Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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307 of 318 people found the following review helpful:
Hands down the best series on television in 2004., November 5, 2004
The best kept secret on television is Deadwood, a semi-true story of the lawless town in South Dakota that popped up during the gold rush days of the 1800's. The real Deadwood boasted legendary residents like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. Both figure prominently as characters in the TV series but are far from the only great characters on display.
Perhaps you've heard of the series, but never gave it a look. Or perhaps you were warned by others that the language was so profane as to render it unwatchable. True, the series isn't for anyone under the age of 18, but it must be understood that this semi-historical piece was written to represent the actual dialect and social tenor of the region at that time. Deadwood was a rough place without real law, and gold was on everyone's mind. All the elements for great drama were there. Greed, corruption, deceipt, innocence, morality (or a lack thereof), hope, hate, fear, addiction, murder, jealousy and love. Deadwood truly represents a kind of sociological study of human evolution within a laissez faire society.
It was clear from episode 1 that the new Deadwood series on HBO was something special. By episode 4, I was certain that Emmy nominations/awards were imminent. The show was largely ignored by the Emmys, likely sufferering from a combination of "newcomer syndrome" and overshadowing by The Sopranos. But make no mistake, it was more than worthy with the actors comprising a splendid balance of the familiar and the unfamiliar. Regardless of fame however, there isn't an off performance to be found in the season. Nor is there a grossly derivitive one. The characters are all satisfyingly deep, nuanced and often downright quirky.
The writing, as is the case with most HBO original series, was entirley engaging with a character and rhythm all its own. It is to be savored as a fine wine or concerto. Unlike many adult drama series on the "other networks", Deadwood never loses its momentum. There is no need to manipulate the audience with cheap antics to get them to care week to week. The story, actors and writing take care of that. Each episode flows to the next with amazing fluidity while always maintaining an anticipatory mood.
There is really no need to get into plot points as it would require a review the size of the Deadwood script and would involve spoiling much of the drama that one should experience as purely as possible. Suffice it to say if you enjoy adult themed series such as The Sopranos, you will love Deadwood. Even if you don't like westerns, it won't matter. The acting, writing, and plot are just that good. Give it a chance. You won't be sorry.
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156 of 187 people found the following review helpful:
David Milch turns "Deadwood" into the Wild Wicked West, December 20, 2004
Of all of the HBO series that I have watched in their entirety, I think "Deadwood" is the weakest of the lot (the other are "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," and "Carnivŕle"). However, before I convince you this is damning with faint praise I would add that "Deadwood" is one of the ten best shows on television and that it has one of the most captivating characters around with Ian McShane's Al Swearengen, the profane overlord of the frontier town as the owner of the Gem Saloon. Ironically, Al is so good at being bad, with his fingers in every pie in town and always looking for more, that he ends up dominating all of his scenes and all of the other characters.
"Deadwood" was created by David Milch, who always gets mentioned as being the creator of "NYPD Blue," but whom I always laud as the writer of "Trial by Fury," the third season premier episode of "Hill Street Blues," which remains on my personal list of ten best television episodes I have ever seen. To jog your memory, it is the one where a nun is raped and murdered and Frank Furillo coerces a confession from one of the killers by threatening to drop charges and have them released to an angry public. The threat was of vigilante justice, which is certainly an element of "Deadwood."
The time is 1876, which is when the nation's centennial was soured by the news of Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn. Deadwood is in the South Dakota Territory, where statehood threatens to bring law and order, which the locals consider more of a threat than Indian attack. The men play cards, get drunk, and dream of mining for gold, which allows them to indulge in more gambling, drinking, with money left over for buying the services of a woman for a night as well. This is not the glorious West of Manifest Destiny or even Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis, but a cesspool of human existence that is the gateway to the gold of the Black Hills.
