spoke for Awards Radar - watch the conversation below!

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King (Season Finale)

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 9 “Happy Trails” (B+)

One thing I would recommend which I’ve failed to do on a number of occasions now is to be aware of how many episodes are in a show’s season. I knew that this series had already been picked up for a second season, but I was under the impression that there was a tenth and final episode following this one. Apparently that was not the case, which makes the end of this hour make a lot more sense as a cliffhanger. To see Tina down in Tulsa and affectionately calling her formerly estranged father Dad showed just how well things had worked out, even after the double threat of Chickie and Caolan had made happiness seem unattainable. But it was Stacy, after everything, who realized what was on the line and how she wasn’t doing what she was supposed to as an officer of the law, which made her show up just ahead of the arresting party. Dwight didn’t seem too shaken, but Tina was not about to lose her father like this again just as he had come back into her life. That’s likely not to leave things starting off on a good note in season two, but I feel like this won’t just be a show about him in prison and operating with friends on the outside. There are plenty of supporting characters whose backstories have yet to be fully explored, and I’ll be eager to see that once this show returns for its second season sometime in the future.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Andrea Savage as Stacy

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 8 “Adobe Walls” (B+)

Things are heating up in a big way, and the aftermath of Chickie killing his father means that he’s set his targets firmly on Dwight. What he suggested about coming to Tulsa to break bread could actually have worked for getting them to move past all this, but that’s not what he’s interested in, deciding instead to get rid of an undesirable element. Unfortunately for them, they’re going to do it on Dwight’s turf, and while he’s arming himself against a different threat, it’s absolutely the right time to have an army of eager soldiers trained for battle. Dwight was bold and effective when he and Tyson got pulled over, and that act was enough to infuriate Kielan, who doesn’t seem like the kind of person who acts rationally when he’s angry. Stacy was ready to scorch earth following Roxy’s murder, and stopping by to warn Dwight to move on put her right in the line of fire. I do hope she doesn’t die since Andrea Savage is such a terrific part of this show, and that law-criminal dynamic is very worthwhile. Dwight just keeps making friends wherever he goes, and while Margaret is becoming very fond of him, her ex-husband was not. It’s quite surprising that Tina is now considering moving to Tulsa, something that may actually put them in more danger at the moment. Armand is pretty set on not going anywhere, an idea that got his wife scared and angry enough that she’s ready to leave him.

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 7 “Warr Acres” (B+)

Chickie deciding to kill his father happened both very suddenly and very predictably, since he has been feeling particularly powerless for a long time and as if he can’t run things the way he wants. That’s absolutely not good news for Dwight, who has set up a legitimate operation that has his henchmen dutifully working from him and an associate who previously was extremely unhappy about working with him opening up about his own side scheme. Facing retribution from Chickie for his arrogant attitude will surely come soon, and the fact that he believes, apparently mistakenly, that Chickie had something to do with the brutal beating his son-in-law took, is only going to make things worse. It is intriguing to hear Tina talk so openly about the idea of moving to Tulsa, something her husband found quite startling given how much she hated him only recently. Roxy’s death was particularly hard to watch given how Caolan made her think she was safe right before he strangled her, and Stacy is going to go on the warpath even more now than after her angry confrontation with Dwight when their roles on different sides of the law became very clear. Choosing now as the time to go on a date with Margaret - she asked, as it happens - sets him up for another relationship that could be both beneficial and also potentially dangerous. Asking him what it felt like to kill someone was an unexpected but pointed question, one that reveals a certain degree of comfort with uncomfortable ideas.

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 6 “Stable” (B+)

I do not like the idea that Dwight’s actions back home in New York have now led to a completely innocent person - Tina’s husband - getting hurt for no reason. And Tina certainly won’t be happy when she discovers him and then blames her father entirely for stirring up violence. It’s also not as if hurting him is going to make Dwight any less likely to retaliate or be unpredictable, so they’re asking for more trouble. Watching his negotiating style with his newfound nemesis is indicative of how he almost looks for a fight wherever he goes. Pointing out that he wasn’t exactly Native American due to his very apparent Irish accent didn’t help ease the tension at all. Stacy went into protective mode as soon as she heard Dwight’s name mentioned by her informant, but she wasn’t able to do much to stop the FBI from being alerted to his activities. I’m glad that there was one silver lining on top of all of this, which was that, after enduring torment by the bikers and then having his place raided by the FBI, Dwight presented him with a truly kind gift: the contents of the safe he had so dreaded were now lost, smartly extracted from where they were just before they got seized. Dwight is going to have his hands full with wars on two fronts and fighting both the criminals and the law, and yet he’s still choosing now as the time to invest in a new business opportunity with Mitch.

