Deadwood

[The NZA]

 

Says Amazon:

 

The remarkable first season of Deadwood represents one of those periodic, wholesale reinventions of the Western that is as different from, say, Lonesome Dove as that miniseries is from Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo or the latter is from Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur. In many ways, HBO's Deadwood embraces the Western's unambiguous morality during the cinema's silent era through the 1930s while also blazing trails through a post-NYPD Blue, post-The West Wing television age exalting dense and customized dialogue. On top of that, Deadwood has managed an original look and texture for a familiar genre: gritty, chaotic, and surging with both dark and hopeful energy. Yet the show's creator, erstwhile NYPD Blue head writer David Milch, never ridicules or condescends to his more grasping, futile characters or overstates the virtues of his heroic ones.

 

Set in an ungoverned stretch of South Dakota soon after the 1876 Custer massacre, Deadwood concerns a lawless, evolving town attracting fortune-seekers, drifters, tyrants, and burned-out adventurers searching for a card game and a place to die. Others, particularly women trapped in prostitution, sundry do-gooders, and hangers-on have nowhere else to go. Into this pool of aspiration and nightmare arrive former Montana lawman Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and his friend Sol Starr (John Hawkes), determined to open a lucrative hardware business. Over time, their paths cross with a weary but still formidable Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine) and his doting companion, the coarse angel Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert); an aristocratic, drug-addicted widow (Molly Parker) trying to salvage a gold mining claim; and a despondent hooker (Paula Malcomson) who cares, briefly, for an orphaned girl. Casting a giant shadow over all is a blood-soaked king, Gem Saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), possibly the best, most complex, and mesmerizing villain seen on TV in years. Over 12 episodes, each of these characters, and many others, will forge alliances and feuds, cope with disasters (such as smallpox), and move--almost invisibly but inexorably--toward some semblance of order and common cause. Making it all worthwhile is Milch's masterful dialogue--often profane, sometimes courtly and civilized, never perfunctory--and the brilliant acting of the aforementioned performers plus Brad Dourif, Leon Rippy, Powers Boothe, and Kim Dickens. --Tom Keogh

 

I read Skeeter mentioning it once or twice, asked around and Bishop told me a bit more about it - i know the setting, and what the above quote says, not much more.

Personally, im knee-deep in 24, Rescue Me is in its 3rd season right now, and ive got a few others to try, between Band of Brothers, Six Feet Under and Rome. Should this one be higher in my queve? Sell me on it.

[Jables]

I forget where I pimped this one now, but I thought I already did a good job of it. Nick I figure it'll be right up your alley but it's slower than mollasus to take off. First season ends pretty cool & I look forward to getting the second season when I've the spare $$. Idunno man, go find where i posted about it previously, 'cause I can't remember what I wrote but I gave it a helluva spiel.

[Drifter]

Great show (the drinking game will lay you out; take a shot ever time someone says "cocksucker.")

[Jables]

Shit. It's only ever that one guy that says it yeah? He sure do love that word though. Christ I could imagine it now...

[Drifter]

EVERYBODY says it, though between Al and Jane that's like 50+ and episode just for them, then there's EVERYBODY else. The drinking game WILL fuck you up; just imagine the possibilities...

[Silent Bob]

No everyone says it. I swear to god, I think every single character in the show says it - a lot. It's just that the one guy - Wu, the Chinese guy - it's one of the only English words he knows. Swedgin, San Francisco, cocksucker. Seriously, Nick, any fan of westerns has got to be a fool to not watch this show. Yes, it's not for everyone. The language is extreme and as Skeet said, it moves very very slowly (I think the second season moves even slower than the first). Character archs that would take one episode on a normal show could be drawn out over an entire season on this one. But the sheer depth of character and storytelling that you get from the slow pace is downright Shakespearian. Aside from the constant barrage of four-letter words, the extravagancy of the dialect can also be a little dense sometimes and some of the characters, particularly Timothy Olyphant's character, can get a bit stiff. But if you don't mind entertainment that takes its time to tell a story - in the same way that other HBO shows like The Sopranos, The Wire or Rome do - definitely definitely give Deadwood a shot.

