Deadwood

[neuro]

Please don't let me sidetrack this thread, but can anyone comment on Deadwood? Although I no longer have HBO, I enjoy a lot of their programming, but definitely don't want to make a blind buy at the prices their box sets go for.

Also Narsh - have you seen The Wind in the Willows film by Cosgrove? I can fondly remember watching it when I was younger, but am unclear on whether it was the upcoming TV series or the readily-available feature.

[Andre Jurieu]

I've always found the episodes of Deadwood that I do watch are fairly compelling, but I'm never compelled enough to make an effort to watch it regularly. There is some great acting in it and the double-crossing plotlines are always interesting. The standout performances are from Robin Weigert and Ian McShane, but Timothy Olyphant is surprisingly decent as well (I'm also a big fan of Molly Parker, but that's also for superficial reasons). Keith Carradine did fairly well as Wild Bill Hickok from what I saw of him. It's unlike any other western I've ever watched in that a great deal of the story has to do with political/business jostling. In Canada it's always on after Sopranos, but I often just forget to stay tuned. It's probably worth a rental at least.

[Polybius]

Deadwood reminds me very much of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, in that it's iconoclastic toward Western tropes and depicts human foibles and character flaws, as well as larger societal problems, in a really realistic manner. The cast is uniformly outstanding.

I had absolutely no idea that McShane had anything this brilliant in him. The Golden Globe he won yesterday was well deserved.

[neuro]

To follow up, I'd like to thank those who recommended Deadwood to me earlier in the thread. I managed to get a copy prematurely and I instantly and unexpectedly fell in love with the show (I managed to watch the entire season in three quick days).

The characterizations are absolutely spot-on, from the main to the marginal characters. I was also impressed the the technical care taken by the show, especially its attention to period detail. Also, I was surprised to see Walter Hill's name under the directorial credits for the first episode, and it was indeed a dynamite comeback for him of sorts (and, looking ahead to the second season, it appears that Michael Almereyda took a crack at it as well). And, as mentioned, the acting is amazing; one of the best ensembles I've seen on television. Brad Dourif (an old favorite of mine), Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe, and for his short time, Keith Carradine, were all excellent, but Ian McShane was absolutely and consistently amazing - hands down my favorite television villain of all time. The scripts were stellar as well, most notably the way in which the politics of the time are painstakingly worked into every script in a realistic and functional manner. It never shrinks from being ugly or offensive, as long as it stays true-to-character. Brilliant, highly-entertaining and insightful stuff.

[Finch]

Deadwood is my all-time favourite series and I only own the UK sets of Season 1 and 2 and the Aussie set of Season 3, all of which had none of the extras from the US versions so I'll get this as soon as it goes down in price (the current retail price is, especially with just one bonus disc of material, exorbitant).

[Finch]

Deadwood easily for best of the decade and probably all-time as well (if one show ended prematurely it's this one; them HBO cocksuckers didn't even agree to a TV movie to wrap things up proper). Peaks in second spot (agree the second half of the second season is utterly depressing with the exception of Lynch's final episode). If mini-series are allowed, I'd also put a vote in for Band of Brothers.

[Yojimbo]

Deadwood easily for best of the decade and probably all-time as well (if one show ended prematurely it's this one; them HBO cocksuckers didn't even agree to a TV movie to wrap things up proper). Peaks in second spot (agree the second half of the second season is utterly depressing with the exception of Lynch's final episode). If mini-series are allowed, I'd also put a vote in for Band of Brothers.

I don't have a great problem with it ending when and as it did, Finchy: on the one hand I'd hate to think there would have been any dropping off in standards if they had commissioned at least one more season, as fourth seasons, generally, tend to see a fall off in standards after the highs of second and third seasons; and on the other I can re-watch the complete entity that I do possess, knowing that there's not a 'Godfather III'-esque 'elephant in the room' which I have to remember to ignore

[Finch]

You know, I'm torn on the fourth season that never was. I agree that most shows tend to get worse after three years and in fact Deadwood's third season, while emotionally devastating and still brilliant in its own right, strikes me as slightly less satisfying overall than the previous two. On the other hand, I genuinely do believe that Milch and co could have made a very good fourth season if they'd been given the chance. You may want to check out the bonus disc on the boxset released two years ago where David Milch revisits the deserted set and gives some insight into what storylines they would have developed for season four.