Our entry into this world is the arrival Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), a former lawman from Montana who arrives with his buddy, Sol Starr (John Hawkes), intending to open by a hardware business and make their fortune off those who want to make their own by mining for gold. They have to deal with Swearengen to get their operation going, but Bullock becomes acquainted with Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine). Circumstances force the pair together a couple of times and they are similar in temperament, morals, and ability to shoot a gun and they become friendly, but not friends. Of course, if there is one thing we know about Wild Bill, it is that he is no long for this world.
Also in this world are some rather interesting women, especially Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert), who is the second most fascinating character on the show. She loves Wild Bill even though it will never be reciprocated and when he plays his last hand of poker (two pairs, black aces and black eights) she has to find a new reason for living. Then there is Trixie (Paula Malcomson) a prostitute who ends up caring for a young girl who is suddenly orphaned by one of Swearengen's machinations, and Alma Garret (Molly Parker), who comes from the East with her husband and suddenly finds herself a widow and a claim that might not be worthless. If you want to talk about the most desperate women on television, then check out this trio.
In Milch's Deadwood the vermin are always interesting and my attention is most drawn to the Brad Dourif's Doc Cochran, who stubbornly insists on doing the right thing in a world where right and wrong are irrelevant concepts, and William Sanderson as Eustis Baily (E.B.) Farnum, who thinks obsequiousness translates into something that somehow approaches confidence in the service of Al Swearengen. Everything in Deadwood comes back to Swearengen, literally. We get the feeling that Bullock is supposed to be the force for good to counter Swearengen in Deadwood, but we have no reason to believe they are in the same league. Powers Booth shows up as Tolliver, ostensibly Swearengen's new competition in the saloon business, but we do not think he stands a chance either.
The only thing more omnipresent that Swearengen and his assorted interests on "Deadwood" is the constant swearing. For Swearengen profanity is not just an art form but necessary verbal punctuation, and for many of the characters swearing is on a par with breathing (especially for Calamity Jane). Milch research the historic Deadwood and has justified the language on that basis, but the profanity is part of the texture, as much as the art design, the sets, and the costumes. If you want a constant reminder that the rules of civilization do not apply here, then all the foul language suffices. I bet the demographics on this show skew more male than "Monday Night Football."
Ultimately, with this HBO series the comparison is not to network television shows but rather the genre of the Adult Western that can be traced back to "High Noon" and "Shane." But Milch pushes it to a time and place that predates those particular morality plays. Those mortals stupid enough to want to have a civilized impulse in a place like Deadwood quickly learn to hide it or sublimate it in some way that might keep them alive another day. In the end, the dreamers in Deadwood are not the ones who picture personal riches, the benefits of statehood, or a honest man wearing a badge bringing law and order to this hell hole, but those wretched individuals who actually think they will live to see another day and that such a day might be worth living.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant, the best show on HBO today, February 20, 2005
Created by NYPD Blue writer David Milch, HBO's Deadwood isn't just the best show (along with the even more brilliant the Wire) to hit HBO in some time, it's the best thing to happen to the western genre in years. Taking place in 1876 in the lawless town of Deadwood, former lawman Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant, perfectly cast) and his friend Sol Starr (John Hawkes) arrive in town to make a fresh start and, like almost everyone else in town, to make some lucrative business as well. In the center of Deadwood is Al Swearengen (Golden Globe winner Ian McShane); a foul mouthed, blood soaked tyrant and saloon owner who quickly becomes one of the most mesmerizing, magnetic, and unforgettable villains in TV history. Paths are also crossed with burned out outlaw Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine) and his cohort Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert), and that's only the beginning. There's so much more going on in these 12 episodes that the complexity of it all will amaze you, and the star making turn of Olyphant and especially McShane will leave your jaw on the floor. Also featuring Molly Parker, Powers Boothe, Paula Malcomson, and Brad Dourif; Deadwood features the most well assembled ensemble cast since Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana's Oz. There can't be enough said praise for Deadwood, you have to see it for yourself, and once you enter, you won't want to leave.
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