# Hell On Wheels starts tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069 "2011-11-06T17:13:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/22 "2011-11-07T16:34:25Z")
> [@samual](#): > > I really try to know this kind of things.is it an one kind of tv show???If yes than the man vs wild is the best tv show of the history of adventure world.I try to avoid reviews of new TV shows, if possible, so as not to be prejudiced. In retrospect, they’re usually depressingly accurate. Here’s hoping. [Huh?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0TsOAhn8IY#t=1m45s) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/23 "2011-11-07T16:40:09Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Huh?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0TsOAhn8IY#t=1m45s) I think he was trying to respond to my earlier post, but didn’t understand how to do the ‘quote’ thing. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/24 "2011-11-07T17:17:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I think he was trying to respond to my earlier post, but didn’t understand how to do the ‘quote’ thing. I got that but, other than what you wrote, it all looks like something assembled to fool a spam filter. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/25 "2011-11-07T17:40:16Z")
I only made it halfway through the episode before falling asleep (not because of the show) but the only thing that will keep me watching at this point is Ted Levine - is he intended to be a major character? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/26 "2011-11-07T18:30:07Z")
Probably not. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/27 "2011-11-07T18:54:16Z")
Maybe it’s because I’m not familiar with Deadwood, which seems to have spoiled some of you for westerns, but I liked it. Yes, there were some plot problems - Bohannon hanging out in the confessional hoping that his victim would show up was the most glaring - but I thought it was fun in spite of it. I’ll probably keep watching. I got thrown by Ted Levine. I kept looking at him and saying “who is that”, “I know him from somewhere”. It drove me crazy till I checked out the show on IMDB and realized that it was Captain Leland Stottlemeyer from Monk. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/28 "2011-11-07T18:57:43Z")
I thought it was pretty weak acting and directing all around… and the writing is nowhere as rich as Deadwood. Maybe a “c”. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/29 "2011-11-07T19:26:43Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] I got thrown by Ted Levine. I kept looking at him and saying “who is that”, “I know him from somewhere”. It drove me crazy till I checked out the show on IMDB and realized that it was Captain Leland Stottlemeyer from Monk. [/QUOTE] And Buffalo Bill (the “do you wanna f\*ck me?” serial killer) from _Silence of the Lambs_. I won’t spoiler since it’s my own WAG: do you think the sergeant will turn out to be the preacher? ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/30 "2011-11-07T19:35:52Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > And Buffalo Bill (the “do you wanna f\*ck me?” serial killer) from _Silence of the Lambs_. > > I won’t spoiler since it’s my own WAG: do you think the sergeant will turn out to be the preacher? Interestingly, the preacher is played by the Red Dragon killer in the original Hannibal Lector movie “Manhunter” (not the Edward Norton remake “Red Dragon”), just to tie in the two serial killers associated with the Lector character. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/31 "2011-11-07T20:10:32Z")
I wonder where they found the locomotive. Wrong type to be [P&AC #3](http://www.railtown1897.com/doc.asp?id=168), which had been used in _High Noon_, “Little House on the Prairie”, “Petticoat Junction”, _Back to the Future Part 3_, and a bunch of other things. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/32 "2011-11-07T20:42:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Yeah, that struck me right off. How could he have known that this guy would happen to walk by the church and suddenly get an urge to go in? That bothered me too. Maybe he went in and tried to confess every day at the same time. > [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s not the worst new show I’ve seen in a while but it has to get better to keep interest. Also, the main character is either lying (which is entirely possible) or there’s some shoddy research: there are no tobacco farmers in Meridian, Mississippi, and the likelihood of any farmer having freed his slaves before the Civil War are negligible; even if he really had become convinced of the evils of slavery he’d have to be debt free (which was seldom) and have to petition and get approval from teh state legislature (which was not pro forma). I’m thinking it’s a Mel Gibson _The Patriot_ type thing (Gibson played a plantation owner who only used free black labor)- a PC move from producers who don’t think the audience could relate to a former slave owner so they clean him up a bit. This bums me out. I would have hoped that they’d do better with the history. Maybe he made that stuff up to throw off One Hand. Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be making excuses. On reflection this morning, I am not as impressed as I was after the first viewing. I’ll give it at least one more try. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/33 "2011-11-07T20:56:06Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Interestingly, the preacher is played by the Red Dragon killer in the original Hannibal Lector movie “Manhunter” (not the Edward Norton remake “Red Dragon”), just to tie in the two serial killers associated with the Lector character. Yeah, I was thinking “Now they’re going to have to bring in Ralph Fiennes at some point.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/34 "2011-11-07T22:00:11Z")
