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Amazon.co.uk Review
Deadwood: The Complete Second Season continues the Shakespearean brilliance of the landmark first season, created by NYPD Blue head writer David Milch. Milch either wrote or supervised the writing of each of the 12 episodes in this stunning follow-up, which contains more than a few surprises for anyone who thought they knew the myriad characters in the late 19th century town of Deadwood--a mucky, ungoverned, exceptionally violent development in South Dakota. As with the first season, Deadwood continues to be about many things--survival, loyalty, alliances, duty--but all of them are happening against a titanic battle between several parties to consolidate power and real wealth in the territory. Despite his cutthroat ethics, astonishing profanity, and bursts of cruelty, it's hard not to side in this bid for a piece of America's future with saloon owner Al Swearengen (a magnificent performance by Ian McShane), a visionary monster who is nevertheless more recognisably human than his rivals.
Entering an uneasy partnership with Al is Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant). Seth begins the second season by teaching Al a few lessons in chivalry, and their brief but bloody feud commences physical ailments for Al that become increasingly shocking to behold. Yet Al's difficulties have the practical effect of sidelining him for a couple of episodes while the story sets up more complex power struggles. Al takes on Deadwood's other saloon-brothel owner, the unstable Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe), as well as an off-screen millionaire who is intent on owning all the gold-mining interests by buying out weary prospectors' claims. Meanwhile, Seth's wife and son (actually, his late brother's widow and child) arrive, an unsettling development for Seth's lover, the widow Alma Garret (Molly Parker), who soon reveals herself to be a more complicated person than in the first season. The prostitute Trixie (Paula Malcomson) begins thinking about her future and asserts independence from Al by having sex with Seth's friend, Sol Star (John Hawkes). Best of all, Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert) is back and more endearingly uncivilized than ever. Special features include actor commentaries on select episodes, the best of which finds Olyphant and McShane cracking each other up while watching the season premiere. --Tom Keogh
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Wild West,
By Taffy "The Angry Welshman" (London, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Deadwood : Complete HBO Season 2 [DVD] (DVD)
Its nice to see something different to a lot of the other TV shows out there at the moment. This show is all about Deadwood. A small mining camp in Dakota which has gradually grown with each season from a small mining camp to becoming a major town. All the story is told through the eyes of the characters who have helped shaped its community. From the foul mouthed saloon saloon owner "Al Swearengen" (McShane) and his vicious rival "Cy Tolliver" (Booth), the story is intricately told through the inhabitants interactions and sometimes violent confrontations.
At times the dialogue can be heavy going as it accurately reflects the type of language spoken in the old west. Just listen to "Merrick", the town's resident newspaper editor and printer, this guy definitely has word of the day toilet paper as he rarely uses words less than three syllables. Then we come to the resident and reluctant sheriff Bullock (Olyphant), who is forced to endure the bloodshed and rivalries. The camp is riddeled bribary and rivalries as each of the inhabitants try to stake their claims on land and wealth, some are in it for themselves, while others are outsiders trying to shape and influence the town for other more powerful characters in the cities. The violence is strong but infrequent. Anybody expecting blazing gun battles every episode should get the A-Team. The violence in the show is very often as a result of tensions that build up and then explode, holding back no punches with its portrayal. The characters are the what makes this show so addictive. The brilliant and sometimes hilarious Swearengen, (Just watch his conversation with Mr Wu in season 1), delivers some great one liners and is without a doubt the heart of Deadwood. Lovejoy RIP. A truly great western drama.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Top Class !,
By
This review is from: Deadwood : Complete HBO Season 2 [DVD] (DVD)
Deadwood is a unique TV series.
Never has the Old West been portrayed so uncompromisingly with a grim, foul mouthed reality. The cast are brilliant, especially Ian McShane and the atmosphere of the South Dakota town is realized in all the mucky glory of the time. There is much humour beneath the surface as well and it never becomes too grim to be depressing. The lack of special features on the Region 2 version is disappointing but should not put you off. I found Series 2 better than better than the first series as we are now familiar with all the characters and their motives .
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deadwood - Season 2,
By R V FLOOD (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Deadwood : Complete HBO Season 2 [DVD] (DVD)
This is a superior series. The standards have been maintained from the first season, and continues to explore the motivations of the main characters against the backdrop of the evolving town of Deadwood. I'm really looking forward to Seasons 3 and 4. I agree that the bonus features should have been included, but its the episodes that will enjoy repeated viewings. I would suggest that anyone wishing to find out more about Deadwood and its characters, should order from Amazon the book "The Real Deadwood" by John Ames. Its a useful book as it highlights the real lives of the characters portrayed in HBO's Deadwood. In a way this compensates for the lack of bonus features on the region 2 editions. I found it a good background primer for the show.
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