4105 replies to this topic

[JuniperBerry]

HBO's new show Deadwood starts soon, and I can't wait myself. Hopefully, it won't turn out to be just another show about dirty people in the old days. I mean, it's right up Aaron's alley, but still. Has anyone heard anything more concrete about what it's going to be about?

For anyone that hasn't heard of it yet, it's set in the Old West, in a town called Deadwood. So far, it looks interesting, but I'm still waiting for HBO to add it to its site. It starts Sunday, March 21st at 10 pm.

I watched the special that aired yesterday, Feb 29. So far, so good. It's set in a town that actually existed, Deadwood, in the Black Hills. It was a goldmining town that had an influx of thousands of people all at once, because supposedly there was gold in them thar hills. People were discouraged from going there, because the claim land was on Indian territory; the Indians themselves didn't want them there, either. Deadwood got a reputation as being more or less lawless, and it's going from there. The big characters are a former sheriff named Bullock, a saloon owner, pimp, and all around baddie named Swearengen, and ... Bill Hickock. and Calamity Jane. The last two make me worry, but supposedly they're trying to base this in reality as much as possible. I'll still give it a shot.

Edited by JuniperBerry, Mar 1, 2004 @ 6:10 AM.

[farinacus]

So far, it looks interesting, but I'm still waiting for HBO to add it to its site

It's on there now.

Any show with Larry, even without his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl, is worth a look.

[iluvrupert]

I'm a big poker nut, and it looks like card playin' is a central theme of the show, so I'm excited. I can't wait to see how they handle Wild Bill Hickock and the origin of the "dead man's hand".

[JuniperBerry]

iluvrupert right there with you. Did you see the poker contest HBO is running to promote the show? 6 winners will be flown to Vegas to play, and the winner of that game gets flown back to Vegas again in April to play in the World Poker Championship.

[gwgisel]

Deadwood looks great from what I have seen (the "Making of" and the ads). Someone already posted a link to the HBO site where there is a ton of information about the show, which premiers March 21 at 10:00 pm.

[Ruvane]

Brad Dourif is in it, which means I'm there. Jeffrey Jones too, although the whole child pornography thing makes me less excited about seeing him in stuff.

[Nocona]

I'm pretty excited about this show, I'm a westerns junkie. Is TwOP re-capping it? I hope so, my HBO crack is wearing thin with SaTC over and SFU and Carnivale taking so long for new seasons. I hope this is good.

[JuniperBerry]

I'd love it if TWoP recapped this show, but if they haven't announced it by now, I'm betting they won't. Poor Aaron's got enough with Sopranos at the moment, taking on another hour long show would probably be the death of him.

The show looks fantastic, and I completely can't wait. I want to see Calamity Jane, a truly kickass old west female. I'm confused on one thing, though. The HBO site says she's devoted to Wild Bill, and he's married, but they don't state that she's his wife. Does anyone know the story behind that?

[Eliot]

There was an article about the show in this week's Time Magazine which compared it to other HBO shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, where the lines of good and evil are not clearly drawn. The jist of the article seemed to be that these shows represent a more sophisticated take on a particular genre, i.e., cop shows that are more about the political corruption at the top echelons, mob shows where the bad guys are not always totally bad, etc. It also drew a lot of parallels between these shows and movies from the '70s like The Godfather, Chinatown, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which all represented a similar departure from the traditional "good guy vs. bad guy" themes.

It made me very excited to watch Deadwood. There are very few HBO shows I don't like anyway, but I love every one of their dramatic series.

edited to prove I DO know the difference between "cut" and "paste."

edited again to remind myself that maybe it's not such a good idea to have wine with lunch.

Edited by Eliot, Mar 17, 2004 @ 4:20 PM.

[justsmile]

HBO Goes in Search of 'Deadwood' From Zap2it

[JuniperBerry]

Perhaps the only thing dirtier than Deadwood itself is the language, which is salty even for HBO.

Saltier than Six Feet Under? Damn. That's salty.

[alsep73]

A whole bunch of reviews/articles in today's papers, including:

The New York Times (reg. required)

Associated Press

SF Chronicle

Boston Globe

Philadelphia Daily News

Saltier than Six Feet Under? Damn. That's salty.

I've seen the first few episodes, and they're so profane that even Nate Fisher would probably watch and say "Do they have to curse so much?" Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you.

Edited by alsep73, Mar 19, 2004 @ 6:25 PM.

[alsep73]

And a profile of "Deadwood" creator David Milch

[Rose235]

It sounds as if Deadwood is going to have the language and violence of Sopranos mixed with the dirt of Carnivale. Sign me up!

