My husband and I have been getting the Deadwood DVDs from Netflix. The first season was intriguing. The second season seems to be slowly unraveling. We just watched episode 8 and I’m not sure the writers have a clue where it’s all going anymore.
Do they? Is it worth sticking with?
There are a lot of Deadwood fans on this board(I’m one of them); but I suppose it’s not for everyone. I haven’t seen the show in a long time, I don’t remember what’s happening in season 2 episode 8; but I can tell you that sometimes it’s a slow-burn build up. It’s a quality show. Stick with it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Warning: the series was expected to run 4 seasons but was cancelled in the third, so some of the plots that were building into a long arc suddenly get clipped and there’s a rushed feeling to the final season.
OTOH, Gerald MacRaney’s George Hearst is one of the most despicable (and therefore one of the best) villains in TV history. He makes Al Swearengen seem like Captain Kangaroo by comparison.
I think the first two seasons are really good and the third is sort of a mess that peters out at the end. So if you’re in the middle of season two and still not into it, you may as well stop.
Even though the third season was truncated rather sharply, it’s still better than 95% of the other TV out there. I think you’d be mad to abandon the show now.
It’s worth watching just for Keith Carradine’s Hickok and Robin Weigert’s Calamity Jane. Both of them disappeared into the characters completely. Actually, the entire cast turned in career performances.
Something I’ve observed about the show is that story lines converge rather than diverge, which is unusual for television. New characters show up and you have no idea why they’re there for a couple of episodes… and then you do.
We’ll stick with it then. Thanks!
At least stick with it through the fifth episode of Season 3, “A Two Headed Beast” with the fight between Dan Doherty and Hearst’s #2 man, Captain Turner. A real honest-to-goodness down and dirty street brawl that is one of the most realistic and the grittiest fight scene ever filmed.
I agree with this. Its going nowhere but down. Bale. Or is it Bail? Not sure now…
I loved every minute of Deadwood, so of course I think you should watch it. Just watch out for the unauthorized cinnamon. Cocksucker.
Keep watching. The conclusion to season two is quite satisfying, and even though season three left more story to tell, it was still damn good. There was quite a furor when the show was cancelled – on-line petitions, apologies and excuses from HBO and Milch. People cared.
Seconded. This scene is amazing. Never seen a thing like it. I’d put it in my top five moments of Deadwood, period.
The first episode of season three also has a great moment of Bullock absolutely losing his cool.
Otherwise, season three is largely forgettable.
My husband wishes I’d give up but I decided to plug on ahead with it. We watched S2E9 tonight, and it held together much better than the previous episode. I’m sorry the doctor wasn’t in it, he’s my favorite character. Mostly I’m just happy to watch the opening credits over and over and over and over and over…
Yes.
It is one of the best fictional fights I have ever seen.
Everyone should watch all of Deadwood and The Wire, full stop.