deadwood appreciation thread (spoilers obviously!!!)

chewy

so it finished last night on sky one, one of the few progs I would make sure to see... really enjoyed it can't wait for the next series...

another example of tv saving a genre which died on film? even open range etc this year didnt ressurrect it?

so bullock becomes the sherrif? but how does it work being a sheriff in such a town, would he not just put mcshane in jail and be done with it?

the priest getting a tumour was good story line, sad? there seemed to be many many references to poor health in the program? the good old days were so good ?

what was the story with calamity jane? why did she talk like that? etc?

lots of convoluted and old style double talk, whether it be scheming or repressed sexuallity ? liked that...

why didn't bullock get mcsahne and his cronies for killing garret?

starman100

Yeah, excellent show, some superb performances.

Ian McShane has been a revelation as Al, the Doc is an excellent
character too.

As for Bullock, I reckon he's a do-gooder who has come a bit
unstuck amidst the morass of a frontier mining town. You could
sense the frustration building up over the past few weeks
until he exploded in the last episode.

I see Peter Coyote (good actor) making a few appearances on
TV now (the general in Deadwood and the chief in The 4400).

The language in Deadwood is coarse in the extreme but realistic
for the time I guess (funny how the head Chinaman's English vocabulary
is limited to "C***sucker!" and variants thereof).

Very well set up for next series - Bullock as the sheriff having to make
major compromises to get along with Al, the widow's pa coming back
from New York with private army in tow, Bullock's wife and son arriving
on the scene, Ty and the Chinaman, etc.

One minor gripe - did anyone else find the dialogue hard to comprehend
at times? Not just the coarse language, but the accents and guttural
mumblings of most of the characters.

In the meantime, lets raise a glass to Al Swearengen and all in the
Gem saloon..........

plastic membrane

I love the fact the dialogue is all mumbled, but when you can hear what the hell it is they are saying, some of it is pure gold. Ive pretty much given up on TV, but Deadwood is the exception. Ian McShane must be as happy as a pig in feces he managed to get the role. His last scene with the Reverend was an absolute peach, an action that had been building up for a few weeks now. Brad Dourif as Doc Cochrane and William Sanderson as EB Farnum are both terrific supporting character actors, and they shine. Its dark, its grimy and its hard to watch sometimes, but there's a surprising amount of humour and humanity too. Best thing on TV.

Belisarius

I too loved this show , I woulda posted a thread about it but I got the impression it flopped as everyone I know slates it for having no plot, and being a thin excuse for *Spectacular* Profanity. Theyre right to an extent, Even I questioned wether it was really necessary to have Al walking around the camp for *30 minutes* telling all and sundry about his meeting or whatever. Its really the characters that drive it and make it entertaining even when it goes off on a tangent. I cant wait for the new series

chewy

"Theyre right to an extent, Even I questioned wether it was really necessary to have Al walking around the camp for *30 minutes* telling all and sundry about his meeting or whatever."

i think thats parts of charm and I think along with all the ill health there making to show that nothings easy at that time, it was also about who he was and wasn't inviting to the meeting...

no plot?? theres seems to be plenty of plots to me ?

Belisarius

Oh no I completely agree. Frontier life and the various power plays between Al and Si is enough for me . Its just for most people I know it didnt click, theres no plot as such you could compact into a soundbyte and that blinds alot of people to the brilliant characterisation

Ave

I missed the last 15 minutes of it on monday(11:00->11:15pm), can anyone fill me in?

Damn 3 hours tapes

edit
The last bit I saw was where Al dropped the reverend's body to the Doc.

mycroft

chewy wrote:

so it finished last night on sky one, one of the few progs I would make sure to see... really enjoyed it can't wait for the next series...

another example of tv saving a genre which died on film? even open range etc this year didnt ressurrect it?

Who says the genre needs to be saved? Open range was an alright movie I'd see it with my Dad, but American Pie 3 didn't "save" the teen sex comedy genre. Westerns were one of the most common genres in the 50s 60s and 70s, and many directors took this time period and explored it stylistical, and thematicaly to death. I think by the 80s everything that could be said had been said. Until the early ninities and Eastwood making Unforgiven, and event comparable with Wayne's later movies with Ford, (like the brillant the searchers) An actor and a director was at a point in his life when he could explore a new direction in westerns. Most other westerns since then haven't said anything new and Deadwood is the first thing to come along since that. Using HBO it can honestly expose the idealised truth about western towns and violence, and the experience those pretty girls in the can can outfits dancing in old Hughes Ford westerns really had. And the blood and the pi*s and the sh*t, and how essentially when the nearest help is two days ride away the only thing that really matters is force and power and what the community will stand.

so bullock becomes the sherrif? but how does it work being a sheriff in such a town, would he not just put mcshane in jail and be done with it?

What jail??? Weren't you paying attention at all? There was no law and way to enforce law all thatt ruled in the town was power and force. jesus, talk about missing the point?

the priest getting a tumour was good story line, sad? there seemed to be many many references to poor health in the program? the good old days were so good ?

Eh yeah. They're only started working on erradicating small pox, there was no pencillin (so post op you'd have a 50/50 chance) TB was rife, vernal disease, people died constantly. Keep in mind just after world war one millions died from the flu

what was the story with calamity jane? why did she talk like that? etc?

It was supposed to be a realistic portrayl of an idealised mythic western character. Women in those days out west where either tough as all hell or a prostitute. Most people know the character from the twee 50s musical version, and this sort creates a historical accurate version of a woman ravaged by years of hard work and alcoholism.

lots of convoluted and old style double talk, whether it be scheming or repressed sexuallity ? liked that...

Personally I liked the quality of the swearing, no one says c*cksucker like McShane. Never look at lovejoy repeats in the same light. But the dialogue had a fantastic turn of phrase. It was polite, and direct, lacking the subtly of Six feet under and the Sopranos but with it's own brilliant style.

why didn't bullock get mcsahne and his cronies for killing garret?

Um how? Again like chinatown and unforgiven it exploded the myth of the lone hero riding into town. Bullock just wanted to create a life for his family, did you not get that. Anyway Swernger was just too powerful had armed men, if bullock stood up to him and tried to "get" him he'd end up fed to the celestial's pigs.