Welcome to the debut episode of Polite Fight, a series where A.V. Club video producer Gus Spelman and editor-in-chief John Teti analyze the aesthetics of great television. Gus and John pissed away so much DVR Club studio time arguing over TV that we decided to turn their obsessing and bickering into its own show, with the stipulation that they must be polite to each other.
Polite Fight kicks off with a look at the use of split-screen shots in Fargo’s season two premiere. John’s theory is that when we see split screens in this episode, we’re watching the characters’ minds at work (aside from the opening montage). Gus largely agrees, and in fact our two commentators don’t argue much at all in this first installment—John employs the term “horseshit” only once—but that just goes to show how polite this fight truly is.
We’d like Polite Fight to incorporate some of your cordial observations, too. The show will use John’s reviews as a jumping-off point, and that includes the comments. Each week, Gus and John will look through the comment threads on the Fargo episode review for astute observations and differing interpretations. If we see something that piques our interest, we’ll bring it up on the show—finally, the incredibly minor internet fame you’ve hoped for!