Deadwood, Season I

Oh, how to begin?

First of all, a lot of you are wondering why it took me so long to watch Deadwood.  Well, I had some reservations.

• I don't like "The Old West".
• I don't like dust.
• I don't like the way they talked back then.

However, people rave about this show, so I decided to check it out.  The first thing that jumped out at me, before I had made it through the first 20 minutes of the first episode, is how salty the language is.  Now, believe me, I cuss more than anyone else I know.  But the citizens of Deadwood use the "F" word like a tween uses the word "like"; that is to say, f@*&ing constantly.

Once I got used to that, I got to know the characters.  I was slow to warm to them, but by the end of the season, I loved them all.  They include:

• Saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), who basically runs Deadwood by scaring all the citizens to death or killing them.
• Hotel-proprietor E.B. Farnum (that guy from Newhart, Larry who had multiple brothers named Darryl), who is approximately as buffoonish as he has been in anything else you've seen.
• Fledgling hardware-store owner Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant, who always reminds me of Joel McHale from Community, until I see him smile and then I remember it's the drama guy, not the comedy guy.  I loved him on Damages.  On Deadwood, he usually has his eyebrows raised, which makes me think he's trying to hold his hat up.  But whatever, he's a main character and by the end of the season I just loved him), who seems like the most normal person in Deadwood.
• Doc Cochrane, whom I've seen in some stuff but don't feel like Googling.  This guy's awesome though.
• Rival saloon owner Tolliver (Powers Boothe), who tries to keep above the dirty deeds of Deadwood, but that's impossible.
• Alma Garrett (Molly Parker, who I remember most fondly from Swingtown, which was amazing, underrated, and too-short-lived), who ultimately comes to care for the little Sophia.
• Sophia, a little girl whose parents are killed early on and who gets passed around like a hot potato but ultimately ends up with Mrs. Garrett (presumably to live her life with Tootie, Jo, and Blair.  Kidding, kidding).
• Prostitute Trixie, who tries to squirm out from under Swearengen's thumb most of the season.
• Promoted overlord of the prostitutes Joanie, played by the boy's aunt from Great Expectations.  She is associated with Tolliver.  She's intriguing.
• Reverend Smith, who irritates me throughout the season.
• A.W. Merrick (Jeffrey Jones, the principal from Ferris Beuller) as the town newspaperman.
• Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane and their friend Charlie: all of these characters are a pleasure, although Jane takes some pretty serious getting used to.

Also look for Kristen Bell, in a cameo as a grifter - I loved her as Veronica Mars, but remember that I used to kind of hate her and think she had beady little eyes - and lo and behold, they actually make fun of her beady little eyes during her visit to Deadwood, which was awesome.

Anyway, once I understood who was who, I realized I didn't hate the clothes or the talk as much as I had thought - but instead of dust, they have mud, much, and manure, which is gross under any circumstances.  I also got used to the whole gold-prospecting idea and the idea of Deadwood as a town full of corruption and "crime" - although they're not technically a part of the United States and also don't have any laws, so all the crimes are kind of moral crimes.  Ethical crimes, at best.  But in Deadwood, ethics is a pretty elastic concept.  And pretty much everyone who dies or gets their ass beat deserves it.

So yes, I recommend this show.  And I had been planning to just add the next season at the bottom of my queue and watch it in 5 years when it comes up; but the season finale was so very good that I really want to know what happens next!  So we'll see.

Availability: DVD ONLY (ugh)

Date added to my queue: Unknown

Reason added to my queue: Everyone loves it