 

By the way, in my opinion, Al Swearengen is hands down the best character on television. He's a villain so rich, complex and well-acted that to label him the villain seems trite. Hell, much of the time when watching, you find yourself wondering if, in such a lawless ugly town like Deadwood, Al may actually end up being the hero.

[The NZA]

well, you two got me sold, i was gonna watch either Rome or Band of Brothers next (tho LL's been pushin six feet under) but once i finished catchin up on 24, i think ill watch this show next. How many seasons they up to now?

[Jables]

two on disk, so it'd be season 3 on tv there now.

[Drifter]

there's always bit-torrent.

[bishopcruz]

I'd say it is a toss up between this and Rome. You can't go wrong either way, so I'd say if you like cowboys more than centurions, go this way. But DAMN this is a great series. BTW, how about we have a deadwood drinking game get together, and y'know, die of alcohol poisoning.

[Drifter]

I am so there!

[Silent Bob]

Yeah you can get seasons 1 and 2 on dvd. The third and final season is airing now. For some crazy reason, HBO failed to renew the contract for the show, even though it's the second-highest rated show on the network (next to The Sopranos). Supposedly they're planning a couple two-hour films to complete the story, though that isn't really confirmed yet.

 

By the way, Nick, definitely watch Band of Brothers too.

[Drifter]

I heard they were going for "historical acuracy" since the boom and gold rush of deadwood happened only in the first three years and afterward settled down to a crawl until a huge fire swept through six years after that. Those were pretty much the only interesting times of the town.

[The NZA]

so like 3 years later

 

damn, why didnt anyone tell me to watch this before?! heh. Seriously though, its been on deck for a while now, and i think ASC's the only one not in this thread that's pushed me to watching it...having finally finished the Wire, i wanted to see if this could debunk that as the best HBO show ive seen (still have Carnivale and Band of Brothers after this, though).

 

I'm all of 4 episodes in, and mebbe its my love of westerns but the pacing isnt as horrendous as id been warned, though i did read it gets slower later. Im sure the cast of characters'll grow, but its nowhere near 100 Bullets' roster yet, so im good. Sucks that i know what becomes of Hickock, historically, since theyre clearly making me love him & Bullock together.

 

On the profanity thing, the wiki pointed something out:

 

From its debut Deadwood has drawn attention for its use of extremely explicit, modern profanity, especially among the more coarse characters. It is a deliberate anachronism on the part of the creator with a twofold intent. As Milch has explained in several interviews and on the DVD commentary tracks, originally the characters were to use period slang and swear words. Such words, however, were based heavily on the era's deep religious roots and tended to be more blasphemous than scatological. Instead of being shockingly crude (in keeping with the tone of a frontier mining camp), the results sounded downright comical. As one commentator puts it "… if you put words like "goldarn" into the mouths of the characters on "Deadwood," they'd all wind up sounding like Yosemite Sam.".

 

...The other intent in regards to the frequency of the swearing was to signal to the audience the lawlessness of the camp in much the same way that the original inhabitants used it to show they were very self-aware of the fact they were living outside the bounds of "civil society."

 

sounds about right, but it also points out:

 

The word "fuck" was said 43 times in the first hour of the show. It has also been reported that the series had a total count of 2980 "fucks" and a cumulative average of 1.56 utterances of "fuck" per minute of footage.

 

Heh. But yeah, grabbing seasons 2 & 3 as we speak, im looking to go all the way with this one, even if it does suck knowing full well the ending (was supposed to be 2 movies, according to the wiki?) arent happening. I keep thinking, its not a great idea to get into series like this and Carnivale knowing full well they leave you hanging, but i kinda wonder if that's any worse off than a bad or controversial ending, like Sopranos? Either way, cant stop now. Off to go see Al find a way to profit from baby heads or whatever chicanery he's up to this time.

[Iambaytor]

Heh, everybody up here hates this show mainly because my hometown is Calamity Jane's birthplace, and not only do we admit it, we have a fucking festival celebrating it every september. Cause nothing says smalltown values like the drunkest loosest skankiest woman in the old west who wasn't even a prostitute. (Thought to be fair everybody celebrates it by getting shitfaced beyond the point of reason so much that the local police waive the open container laws for two nights so long as the drunks are corralled in "beer gardens" which is essentially just a little area cordoned off with portable chain link and snow fence to keep them from getting out and shitting in peoples' mailboxes while listening to bad music.

