The remarkable first season of Deadwood represents one of those periodic, wholesale reinventions of the Western that is as different from, say, Lonesome Dove as that miniseries is from Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo or the latter is from Anthony Mann's The Naked Spur. In many ways, HBO's Deadwood embraces the Western's unambiguous morality during the cinema's silent era through the 1930s while also blazing trails through a post-NYPD Blue, post-The West Wing television age exalting dense and customized dialogue. On top of that, Deadwood has managed an original look and texture for a familiar genre: gritty, chaotic, and surging with both dark and hopeful energy. Yet the show's creator, erstwhile NYPD Blue head writer David Milch, never ridicules or condescends to his more grasping, futile characters or overstates the virtues of his heroic ones.

Was looking so forward to the series but...

I overheard someone at work mention 'Deadwood' being a true portrayal of what the Old West was really like. I thought to myself, 'cool! something down and dirty with lots of gratuitous blood letting and gunplay'

After watching 5 minutes of it, I had to change channels. I love profanity in movies as much as the next crass American guy but when it's used in such a retarded context, it just ruins the whole thing. And by the way, this is supposed to be in the 1800s!! It's not realistic at all to have our ancestors of old sound like they were on an N.W.A. album. I like N.W.A. but Cowboys who belt out 'F$@#' words in an Old west series is just as bad as Ned Flanders trying to act like Ice Cube.

And as some other reviewer noticed, all of the characters looked like they just walked out of a beauty spa; moussed up hair, Aquafresh perfect teeth, and spotless clothing. Hair products, frequent bathing, and a good dental plan were rare commodoties in the Old West folks!

Sorry, this was not realistic at all for me. I could care less how good the story was going to get.

You want realistic swearing in the old West, then check out Tuco from the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. That's a REAL western movie!!

Deadwood is not your father's western

Set in a burgeoning mining camp in 1876 in modern day South Dakota, Deadwood brings together honest businessmen, dreamers intent on striking it rich with a gold claim and crooks who go where the money is and the law isn't. The action boils around the Gem saloon owned and operated by Al Swearengen who knows everything that's going on in camp and how to profit from it. Seth Bullock and his friend Sol Starr are ex-lawmen from Montana who arrive to open a hardware store and immediately butt heads with Swearengen who they have to buy the plot from. Wild Bill Hickok rides into town burdened by demons and accompanied by ultra foul mouthed Calamity Jane. E.B. Farnum owns a hotel, sells information to Swearengen and talks in circles using big words and phrases in an attempt to elevate himself above his station. The only doctor in town has to deal with a plague, all the whores at two saloons and taking care of a Scandinavian child whose family has been killed.

Deadwood is so well written and acted you almost forget how base it is. Until someone opens their mouth. This is probably the best depiction of a lawless old west town you'll ever see, but they do go overboard on the language. Sometimes the words are flying so frequently I start to laugh and that's not a good thing when you're presenting a drama. That being said, everything else about the show is wonderful. Ian McShane as Swearengen is unreal. Brad Dourif as the doctor gets better with each show, cresting with the episode when Rev. Smith dies. Dourif's scenes at the end are amazing. William Sanderson as E.B. Farnum continues to add to his resume of odd characters, both in comedies and dramas. It takes special talent to do both.

I don't have HBO so I'm late getting on the Deadwood train, renting them from Blockbuster. Learning that there are only three seasons was a sad moment. This is one the best series I've ever watched.

Lonesome Dove Was Very Good-Deadwood is Amazing

You get 6 single sided discs smartly packaged in a bookcase style cover. These contain 12 episodes with the 6th disc containing extras. The extras are- Making Deadwood:The Show Behind The Show- The Real Deadwood- The New Language Of The Old West- and An Imaginative Reality which is a discussion between David Milch the creator and executive producer and Keith Carradine who plays Wild Bill.

DeadWood is Gritty, Callous, Full of Blasphemy, Ultra Violent, Sexist, Racist, Sadistic and Unforgivingly Great.

If you are a western fan, you have to have this series. Your wife or girlfriend will pobably not like it and its not for the kiddies, but if your a true western fan and you buy it, I guarantee you will watch it over and over.

Mr Woos pigs are calling, can you hear them?