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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
A first-time viewer of HBO's "Deadwood" series will probably marvel at the show's gratuitous use of the word "fuck" and all its colorful variations. And, though perhaps offensive to some, the grotesque-but-ever-eloquent speech of its characters quickly becomes one of the show's most endearing traits.
It is 1877 and the tiny gold-mining camp of Deadwood is fast becoming a town. Former deputy Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) has recently arrived in town and aims to set up shop on the settlement's main drag. But first he has to deal with Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) - a criminal bar owner who controls the camp. While Swearengen and Bullock are working out kinks in the deal, new blood arrives: a rich, prospecting couple from the East Coast and a new gambling outfit moves in on Swearengen's monopoly on local vice.
When Wild Bill Hickcock comes to town, traveling in his envoy are Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) and Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert) - two of the show's most colorful characters - who remain in Deadwood after a town vagrant - bent on revenge - shoots Bill in the back. Jane has a brazen swagger, a taste for liquor and maybe the foulest mouth in town. Utter is prone to bouts of temper and gall, which he attempts to disguise with a stiff, but polite comportment.
Bullock - who viewers find is inevitably destined to become Deadwood's unofficial sheriff - is compelled to collude with Swearengen to protect the town's interests. Meanwhile, Swearengen - who is easily the show's most compelling character - maintains a commanding presence as he marshals his thugs to put out various fires that threaten to undermine his lawless empire of hookers, thieves, drinkers and dope addicts.
And that's just season one.
The beauty of Deadwood is the way every character, no matter how muddy their clothes, carries themselves with an almost Elizabethan air. David Milch, the creator of Deadwood and one of its principle writers, is brilliant when it comes to nuanced lines of dialogue that seem to continuously foreshadow the story's next impending development. Though the characters in their delivery might talk a bit in circles, their meaning is always direct and implicit and every line furthers the thickening plot.
The show is far from politically correct. But - excessive use of the f-word aside - it is strikingly honest. The 19th century was rife with sexism, racism, bigotry and stereotypes, and the show does not attempt to downplay any of them. Corruption in 1877 - at least out West - was also apparently rampant. Aside from the stoic few who remain impervious, almost everyone in town is bought and paid for.
Alas, as with all historical accounts - embellished though they may be - we know how this one ends: frontier towns didn't stay lawless forever, and the free-spirited citizens of Deadwood end up in a losing battle against government commissioners set on annexing the town.
The third and final season of Deadwood was released on DVD June 12, and it is a disappointment to see this superb show come to an end after just three seasons. But once big government has extended its imposing hand and soothed the rugged terrain of the Wild West, what else is there left to tell?
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