[Yojimbo]

You may want to check out the bonus disc on the boxset released two years ago where David Milch revisits the deserted set and gives some insight into what storylines they would have developed for season four.

If thats on the Region 2 set I have, although I suspect not as I surely must have bought it more than two years ago, I haven't seen it!
Perhaps watching it, though, might upset me too much, -for what might have been!

[Finch]

No, it's only available on the bonus disc of the R1 set that came out about two years ago or so. I'm pretty positive it's not part of the UK set. Should we ever meet, remind me to screen that piece to you: it's half an hour or so if I recall correctly.

[jbeall]

A rave about Deadwood's upcoming release on blu.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I've started on Deadwood and I wanted to know what's considered the best season of its run. I'd heard that all three were solid, but a friend told me that it's downhill from season one. I'm going to watch all of it, but I'm curious.

[Polybius]

Your friend is exactly right.

All Milch shows have a limited shelf life, as his pseudo-Mamet dialogue begins to grate and his storytelling tank runs dry and this show is no exception. It has a great cast, so they keep soldiering on but the show just isn't nearly as tight or interesting as it progresses through S2 and S3.

[flyonthewall2983]

The Deadwood movie is on.

[pzadvance]

The Deadwood movie is on.

Sweet Jesus

[Murdoch]

List project eligibility! \:D/

[flyonthewall2983]

Just curious, and it's not directly related, but should we cover TV movies here, or discuss them in the New Films board?

[domino harvey]

HBO announces it has greenlit the Deadwood movie

[JamesF]

HBO announces it has greenlit the Deadwood movie

W. Earl Brown says filming begins on October 5th and that every living cast member (except Titus Welliver, who's busy being Bosch) is due to return:

I just read the final draft. Holy. Shit. In the course of those two hours, my emotions ricocheted in every fucking direction: exhilaration to melancholy; hoots of joy to screams of despair. The Maestro has topped himself.

As my eye scanned the page, I read the Dan Dority dialogue aloud. Milch’s words are like a scrumptious meal; the complexity of its flavors is something to savor.

The structure is essentially the same as the first version I read a year and a half ago, but the complexities of the relationships, the emotional peaks and depths, are all sharpened to a razor fine edge. It’s gut wrenching.

[jazzo]

After having gone through the entire series three or four times now, and having made peace with its narratively unfulfilling, but thematically extremely fulfilling abrupt third season ending, I now find myself anticipating this final Deadwood film maybe more than anything else in any medium.

[Caligula]

HBO announces it has greenlit the Deadwood movie

Deadwood Movie starts shooting. 12 returning cast members. Amongst those not returning: W Earl Brown (Dan Dority), Jeffrey Jones (AW Merrick), Leon Rippy (Tom Nuttall), Sean Bridgers (Johnny Burns) and Titus Welliver (Silas Adams).

[flyonthewall2983]

Easy to kill characters off if there's been this much time in between.

[domino harvey]

Could never get into this series-- watched the first season after you know who's constant prodding and it left little impression on me so I didn't continue (and from what I understand, the series goes downhill from there anyways)-- but I'm happy for the fans that they'll finally get closure. I was, however, cast in a college Writing for TV class as Swearengen for the cold readings of one of my classmates' spec scripts and I'm still weirdly proud of that

[Murdoch]

I'm in the same boat, but I did kind of love Milch's notable failure John from Cincinnati . Not that that one needs any movie to wrap things up.

[knives]

I liked it, but then I find the mundane aspects of the old west super interesting and by necessity the show was mighty mundane most of the time.