Deadwood: Complete Series [DVD] [2008] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

1876. The Black Hills. A gold-rush attracts the desperate, the greedy and the vicious to a frontier town called Deadwood, a two-street mining camp dominated by saloon bar owner and pimp, Al Swearengen. Against this simple but deadly backdrop, plays out a story so rich in character, detail and incident, that most other dramas seem pedestrian by comparison.

HBO seems to have hit on a winning formula but the outcome is anything but formulaic. Like Oz, The Sopranos and The Wire, Deadwood is another stunning production that this reviewer finds outstanding, especially in light of the fact that I am not overly keen on the Western genre.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Deadwood (at least for British audiences) is that the character who dominates the series, around who all things seem to revolve, cut-throat Al Swearengen is superbly acted by Ian "Lovejoy" McShane. No, really. McShane steels every scene he is in; a brutal, profane man, who talks to a box containing the decapitated head of a dead Indian, who verbally abuses his prostitutes and other employees with an acid tongue, McShane is a revelation. Around him orbit a stellar cast. I shall mention no names because each and every one of them turns in an amazing performance. When taken together, the whole ensemble shines.

The writing, too, is again full of character and subtlety, almost too much to take in at one sitting. It is both heart-felt and honest, laugh-out-loud funny and yet brutal and savage. It takes a little time for the ear to adjust to the syntax employed; the lexis, too, seems of a particular age but once attuned, this particular writing style allows a range of expression that doesn't seem permissible in contemporaneous writing.

If you have enjoyed other HBO productions but are not sure about this one because you are none too keen on the genre of cowboys, shootouts, Stetsons and cattle-rustling, Deadwood has none of it. Over the three series (and hopefully at least one full film, just to round the story off), the story is as much about encroaching civilisation on a pioneer town - the first tentative steps of the law, the advent of the telegraph, the bicycle and elections - as it is about the people who actually lived and died in the town.

The only negative aspect to this series is the lack of a full conclusion at story's end. Sure, life goes on and I certainly don't expect a trite, all-loose-ends-tied-up kind of ending but the climax just leaves so much hanging open, it is begging for another series (or possibly even a film). That said, it's about the journey, not the destination and when the ride is as memorable as Deadwood, then an open-ended conclusion is a small price to pay.

Do yourself a favour: roll the dice and take a chance on Deadwood and you will enjoy every minute that you spend in the town, every racist drunk, every plague, every tombstone. Life in the muddy quagmire was never so enjoyable.

I bought this ostensibly for my husband but actually because I wanted it for myself. Said goodbye to terrestrial and digital telly for a week and immersed myself in Deadwood.
As usual HBO has produced a high quality series which is nothing short of mesmerising. My only complaint is that it seemed somewhat rushed in the last couple of episodes and felt rather incomplete although to be fair this may have been the result of the directors and writers expecting another series in which to bring things to a more satisfactory conclusion.

Deadwood is set in the town of the same name in about 1875 although the events it depicts actually occurred over a longer time-span. Its characters are for the most part based upon its real inhabitants from Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane to the anonymous con-man pedlar of soap, although considerable liberty has been taken with their personalities and actions during the period of the Gold Rush and the negotiations to become part of the Dakota Territory. You can look them up in the official website and in Wikipedia. The power struggle between the two saloon and brothel owners, Al Swearingen and Cy Tolliver form the backdrop to most of the action while gripping story lines involving the self appointed sheriff Seth Bullock's affair with Alma, the rich widowed mine owner , the whore Trixie, the world- weary doctor and the tragic preacher. All of these stories contain elements of black humour, true human kindness, sadness and occasional terrifying evil. Violence is ever present and murder commonplace. This is not a series for your Auntie Minnie or for the faint hearted. Obscenity and blasphemy occur with eye-watering frequency throughout though this is oddly enough not as offensive as one might imagine considering the characters and plotting. None of it is gratuitous. Sets and costumes are amazingly good and you can just about smell the filth of the streets and the greasy dirt of the clothing.

There is not a single dud performance amongst its cast members and even minor characters such as the killer of Wild Bill, the drunken and abusive liveryman,the brother and sister ostensibly seeking their lost father and the mild-mannered proprietor of the Number 10 bar come across as well observed and believable human beings. Special mention must made of Ian McShane the English actor who plays Al Swearingen. His is a tour de force portrayal of the ruthless, murderous saloon owner of The Gem. It is a three dimensional performance of a basically appalling human being who does not flinch at feeding inconvenient corpses to the pigs yet has the occasional flash of kindness and generosity which he would die rather than admit to. McShane won a well-deserved award for the role. Not too far behind is Robin Weigert's performance in the role of Martha Jane Cannary (aka Calamity Jane). Here is a woman who has scouted for the US Cavalry, fought Indians, nursed smallpox victims and orphaned children and fallen in love with Bill Hickock whose grave she visits as often as she can. She is also a hopeless alcoholic who periodically binges for days on end yet can still be relied upon in a tight corner.

I loved the series, groaning when an episode ended before I was willing to let go and now sorry that I've watched it all. I will however watch it again in the not too distant future and see things I missed the first time around.

We really loved this series and became totally addicted to it. Ian McShane is charismatic and fabulous in the role of Swearengen. The whole cast is brilliant and the characters and use of language (though not necessarily the swearing!) fascinating - it's as I imagine Shakespeare would have written a western. Its right up there with The Wire for required viewing - to relish and watch again & again. Like The Wire, we found it helpful to watch with sub-titles on !