Did anybody watch this tonight? I watched without really knowing what to inspect and I was totally drawn into it. It’s got more violence and profanity than the Sopranos and it’s already established a solid cast of interesting characters.
the ex-marshall from Montana is a very intriguing character and I like the actor playing him. I also liked Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane. Jane is the way she should be, unglamorous, foul-mouthed and scary as hell.
The show also has a great heavy in the saloon owner guy and a good start at a couple of subplots.
I think I’ll be watching this show again. I’m hooked already.
I gotta agree. I’m glad they didn’t try to glam up Calamity Jane in any way, shape, or form. The ex-marshall definetly looks like a fun character, but Wild Bill definetly stole the show in every scene.
I saw it too, really enjoyed it and I’ll keep watching. I hope, and it does not seem to be the case, that they do not do a Carnivale and really move the story along slowly.
Of course, I missed some key dialogue at points as the neighbor was out walking his dog which resulted in my dog going crazy barking. Quiet scene with no dialogue, my dog doesn’t make a peep. Critical scene that explains a character’s motivation, answers “Who dunnit?”, or explains the one thing to remember now that you are holding two electrical wires in your hand before moving on to the final step in home repair - the dog barks his head off. :mad:
Actually, I noticed that too. There seemed to be almost to much profanity and I’m not exactly profanity adverse!
I don’t mind profanity, and many of the characters probably would be foul-mouthed – it just sounds like very modern cursing. I really don’t think “fucking” was used as a general intensifier in 1876. I’d like to hear some authentic 19th century bad language.
The profanity confused me too. I am sure there was plenty back then, but Cocksucker? I am not sure.
More than that though… I was confused by the prices of things, as well as the money talk. Did people really have $20,000 back then? That seems like an obscene amount of money for the gold rush… conversations seemed too concentrate on very large amounts of money (always were talking in thousands) and boots were $15!!!
Was this normal then? Were prices inflated this much for the gold rush?
I am not a historian… but wasn’t $15 generally more than enough to live on for a week in that time period?
I thought the profanity was a little overdone, and the bar owner, if he is suppose to be English…I had a heck of a time hearing the accent. His character is excellent.
Who is the guy playing the Montana ex-sheriff? I’ve seen him before and cannot put a finger on him.
Bill Hickock did steal every scene and it was by saying very little. Now, that’s acting.
Now to a bigger question:
When the bar owner was witnessing the irishman and the fancy pants guy selling/buying the claim, why did the bar owner go berserk on the hotel owner guy for driving the price up to $20,000. I must be stupid, I didn’t get that at all.
Oh, and most realistic Irish accent in a long time.
The OVERABUNDANCE of “fucking” and “cocksucker” really detracted from the show. I don’t think that those would have been popular curse words for the time period, nor do I think that they would have cursed that much either.
Indeed… though I wonder how they are going to deal with history. Wild Bill dies in Deadwood on the year the show is taking place in.
He was saying because when the rich dude wires home for more money (since $20k was the extent), the rich family will send detectives (Pinkertons) to find out what happened to all the money.
I had no problem with the swearing. It could have been a nice touch if it would have sounded more in period. Really though, it came down to a few characters doing the majority of the swearing because it was part of their, umm, character.
Isidd beat me to answering the question about fleecing the rich guy. My girlfriend missed that too.
I’m guessing that we shouldn’t get too attached to Wild Bill. We’ve already been introduced to an excellent candidate for shooting him in the back.
The language was a surprise for me as well…I am fairly certain cuss words were different back then, and I recall reading an article about 5 years ago that mentioned how swear words change over time. That said, I think using the language of today gives you the feel for the character.
These were not nice, proper people, and the saloons were not all respectible establishments run by Miss Kitty.
Once again, just like in Carnivale, the sets are amazing - they really get the gritty, muddy feel of that time and place. HBO seems to have the best set designers working today. I also liked that the characters have flaws (the prostitute with the itchy gun finger) and the justice is swift.
I normally hate westerns, but this one has me hooked already.
About the profanity:
“Milch researched the real Deadwood for a year, using the Library of Congress, the Museum of Living Memory and a lot of historical documents from the time that indicate that yes, bad words took on a life of their own in Deadwood. Creatively, Milch is using language to set mood. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, the United States has deeded land to the Sioux Nation. But word of plentiful gold has sent settlers there, creating a war of sorts. It quickly becomes an outlaw settlement. No marshal. No government protection. And loads of unsavory American opportunists.”
And:
“Not only is it dramatically justified, but, Milch insists, historically on target. According to contemporary accounts, ‘the profanity was an overwhelming, almost terrifying characteristic of the camps,’ he says. ‘Those who went to the camps, specifically a criminal element, were a group accustomed to using language as a way of separating themselves from polite society.’”
I’m going to get a cold shiver down my spine the night that they pan to Bill’s cards and he has aces and eights. Jane going completely nuts is going to be something to see.
How about the expression on Swearengen’s face to end the episode? It was almost a “the things I have to put up with” kind of look. Take a look at Swearengen’s picture in the cast area on HBO’s web site. Does he have a satan thing going on or what? I have to hand it to HBO for finding lead actors who are physically repulsive, but incredibly magnetic and charismatic (see Soprano, Anthony).
It was fun trying to pick out where we (my girlfriend and I) had seen other actors before. Larry (William Sanderson) from the Newhart Show was easy to spot as E. B. Farnum. My girlfriend picked out Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) from The Lord of the Rings movies right away as the Doc. I only thought something in his eyes looked familiar at first. The bartender at the “other” bar had a fairly large roll in The Patriot. From HBO’s site the character is Tom Nuttall (Leon Rippy), owner and bartender of the No. 10 Saloon. The reporter (Jeffry Jones) has been in many movies, Beetlejuice for one.
I’ll definitely be watching next week. I might even try to catch a rebroadcast of this episode.
I noticed two actors that I recognized (who have already been mentioned) -
William Sanderson, from Blade Runner where he played Sebastian
and
Jeffrey Jones, from Ravenous where he played Col. Hart
Overall, great show. Large amounts of potential. Interesting characters, realistic (but not TOO realistic) setting, and the dark humor that I so love. (The Doctor had me rolling on the floor laughing.)
I forgot it was on, but I have On Demand cable, so I can watch it tonight. I have a huge pile of laundry to fold, and that’s the best time to watch TV.
If the language is as bad as you all say, I better wait till the kids are in bed, huh?
Definitely after the kids are in bed. I’ve worked with men who’ve done time and men who haven’t graduated high school in a job comprised almost exclusively of men and considered somewhat macho. And there wasn’t nearly that much cussing.