Deadwood



Deadwood (Sundays at 10 pm) is the newest addition to HBO's slate of original programming, and it's another quality effort. The show is set in the town of Deadwood in the 1970s, at a time when that town was still technically on land given over to an Indian reservation and therefore outside U.S. jurisdiction. In practice this means that Deadwood is literally a community with no laws. Gambling, prostitution, drugs and murder are common.

The first episode is all setup, introducing us to the town and people who have come to live there. Our main character is Seth (Timothy Olyphant), a former lawman who has decided to try the hardware biz with his Jewish friend. Ian McShane plays Al, the owner of the local bar/whorehouse and de facto boss of Deadwood. In the first episode we get the sense that he's engaged in so many immoral schemes that he needs a flowchart to keep them straight. Or should that be crooked? And last but not least is Keith Carradine, playing down on his luck legend Wild Bill Hickok. Carradine's performance as the world weary gunfighter is a thing to see, but sadly it probably won't last very long. The series is set in the place and time the real Hickok died, and a quick look at the names of the upcoming episodes makes it pretty obvious that Hickok will be gone by episode 5.


"Guy with the bushiest mustache gets the next round."

The best reason to watch the series is the writing. Deadwood is a unique subject for the TV show, and HBO allows writer/creator David Milch to create a bleak portrait of a society without law. At the same time the characters are well defined and the dialogue has snap. I'm sure that further episodes will feature more actual plot than the first, but even now I can tell that Deadwood is a show I'm going enjoy watching unfold.

Posted: Sun - March 28, 2004 at      

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