[Eliot]

I prefer to think of it as "Oz in the Old West." Random murder, lawlessness, and foul language, all in a single hour! My kind of show!

Edited by Eliot, Mar 21, 2004 @ 1:29 PM.

[Carrabuda]

Just watched the first episode. Amazing. McShane is rivetingly intense, Olyphant is cute as a button, and it's good to see Keith Carradine again. The duped city slickers plot is my favorite thread so far.

I suspect the little girl will be joining her family soon.

[tarragon918]

First impression - WOW, that was -a lot- of violence and a whole heck of a lot of cussing! It's probably fairly accurate of what the West was like in 1876, though. I hadn't been following the previews for Deadwood but knew I was going to watch it, so was surprised to see "Larry" there. Took me about 5 minutes before I could place that voice! I -think- that the woman who was helping the whore (guess she's like a maid or something?) was the girl who played "Blair's" cousin on Facts of Life (Geri Jewel), but I may be wrong. I'm not sure that I can take so much graphic violence, but I'm going to try to hang in there; I love historical-based works like this (like Lonesome Dove). More later as I chew on the premier episode ...

[Nocona]

I loved it, but then again I'm always a sucker for a western. expecially when they're trying to be realistic.

It might've been a little slow in times and I had trouble following what was going on sometimes with Swearingen and his conspiring.

I came into this knowing about the profanity, which doesnt bother me. But I dont think I've ever heard "cocksucker" used so much.

I can tell the doctor will be a colorful character, and the newsman was quite pathetic, yet funny.

I'll have to re-watch to catch everything.

[TudorQueen]

I really liked it. Don't remember seeing Timothy Olyphant before, but he was wonderful, brought a terrific gravitas to his scenes - he has a real presence. Carradine was wonderful, too, and the whole gritty look worked for me. It did kind of remind me of Carnivale in an odd way.

And Ian MacShane was awesome as Swearengen. I think he's going to be one of the most memorable villains of the season.

[jkingstl]

I -think- that the woman who was helping the whore (guess she's like a maid or something?) was the girl who played "Blair's" cousin on Facts of Life (Geri Jewel), but I may be wrong.

Yup, it's Geri. Saw her name in the credits. Great to see her work again!

"Hi Mrs. G! Have you seen Tootie?"

Okay, I'll stop now...

[wigglepuppy44]

I loved it too. I just put my thoughts down on IMDb, but I want to share 'em here, cocksuckers:

great script, acting. Infused my dream tonight with yellow smoke and dust...

I really hope people watch this so we can see where this goes!

"Wild Bill" used to sleep with rolled-up newspapers on the floor around him so he could hear a potential assassin approach. I guess he's not really a gunslinger in Deadwood anymore; something's gotta happen to make him crazy again. Anyone?

I'm hooked.

ETA: why are people so shocked by "the seven words you can't say on television"? They're just words, damnit. Sticks n' stones, yo.

Edited by wigglepuppy44, Mar 22, 2004 @ 2:51 AM.

[jolly_roger]

Man, I wish I'd had the bear's grease and mustache wax concession for that town. I'd have been a millionaire. (Assuming Swearengen didn't have me whacked first.)

Good show. There were characters to root for, like the former sheriff and his partner, and characters to revile, like Swearengen and Douriff's nutso doc, and there are characters like the city slicker, who are just sad. How funny was it to see him head off for a day of prospecting, dressed to the nines?

If I hadn't known that Geri Jewell was in the cast already (thank you IMDb), I'd never guessed that was her. Now I'm on the lookout for Greg "voice of Beast Boy on Teen Titans" Cipes. He plays some guy named "Miles Anderson." Was he the sour-faced young blonde guy in the funny hat (I know, take your pick), or has he even appeared yet?

[Rose235]

I liked it but had trouble with understanding some of the dialogue. There were lines where I really had no idea what was being said but figured that I would just get it eventually.
Carradine and McShane - really good.
Who is playing the new-to-town dry goods salesman? He is really good.
Love all the moustaches!

[catrina]

Man there is a lot of HITG! going on this show. But that also means the cast is pretty stellar.

I also had a hard time following the diaglogue. Names were being thrown around before I even had a chance to figure out who's who. But I didn't have a problem sorting out the first plot.

So did anyone think that the dead-guy-to-be in the first scene was going to be magically saved somehow? Or they were going to tell his backstory of three-days earlier? I have to say that it "shocked" me that there was a trick to save him, nor did his story even seem to matter. Guess i'm too used to the deus ex machina plot.