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 5 “Token Joe” (B+)

It’s strange to think that Dwight’s past is so immediately accessible, and that, after a video call with his dying brother in the previous episode, he actually did come home for the funeral. That went predictably poorly, and his efforts to be generous were met with incredulity by his daughter. Asking his sister about his grandchildren showed just how much he’s missed, and going to check in again with Tina was a bold move that she could easily have refused. But instead she shared some very disturbing information about the unnecessary enforcement tactics used to ensure his silence in prison that happened anyway, and the result was something that may have felt protective on Dwight’s part but will absolutely not endear his daughter to him given that it just shows how he remains very capable of brutal violence. Marching in to beat on “The Package” made clear how he feels, and that final, presumably fatal kick to the face followed by his order for them to clean it up indicates that he’s no longer going to cooperate in the same way. But he now has an operation set up in Tulsa and colleagues who respect him to some degree, and unfortunately the motorcycle gang acted on his underlings while he was out of town. Things don’t look good for anyone, and hopefully Stacy won’t get involved in a dangerous way since the law seems to be quite cooperative with the most active criminals in town and won’t have any trouble hurting her or taking her out.

What I’m Watching: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 4 “Visitation Place” (B+)

I’m glad to see that Dwight found a productive use for Armand rather than just killing him, and that his distaste at the idea of him having agave rather than sugar to put with his tea didn’t send him over the edge. Dwight wasn’t interested in hearing about how Tulsa isn’t New York City, but Armand has apparently proven himself by showing up and getting money for a separate act of loyalty than the new tax he owes to his boss. He also stood up for himself for the first time in a while, attacking his neighbor with that soiled shoe and telling his wife that they already have a home. It also looked like Tyson was going to inadvertently get himself into some trouble with his father intervening and judging what he was doing, but Mark showed up to join the enemy of his enemy after seeing how his son had been beaten up. They’re definitely a ragtag team, but one that’s capable of producing good results, even if some of their members don’t want to resort to violence as a matter of principle. I didn’t recognize Emmy nominee Annabella Sciorra as Joanne, giving Dwight a bit of connection to his personal life and permitting him an emotional goodbye he didn’t know was coming so soon. Removed from one bad romantic option, Stacy is playing the field but also watching herself since she knows that it’s very easy to find the wrong person who can lead to many headaches.

Take Three: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 3 “Caprice” (B+)

I thought that the explosion at the start of the episode was going to be the most intense point of the episode, but I would say that description should be reserved instead for the extended car chase scene in which Dwight demonstrated that he’s more than capable of operating a vehicle in a high-stress situation. As soon as we first saw Armand in Tulsa, I kept thinking back to the fifth episode of the first season of “The Sopranos,” where Tony encountered someone living in witness protection while visiting colleges with his daughter in Maine and, similarly, that man believed he was there to kill him and tried to take him out first instead. Dwight also put his unforgettable shared experience with Paul the driving instructor to good use, giving him money he didn’t feel he had earned so that he could look up the partial license plate he saw. I have a feeling he won’t act to kill Armand now that he’s seen him with his kids, but Dwight also isn’t someone to let a grudge go. Tyson was surprised by Dwight’s assessment that college was just to show employers that potential employees are capable of exercising discipline, and he seems intent on sticking with his new boss even as Dwight tries to guide him towards a stabler life. I like how the relationship between Dwight and Stacy is evolving, problematic as it is for her professional future, and I was also intrigued by the standoffish flirtation between Dwight when he was posing as a private investigator and Margaret Devereaux, played by Dana Delany.

Round Two: Tulsa King

Tulsa King: Season 1, Episode 2 “Center of the Universe” (B+)

Dwight is an enigma, stuck on things like cash and unaware of certain modern inventions but eager to discuss Arthur Miller amid his objection to pronouns being used in today’s age. But he’s growing on me, and it was fun to watch his negotiating skills at work with someone who came in not ready to budge but was also getting his newfound business partner quite high as he went nuts for the apricot preserves that he didn’t consider were giving him a major buzz. I’m also pleased to see Martin Starr deliver some deadpan humor as Bodhi, asking questions about how this arrangement he never signed up for and reacting to Dwight’s casual antisemitism. After processing what happened with her therapist, Stacy came right to Dwight to identify herself as an ATF agent, and I’ll be curious to see how that relationship evolves since they’ll surely come face-to-face in professional contexts. Dwight isn’t having an easy time moving on from the ghosts of his past, and he doesn’t seem interested in dealing with the mess he caused that Chickie wants him to address before it turns into something bigger and more problematic. Getting that debit card was enough to net him his daughter’s home phone number, but her quick unhappy greeting indicates that she has no interest whatsoever in starting up a new relationship with him. That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop, but it should at least get him to refocus on building up his industry in his new place of residence.

Pilot Review: Tulsa King

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.