Note: I began this Thursday morning but failed to post it. Please excuse my use of what appears to be the incorrect tense.

Spring break is almost here. Today is the girls’ last day of school before vacation. I have a full day of laundry, errands, and packing ahead of me. So a few quick notes before I jump into all that.

TV

I did not watch season one of Fargo, but after hearing so many raves about it, I set the DVR to record season two. And since I always put jumping into series off for awhile, I finally started it about three weeks ago. I wrapped it up last week and OH MY GOD! What a great show, in every way. Incredible story and writing. Brilliant acting, from the main players to the supporting ones. I absolutely loved the look and feel, with the Kodachrome-like colors fooling my child-of-the–70s brain into thinking I was actually watching something from 1979. And all the complimentary bits were perfect, too, such as the music choices and the little pop culture/society elements to ground the show even more firmly in 1979. The inclusion of a campaigning Ronald Reagan in the early episodes was the perfect cherry on top.

Kirsten Dunst, Ted Danson, Patrick Wilson, Bokeem Woodbine, and Jean Smart were all amazing.

I loved how tight the show was. With only 10 episodes there wasn’t much time for throw-away or set-up episodes. In fact, with most of the story getting wrapped up in the brutal ninth episode, the final episode functioned as a proper denouement with a few elements in there to build for future seasons.

The whole UFO thing was a little weird, though.

And there’s never anything wrong with those upper Midwestern, Scandinavia-derived accents. You betcha. Ok then.

It’s always tough to balance out what the “Best Show On TV” is, whether you’re talking about shows airing currently, or looking at a broader selection to determine best overall show. With my viewing of Fargo so fresh in my memory, it may get a little boost. But it’s right up there with The Americans, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, and The Wire as my favorite dramas of recent years.

Final Four

Carolina’s to lose. Which is certainly possible. I think the Oklahoma – Villanova game will likely be the best of the weekend. OU pounded ‘Nova back in December. Buddy Hield is locked in, and the rest of the Sooners have shaken their February funk. But Villanova has that feel of a team that might be capable of doing more than you expect.

Carolina is going to roll Syracuse in the battle of scandal-laden traditional powers.

I had two predictions regarding North Carolina during the season. One, they win the title, Roy retires, and then the NCAA absolutely hammers the school for its academic scandal. The other, Carolina wins title, Roy retires, then the NCAA sweeps the scandal under the rug, saying “No former players would talk to us, we don’t know what happened.”

Heels over Sooners in final, Roy stubbornly refuses to retire and threatens to fight anyone who thinks Carolina did something wrong in giving kids passing grades for classes that didn’t exist. Then he pulls a Dean Smith and quits just as practice is beginning next October so his choice as successor gets the job.

Baseball

I’m ready.