Deadwood: The Complete Series, Seasons 1–3
HBO, 2007, two disks, 160 minutes, $170.
If nothing else, David Milch’s Deadwood (2004–2006) defies those proper-minded souls who say that people who swear all the time have limited vocabularies. The #$%&$#@* vocabularies on display in the HBO series are unlimited in their vulgarity. It doesn’t matter if the speakers are historic figures, such as saloon and brothel owner Al Swearengen (played by Golden Globe winner Ian McShane), former scout and Wild Bill Hickok admirer Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert) or mayor and hotel owner E.B. Farnum (William Sanderson), or fictional figures, such as sometime prostitute Trixie (Paula Malcomson), former Bella Union hostess Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens) or Tong leader Mr. Wu (Keone Young). Almost all cuss up a blue storm, intermingled with curious, quasi-Elizabethan prose. Dodge City’s Marshal Matt Dillon would be as out of place in Sheriff Seth Bullock’s Deadwood as a wooden cigar-store Indian at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
Still, the characters that appeared in the three seasons of Deadwood are as memorable as the characters that appeared over 20 years on Gunsmoke, and Swearengen’s Gem Saloon is as much a lasting visual treat as Miss Kitty’s Long Branch Saloon. If you can’t stand the language (or the gore, bare skin, political incorrectness, gallows humor, etc.), get out of Deadwood and head back to Dodge. Otherwise, enjoy the ride through the true grit (not to mention dirt and despair) of one of the most creative, boundary-breaking Western projects since The Wild Bunch and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Even if you watch the 36 episodes in 2½ days, you may well find yourself crying out for more and cursing HBO executives for not allowing director Milch to burn and rebuild Deadwood (which happened in historic Deadwood in 1879 and was supposed to happen here, had there been a fourth season). Deadwood addicts can get their fix from excellent bonus features, including three that relate the history of the real town, one on the making of Deadwood, an Al Swearengen audition reel from Titus Welliver (who plays Silas Adams on the show) and, yes, a conversation with Milch and Keith Carradine (the short-lived Hickok of Season One) about the essence of language in Deadwood.
Originally published in the August 2009 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
