Watch Carla Gugino Tackle 'Justified'

In 1996, author Elmore Leonard created one of his finest characters in U.S. Marshall Karen Sisco. And no disrespect meant to Jennifer Lopez, who did wonders with the character in 1998's Out of Sight, but I have fonder memories of the version Carla Gugino brought to life on ABC's short-lived series Karen Sisco.

Justified - One of 2011's 11 Best TV Shows

That's why fans flew into a tizzy when it was revealed that Gugino would be guest-starring on FX's Justified (also based on an Elmore Leonard creation) this season as a U.S. Marshall named Karen. Sadly, her surname is Goodall but everyone simply assumed legal murkiness precluded them from using Sisco and that's who this character truly is.

Show creator Graham Yost recently addressed this doppelganger dilemma, telling GQ, "We didn't want to tread into legal problems because of who owns the rights to that character. But we knew that she had a lot of fun playing a Marshall on Sisco and she enjoyed kicking ass. She loves the repartee and the spirit and the fact that you can get into meaty scenes and then kick ass again."

And that she does, as you can see in this exclusive action-packed clip from tonight's all-new episode!

Justified airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.