 

It's fucking magical, let me tell you.

[MetalHeart]

We have the first season of this on DVD and we really need to finish it. At the time we were catching up on Dexter (Season 3) so we put it on the backburner. The most I"ve seen is maybe 2 episodes, but we got it because Ly recommended it and he has a good eye for stuff like this. need to def finish it!

[alive she cried]

By the way, in my opinion, Al Swearengen is hands down the best character on television. He's a villain so rich, complex and well-acted that to label him the villain seems trite. Hell, much of the time when watching, you find yourself wondering if, in such a lawless ugly town like Deadwood, Al may actually end up being the hero.

I think that perfectly sums up Al

 

so like 3 years later

i think ASC's the only one not in this thread that's pushed me to watching it

And I would be if I knew it existed

...having finally finished the Wire, i wanted to see if this could debunk that as the best HBO show ive seen (still have Carnivale and Band of Brothers after this, though).

The Sopranos, The Wire (Even though I'm only 2 and a bit seasons in) and Deadwood are the three best tv shows ever made.

I'm sittin' on Band of Brothers also till I finish The Wire, but despite being a great show I wouldn't mention Carnivale in the same league as the those.

I'm all of 4 episodes in, and mebbe its my love of westerns but the pacing isnt as horrendous as id been warned, though i did read it gets slower later.

I never had a problem with the pacing, always thought it flowed just right

 

Sucks that i know what becomes of Hickock, historically, since theyre clearly making me love him & Bullock together.

Aw man, that really caught me, I didn't see that coming at all.

 

im looking to go all the way with this one, even if it does suck knowing full well the ending (was supposed to be 2 movies, according to the wiki?) arent happening. I keep thinking, its not a great idea to get into series like this and Carnivale knowing full well they leave you hanging,

The ending doesn't leave you hanging at all, I would've loved more Deadwood but it ended just fine.

 

We have the first season of this on DVD and we really need to finish it. At the time we were catching up on Dexter (Season 3) so we put it on the backburner. The most I"ve seen is maybe 2 episodes, but we got it because Ly recommended it and he has a good eye for stuff like this. need to def finish it!

 

Yes you do

[HypnotizinChikns]

God I miss this show.

[Jables]

I've been sitting on seasons 2 & 3 since my birthday last year(Meg got me this), started on Season 2 but it was so damned slow I just couldn't keep watching(damned ADD). Once I'm done with Clone High, The Wire, Sopranos, & maybe a rewatch of It's always Sunny, I figure I'll sit back down with my PSP in hand for the slow parts and watch away.

[The NZA]

I've been sitting on seasons 2 & 3 since my birthday last year(Meg got me this)

 

 

WTF is that?! its a small image, but it looks filled with awesome.

[Jables]

Poker set, shotglasses & all three seasons in a big pine box. It's pretty fuckin' cool. The cards are especially awesome.

[The NZA]

must be an aussie thing; ive never seen that set over here. it is indeed a badass set, i gotta get more friends like Megz.

 

just tied up season 1...

 

 

im seeing what SB said about Al, he's fucking evil but in a pragmatic way, the rivalry with the other casino guy is interesting as well. fuckin' shame about the preacher, but it was cool to see Bullock take the star - after a full season,id really started to think it might not happen.

 

 

onto season 2, or as much as i can get into it tonight.

[The NZA]

ok, so im only one episode into season 2, but if its indicative of whats to come, season 2 > 1.

 

 

that was a fight.

 

[Spike]

I agree with BishopCruz. We need to get together for a game of Deadwood's "Cocksucker" drinking game. Every time Swearengen even steps into frame, we'll have to line up five or six just to keep up with the man.

[The NZA]

season 3's off to a fine start. Im convinced, Al's one of the msot compelling characters ive seen lately.

 

"Tell your god to ready for blood" might also be one of the greatest episode names evar.