Brilliant, Profane TV Western with Outstanding Ensemble Cast
DVD collector, married, a man, TV Personality, Lover of quirky, unique films, Radio Host, forty something
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MAY
23
2008
Deadwood Season 1 —
The first season of the late, great HBO series Deadwood stands as perhaps the greatest TV western ever made. While seasons two and three are also excellent, they do not match the consistency and brilliance achieved in the first series, which introduces us to the denizens of Deadwood, South Dakota, many of them based on actual historical figures.Ian McShane plays Al Swearingen, pragmatic proprietor of the Gem, the number one saloon (and whorehouse) in the mining camp. In the pilot episode, Al is set up to be the villain of the piece, but as the series progresses, he will be shown to be not nearly as bad a man as either his main competition, Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe) or the uber-evil George Hearst (Gerald McRainey), whose palpable malevolence dominates the third season. In any case, Al is just a businessman looking out for number one, and if he has to murder a few people to maintain his market share, so be it. McShane plays him with absolute relish, and his performance is reason enough to watch the entire run of the show.
Timothy Olyphant plays another historically-based character, Sheriff Seth Bullock, and his flinty, Clint Eastwood-like performance is also great to watch. His rage threatens to boil over at any minute, and it often does. That rage is tempered by his tender feelings toward newly gold-rich widow Alma Garrett (Molly Parker).
Other outstanding performances in the unparalleled ensemble cast include Keith Carradine as Wild Bill Hickock, John Hawkes as Sol Starr, Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane, and a great comic turn by William Sanderson as the cowardly mayor, E.B. Farnum.
A special mention is in order for Keone Young as Mr. Wu, particularly for his exchange with McShane in the eighth episode (named for his character). Priceless.
Which reminds me, the languange in Deadwood is a mix of heightened, almost Shakespearean constructions and the coarsest profanity ever heard in a major American television series. So if you cannot stomach a few dozen well-chosen curse words per hour, this show is not for you.
Unlike the backlot sets of most Hollywood westerns, the mean streets of Deadwood are paved with mud, blood, and horseshit, and the show gives an accurate portrayal of real life in the emerging West. The writing, directing, and acting combine to create a monumental "Adult Western."
Last edited on May 23, 2008
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