The fifth season of FX network's hit series Justified opened last night with a brief tribute to Elmore Leonard, whose short story, "Fire in the Hole," inspired the show with which the author "experienced a love affair of sorts," the Detroit Free Press reported. The 90-second tribute is part of a longer piece that will eventually be part of the Season 5 DVD and include interviews with cast members and others who worked with Leonard, plus readings from his novels.
If Leonard, who died last August, liked Justified, "the show liked him more. Series creator Graham Yost was such a Leonard fan that he made WWED (What Would Elmore Do) the guidepost for the writers," the Free Press wrote. 
"There's an old saw that you should never meet your heroes, and that applies, but not in Elmore's case. He was just fun to hang out with and had a great attitude about life and work and writing," said Yost, adding that this year, "There's a certain degree that there's a switchover from 'We hope Elmore likes this episode' to 'This is in memory of Elmore.' We hope that... we're, in his memory, doing the best we can to make him happy."
Timothy Olyphant, who plays Raylan Givens on the show, said, "What I was always aware of was the tone, the humor, the ease with which he told stories or made jokes without acknowledging them. He just had the timing. He was not unlike his books."