I’m guessing any similarities between the real man and his fictional counterpart are coincidental, but Colm Meaney’s character, Thomas Durant, is [a historical figure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_C._Durant). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/35 "2011-11-08T01:49:36Z")
Everytime I see Common, he pulls me right out of the story. What a poor and unbelievable actor. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/36 "2011-11-08T01:55:57Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Everytime I see Common, he pulls me right out of the story. What a poor and unbelievable actor. They may as well have put Wesley Snipes into that role. His 21st century black 'tude is out of place in 1865. Also, everybody in this thing is way too clean. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/37 "2011-11-08T02:08:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > They may as well have put Wesley Snipes into that role. His 21st century black 'tude is out of place in 1865. Also, everybody in this thing is way too clean. Well, I’m pretty sure he was trying to channel Denzel Washington in Glory (speaking of Western/Civil War movie cliches). But he just doesn’t have those acting chops… nowhere near. Mostly, though, I think this is a case of bad directing going on here and he/she is not getting the right performance out of his actors. The whole thing just has a disjointed non00chemistry vibe. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/38 "2011-11-08T02:53:41Z")
Also, my expectations have been enhancedm and I suppose I expect better from AMC, what with Breaking Bad and The walking Dead… I guess they all can’t be homeruns. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/39 "2011-11-08T03:03:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > They may as well have put Wesley Snipes into that role. His 21st century black 'tude is out of place in 1865. Also, everybody in this thing is way too clean. I don’t know, that t’baccy chewing whore had a nice crust, and the large bruise or hicky on her tit was disconcerting. But really that’s just an example of another cliche, that this show is rife with. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/40 "2011-11-08T03:12:33Z")
Another historical nitpick: Ted Levine said he was a Copperhead (i.e. pro-southern northerner) before the war but that he was conscripted into service. Again, his character might have been lying, but the character is obviously way over 40 (Levine is 54), nobody over the age of 35 was conscripted into service in the U.S. armies, and only a very minor percent of those were conscripted- most were volunteers. A man of 45 or 50 could certainly have _joined_ the U.S. Army, and he might have even been a paid substitute, but the odds are tiny if at all extant that he would have served against his will at that age. (Even the Confederacy, which was desperate for soldiers, stopped conscription at 45.) Also, Levine’s character and the guy killed in the confessional in the opening both said they took did terrible things on Sherman’s March. The main character’s wife was killed in Meridian, Mississippi. While it’s certainly possible they served at Meridian with Sherman and were later on his march and did really bad rude things during both, the Meridian Campaign and ‘The March’ were two very different events that happened several months apart (Meridian in Feb. '64, then the Atlanta Campaign through that summer, then the March from Nov.'64 through the spring of '65). # The implication was that the men considered Meridian a part of Sherman’s March, which it wasn’t and even those who were veterans of both would not have considered them the same thing. Meridian was a regular military campaign and “The March” was in many ways a whole new form of warfare that involved going off the grid/living off the land/deliberately inflicting terror on civilians/etc… French kissing the consumptive was mentioned earlier. Wouldn’t that make her damned near as good as consumptive herself? TB, especially then, was not only highly contagious (even my parents, born two generations after the war, remembered when houses that once had owners with TB sold for a fraction of similar houses- some lower class houses were torn down altogether because the land was worth more without the dwelling) but a man with consumption would have known it and probably prevented a woman he loved from kissing him to protect her. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069/41 "2011-11-08T04:56:22Z")
Another propaganda of the politically correct type that the civil war was fought over slavery. Slavery was certainly an issue of civil war but not the factotum nor pure reason, no matter how we choose our history in modern context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hell-on-wheels-starts-tonight/602069.md?page=3)