A look at the HBO western series, Deadwood

A friend coaxed me into writing a short review of the western televison series, Deadwood, that HBO did a few years ago. I say "coaxed" because the thought of reviewing thirty-six espisodes was far too daunting for even me to consider doing. It would have meant spending three-to-four weeks writing the darn thing, plus the review would've ended up being several pages long. As much as I loved the series, I really didn't want to spend that much time and energy in writing a review about something that's no longer on the air. The complete three seasons of Deadwood, however, are available on DVD, and if you love the western genre, I highly suggest you buy them, if you haven't already seen the show.

This is how I got interested in watching Deadwood. I saw Timothy Olyphant in the first season of Justied, which is based on a character created by Elmore Leonard, and I loved the show so much, I decided pick up a set of Deadwood to see how Timothy does as Sheriff Seth Bullock. I'd already heard great things about Deadwood and its cast of fine actors. I just didn't realize it had been off the air for five years. I was thinking two or three years at the most and was surprised when I discovered the show had been cancelled by HBO back in 2006. After having watched the entire thirty-six espisodes, I now want to rant at HBO for cancelling such an addictive and well-acted show. Of course, it's a little too late for that to do any good. If I had to guess on the reason for the show's cancellation, I would say it became too expensive to produce for HBO. I suspect everybody in the cast and crew wanted a sizable raise after three sucessful seasons. That's more than likely the main reason why HBO didn't renew its contract with the show. What a waste is all I can say. I feel that Deadwood should have been kept on for at least two more seasons. It's certainly one of the best western shows I've ever seen on television over the last fifty years. Oh, wait a minute. I forgot. It's not television, it's HBO. Anyway, I watched all three seasons, plus the bonus discs, in under ten days. That was a marathon for me and testament to how good the series is. If there had been a 4th and 5th season, I would've watched those, too, as quickly as possible.

For people not in the know, Deadwood is about the real town of Deadwood in the Soth Dakota Territory in 1876, following the death of General George Custer and his soldiers and the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. It's said that Deadwood went from a few mining people to over ten thousand citizens in just three months. The discovery of gold does that to people.

The town of Deadwood is run by Al Swearengen as played by Ian McShane. He owns the local saloon and runs prositution, alcohol, and drugs from it. He's a man who likes making money and will do whatever it takes to continue doing so. Seth Bullock then arrives in Deadwood with his partner, Sol Star. Both men intend on opening a hardware store. Seth, unfortunately, had been a lawman in Montana, and he quickly sees that Deadwood needs some law and order to stop the needless killing going on. As Deadwood was a real town and still is, many of the characters in the show are based on actual people who lived there in 1876 & 1877 such as Swearengen, Bullock, Sol Star, Wild Bill Hickcock, Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp, Charlie Utter, E.B. Farnum, and many others. Along with these are a number of fictious characters created just for the show and to enchance the entertainment.

Once Seth Bullock meets Al Swearengen in Deadwood, it's hate at first sight for both of them. Seth recognizes Al for what he is...a natural born killer. He wants nothing to do with him if at all possible. That soon changes as other evil men move into Deadwood like Cy Tolliver, who competes against Swearengen with his own saloon and prositutes. Then, legendary George Hearst enters the picture as he arrives in Deadwood to buy all the gold mines and to kill those who won't sell out to him. It isn't long before Seth and Al have to join forces to fight the greater evil, if they and the town are to survive.

I have to tell you that the acting by all is superb. Though Timothy Olyphant is billed as the star of the show, Ian McShane steals the spotlight as Al Swearenger...a complex individual you soon learn to love and hate. He's definitely a cold-blooded killer who will do whatever it takes to keep what he's got, but Al is also a fair man and generally loyal to those who work for him and support his cause. McShane plays Swearengen to the max and makes the show rather intriguing to watch. You never know what will happen next. Seth and Al have one hell of knock-down fight during the second season, and then become, if not quite friends, at least working acquaintances who respect each other for what they are.

