The first season of Deadwood begins in the year 1876. as Montana Marshal Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) carries out his last act of justice on a horse thief. The series' opening exchange between sheriff and criminal reveal that Bullock is about to relocate to the eponymous Black Hills mining camp to open a hardware store with his Jewish business associate, Sol Star (John Hawkes). But of course, this is the year 1876. What we know today as the Black Hills of South Dakota then belonged to the Native Americans (as allocated by the Treaty of Laramie). Which brings us to the next critical point: there is no law in Deadwood. Bullock's arrival at camp nearly coincides with that of the legendary J.B. "Wild Bill" Hickok (Keith Carradine) and his companions Charlie Utter (Dayton Callie) and "Calamity" Jane Cannary (Robin Weigert). The events that transpire shortly after their arrival disrupts the equilibrium of the undisputed star of Deadwood: Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), proprietor of The Gem saloon and brothel.
For a good part of Season One, the series seems to be about Bullock, but as the former marshal establishes his presence in Deadwood, a number of thick and intricate plotlines start weaving around the framework. One concerns the plight of Brom Garret (Timothy Omundson), who is seemingly fleeced into buying a bad gold claim by Swearengen. Once Garret catches on to the deception, things get really ugly -- though not so much for his laudanum-addicted wife Alma (Molly Parker), who becomes a front-and-center player before Season One's finale. Another concerns the arrival of competition for Swearengen in the form of Cyrus Tolliver (Powers Boothe) and his comparatively clean Bella Union saloon. By the end of Season One, Deadwood isn't so much about one person as it is about the entire cast of characters. We've got Trixie (Paula Malcomson), Al's damaged and jaded go-to whore whose heart is in the right place more often than is her head. We've also got Amos Cochran (Brad Dourif), a stern old doctor whose concern for his patients borders on fatherly. He's also unafraid to speak his mind when his morality is at direct odds with that of either Swearengen or Tolliver, whose businesses directly rely on the Doc's services. Another minor player who becomes a more prominent character later on is Wu, the Chinese man whose pigs feed on 95% of Deadwood's wrongfully killed.
Season Two is where things really start heating up in Deadwood. The prospect of annexation into the States proves a threatening spectre to the scoundrels who have made a habit of exploiting the lack of involvement from the Fed. To others, such as Swearengen, opportunity arises. And it's here that the evil bastard really gets interesting. At his core, he's a businessman -- and to a degree, a politician. However, that practical mindset simply happens to be clothed in the skin of a "by-any-means" murderer. Season Two also features the arrival and dark adventures of Francis Wolcott (Garret Dillahunt, doubling as Jack McCall in Season One), the geologist for George Hearst himself (Major Dad's Gerald McRaney). In Season Two, the intrigue becomes almost suffocatingly thick; people are often not who they seem to be, and the most seemingly insignificant players can turn out to be full-fledged Pinkerton agents. Others simply are who they are, and that's fun to watch on its own. You won't ever question why the sycophantic opportunist E.B. Farnum (William Sanderson) is so deeply disliked by everyone. Newly-appointed Sheriff Seth Bullock is never less or more than a fallible human being with a violent disposition towards injustice and a general eagerness to please. Utter and Jane are also instantly likable characters; Utter shares Bullock's hatred of injustice while Jane is a perpetually inebriated mess who, even while drunk, is capable of shedding light on deep truths. Believe me, I'm only scraping the tip of the iceberg.
Season Three deals with George Hearst's sinister designs on Deadwood itself, and the way in which the uneasy alliance of "camp elders" decides it must deal with the man. McRaney brings Hearst to life in a portrayal that hardly paints the man in a flattering light. He's an outright villain in Deadwood, and it's no wonder mere talk of the man reduces nearly everyone to abject terror. Season Three is par for the course, but it ends without a definitive resolution. That wouldn't be difficult to overlook or even ignore if it didn't mark the end of the series as a whole. I even considered docking points for what I (and many others undoubtedly) perceive as an injustice. But I decided against it, since all the content in this remarkable box set is top quality.
