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Deadwood Review


It took me a while to get it - see 'get it' in my dictionary later - but after watching the full, and woefully short three seasons, I'm now beginning to join the same crowd as many websites who put it in the top ten TV shows of all time.  I still won't go that far, not on principle against it, but on general extinct that most top tens demonstrate a limited knowledge of history as well as a bias to what is current and or popular right now.
Therefore I will not put it in my top ten, which in itself is a silly idea by me anyway; it is too short for that, through no fault of the show so the arcs don't develop as they might, and I absolutely hate everything about drunken Calamity Jane I'm sorry to say. I would be hesitant to name a top five or three or even one actually, even The Wire is not god. This is not about me.




They called Ian McShane's character a Limey in what could be the very first episode, and I learned my first history fact.  They had no need to introduce him as such though, as I would never have any idea if it were not for Lovejoy in all its brilliance.  In the UK they don't expect American audiences to recognise their stars, and if you do I'll shut up (stfu).  While this is a clear indicator on the side of my EVIL GENIUS BRIT MEME, I am happy to ignore it here as actually, this show is pretty good.



I'm perfectly willing to include my state of mind in the watching.  As every good scientist knows, the watched cannot exist without the watcher.  Therefore, with diligent self-reflection, I admit that if you watch Deadwood, it could very well be in your top ten soon.

Now that the ramble is complete.  Deadwood is a three Season show created by HBO and it was one of the pioneers of the format that nowadays is common and represented by such as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.  Sadly it was cancelled after three seasons, pushing it the way of Firefly and potentially with horror, The Expanse and Altered Carbon -dear god say it ain't so...



I express concern about Timothy Olyphant's walk.  While his character is clearly very upstanding, I'm not sure that his waddling gait like a gun-toting penguin is natural enough, and he kept it up throughout the show.  Otherwise, he was a perfect counterpoint to McShane's portrayal of Al Swearengen.  They both displayed a chemistry and it's this show which maybe will create the first appeal for a total CGI REMAKE - completion of a cancelled show using graphics instead of actors to minimalise the cost.





Brad Dourif is outstanding as the camp doctor.  It's been too often lately that he has been equated with being the model for CGI creations as he is such a skilled and versatile actor himself. He is surely the show's third lead, although he has less screen time he has a greater presence.

The fact that this show has a fascinating story arc, realistic characters in an often depressingly authentic environment is added to by great performances from so many actors and is a show that could potentially run for many seasons, rather than being cut short too soon.  Watch it.

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