You also have the arrival of Wild Bill Hickcock and his friends, Calamity Jane and Charlie Utter. Keith Caradine protrays a troubled Hickcock who suspects his own life might be drawing to a close. He's still fast on the draw and swiftly becomes friends with Seth Bullock, who is almost as fast with a handgun as he is. Calamity Jane is played by Robin Weigert, and this is one foul-mouthed woman who dresses as a man and wears a handgun at her side. Charlie Utter as protrayed by Dayton Callie is the kind of friend every man would like to have. Charlie's polite, honest, and generally fair with those around him, but will shoot you in a heartbeat if you attempt to hurt one of his close friends.

There's the lovely and smart Alma Garret, who's played by Molly Parker. Alma inadvertently becomes the owner of the richest gold mine in Deadwood, and it's only through the love and protection of Seth that she isn't murdered or swindled out of her claim. And, let's not forget the working girls of Deadwood. Paula Malcomson plays Trixie, who works for Al, but eventually falls in love with Sol Star and has an important role at the end that involves the monster, George Hearst. There's also Kim Dickens as Joanie Stubbs and Alice Krige as Maggie. Both women play high quality prostitutes. I've had a crush of Alice Krige since she starred in the movie, Ghost Story, back during the early eighties, and on Kim Dickens since she acted in the film, The Gift, with Cate Blanchard.

Deadwood, in fact, has so many interesting characters that it's sometimes difficult to keep track of them. Brad Dourif is Doc Cochran, and his performance is certainly worthy of an Emmy Award. There's W. Earl Brown as Dan Dority, Swearengen's righthand man, and William Sanderson as E.B. Farnum, the owner of the local hotel and later the Mayor...a man you find very hard to trust. Gerald McRaney tackles the role of George Hearst and nails it right on the head. At first he seems like an extremely nice person, but it isn't long before the real devil inside of him comes out in his personality and you soon find that this is an man you don't want standing behind you at night. Titus Welliver as Silas Adams, Garret Dillahunt as both Francis Wolcol and Jack McCall, the man who shot Wild Bild, Jim Beaver as Ellsworth, John Hawks as Sol Star, Leon Rippy as Tom Nuttal (he was playing Earl, the angel on Saving Grace, at the same time), and the famous Powers Boothe as Cy Tolliver, a man who is just as evil as Al, but with no redeming qualities about himself.

See what I mean about the length of the review? It's already a long one, and I'm just covering the tip of the iceberg. Strange as it may seem, I had to get used to all the profanity in the show, not to mention the nudity and violence. This is a series that projects the wild west as it truly was back then. The streets were filled with mud and human waste, people smelled bad, foul language was a common trait amongst the lowlifes, men were killed at the drop of a hat, 95% of the women in Deadwood were prostitutes and the men out numbered the females ten to one, the politicians were just as corrupt as the local thugs, food in the restaurants was bad, and the plague was often rampant in newly formed communities. After a couple of espisodes of Deadwood, however, I found myself utterly addicted to the show and had to watch it each night, until I was finished with the entire series. I will say that this show prepared Timothy Olyphant for his highly successful role in Justified. He learned the walk, the angry stare, and the attitude of a lawman who's prepared to die by taking out a bad guy. Tim can now play a sheriff or U.S. Marshall in his sleep.

The bonus discs in the large set have numerous featurettes that delve into the actual history of Deadwood and its famous and infamous characters, while also looking at the creation of the show and the decision to make it as factual as possible. On the last disc was a question and answer with part of the cast. It was fun to see them outside of their roles; yet, knowing how much of themselves they put into the characters they played. There was a spoof at the end of the final disc that had famous actors auditioning for the role of Al Swearengen--Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, and Robert Duvall. Titus Welliver played each of the actors and captured their voices, essences and mannerisms perfectly. I closed my eyes when he was doing Chris Walken, and he sounded just like the man.

Enough said. This is a series that's worth having on DVD. If you do some searching, you can probably find a new set for as little as fifty-to-sixty dollars, which is a good price for all the entertainment you get. Highly reccommented to all fans of the western genre, both movies, tv shows, and novels.