If, over the course of Season Two, you find yourself actively rooting for Swearengen, don't be alarmed. You have not lost your moral compass; Swearengen is simply a fascinating character, and more importantly, Ian McShane is simply that good an actor. To be sure, his character's a killing, scheming, whoremongering miscreant. However, the tenacity with which he adheres to his diseased code of ethics is inexplicably admirable. Every scene that involves Swearengen belongs almost entirely to McShane. Swearengen's second Dan Dority (W. Earl Brown), dimwit lackey Johnny Burns (Sean Bridgers), and former Yankton bagman Silas Adams (Titus Welliver) are all fascinating henchmen, but they are all justifiably upstaged by who is arguably the most depraved character to appear on television.
No discussion of Deadwood is complete without the inclusion of two central topics, the first being Ian McShane's incredible portrayal of Al Swearengen. The second is the show's writing. First off, the dialogue is so blue that even Bob Saget's stand-up comedy pales in comparison. If you've heard a word used as a swear, it's found its way into the script of practically every single episode. The only characters not prone to utterances of words such as "f*ck" and c***sucker" are either children, the flat-out genuine Reverend Smith, or Seth Bullock's seemingly incorruptible wife Martha. On the other side of things, Swearengen easily dwarfs Tony Montana when it comes to profanity. That this kind of dialogue is anachronistic almost goes without saying -- it's a fact that even the show's creators and producers willfully acknowledge. However, the dialogue is every bit as smart as it is offensive. This comes as both praise for the show itself and a warning to the viewer: obscenities aside, Deadwood's writing, collectively, is a tough nut to crack. Most characters speak using elaborately-constructed (and occasionally borderline-incomprehensible) complex sentences that may require turning on the subtitles or even rewinding a few times to get the full meaning. To be sure, the vulgarity and complexity of the dialogue will turn some viewers off. But they're the ones missing out: beneath all the filth and obscenity is some absolutely golden prose. It's so good that you'll want to watch the entire series over again to catch some things you may have missed the first time through.
Deadwood: The Complete Series comes in a beautiful box set. On the front cover, it's adorned with a black-and-white group photo of Swearengen, Bullock, Alma, and Trixie on the front. On the back is a photo of the "hoople-heads" going about their business in the thoroughfare. Once you slide the box out of its album-esque case, you'll find a book containing thirteen discs -- nine of which contain the thirty-six fifty-odd minute-long episodes that aired on HBO. The book presentation also features on each smooth cardboard page a stunning photo of a key player, along with a quote that defines his/her character. It's beautiful stuff, well, except for most of the quotes.
A release like Deadwood: The Complete Series begs for special features, and thankfully, this one has pretty much everything you could ask for. There's a nice assortment of audio commentaries featuring input from just about every main star, and while some of them might not talk about the things you'd like to hear about, they are still fun to listen to. Naturally, several of the special features are about Deadwood, South Dakota -- which is, of course, a very real place. These featurettes contain the valuable input of South Dakota historians and scholars. Furthermore, the parallels and necessary disconnects between Deadwood's story and actual history are often discussed with all the details and explanations you could want. Several of the special features draw heavily from an interview/discussion between Keith Carradine and David Milch; their conversation is deep and intellectually satisfying. We also get a good look behind the scenes, as well as a comprehensive tour of the set; it's easy to admire its intricacies, as well as that of the make-up and other cosmetic preparations (most of the cast being literally sprayed with dust is pretty interesting). Some of the other features are intended for the artistic type: some choice daguerrotypes serve as a nice gallery offering. I didn't much care for The Meaning of Endings; while I suspect it may please Deadwood fans, I only saw it as a depressing look at what could have been.
If you're looking for a change of pace in your special features, the Al Swearengen Audition Reel is certainly that. In it, Titus Welliver does a continuous impression of David Milch as he holds a series of mock interviews/auditions for the role of Swearengen. He also takes his place on the other side of the camera as Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Robert Duvall, and Robert DeNiro. Since you'll probably be well acquainted with Milch by the time you reach this stuff, the humor won't be lost on you. The impressions are hysterical ("DeNiro" does nothing but smirk), and the "exchanges" are so bizarre you won't be able to help but laugh.
I'd be gobsmacked if I could find one television box set less suited for young audiences than Deadwood: The Complete Series. It excessively covers the main three bases of adult content (violence, profanity, and sex) -- ironically without making a big deal out of any of it. But that's beside the point; it's simply a work of f***ing genius, immaculately presented. And to top it all off, the visual fidelity afforded by the Blu-ray disc medium makes for a simultaneously gorgeous and disgusting spectacle for your HDTV. If you think you can handle it all, you'll find that there's gold in them there hills.
