Fans of the show have to be pleased with how the first 2 weeks have gone. While last week was partly a get re-aquainted episode with lots of set ups, last night kick started the action and was one of the series best concoctions.
This show has to have prehaps the greatest single cast ever, there is not a weak link in the chain anywhere to be found. Well, I do think Timothy Olyphant is too pretty for his role and it gets in the way for me, but he seems to have improved as the weeks have rolled by. The work by everyone else is amazing, the casting is perfection and the storylines could not be better. This show continues to redefine screen violence and brutality and turn the English language on it's head to sometimes hilarious effect. I am in awe of it's brilliance and wish it was next Sunday already!

I completely agree. Until last night I've maintained that THE WIRE is HBO's greatest series but DEADWOOD is off to such an incredible start this year I'm ready to change my tune. This Hearst/Swerengen war is something to behold. It's absolutely mind-boggling and deplorable how HBO has botched this show's fate, whatever the reasons.

It seems like every character had a chance to shine last night. Kim Dickens as Joanie Stubbs in particular has slowly become one of my favorites, which I never would have predicted. And Calamity Jane, Farnum, and Richardson all kill me. "Were you born, and not egg-hatched, as I always thought?"

. . . yes, DEADWOOD has gotten off to quite a start this year - I thought it very amusing that the only candidate who actually raised any issues during the political speeches ("We need to move the graveyard" among other ideas), was the sort of goofy fellow running against Bullock - of course, the audience paid no attention to what he was saying as they drifted away . . . we re-watched the first two seasons right before the new season took off and it is really something how the town and the characters have changed since the early days . . . it is simply amazing how Milch has managed to keep so many very different people firmly in mind as they try to live, prosper, and deal with whatever life in DEADWOOD hands them - very few one dimensional characters are allowed to reside in this town . . .

An amazing show, one that I somehow managed to get my wife hooked on despite her unfamiliarity with it (that took a lot of plot and character summary, let me tell you). I particularly like how we're watching the birth of the Calamity Jane legend, and I'm pleased Wu is back next week.

I know the show bent over backwards to explain it, but what was Hearst trying to do by sending the diagram over to Al?

It was his ploy to lure Al into a false sense of security after the murder at the Gem. The diagram detailed a hit Hearst was sending over. If Al was smart enough, he'd figure the diagram out and save himself, which he did. Hearst sacrifced his own men to convince Al that he wanted to make amends for the earlier murder, and that the speeches could commence. It worked, and Hearst invited Al over to watch the speeches from his veranda, and then....

thanks!

Finally caught up with this season as they re-ran the first three episodes the other day. What a great series! Hearst showing his true side was one of the most chilling moments I've seen on a television show in quite awhile.

Except for some times on the Sopranos that is!

I do find myself securely ensconced on the f%#*$^g bandwagon, as a DEADWOOD character might say. Just caught the latest hour, in repeat on HBO 2 (where, I was irritated to notice a few minutes in, they run it pan & scan... c%*#@*$^*#s.)

I had found season 2 a slight letdown (meaning it was only extremely good and sometimes great, rather than a near-flawless masterpiece, like season 1). But Milch & Company are firing on all cylinders so far for season 3. The episodes leave me at once buzzed and slightly tired, and craving more, like the first ones did. DEADWOOD is my drug.

I felt a lot of characters were kind of treading water last season, while a lot of screen time was spent on political maneuvering. This time around, there's a lot more of the rich character interaction, growth and revelation that marked season 1.

I'm particularly happy to see Bullock getting more to do after fading into the background for much of season 2. And, John, my friend, I'll have to ask you to step out into the thoroughfare and back up your comments about Olyphant - I think he perfectly nails the character's almost Jekyll-and-Hyde contradictions; what you describe as Olyphant's "prettiness" expresses Bullock's I-walk-above-this-muck self-image that he's always trying to sell, most of all to himself.

Anyways...

Ok Michael, out in front of the Gem at high noon!
I have been thinking about Olypahnt and just exactly what it is about him that knaws at me of late.
As you say, last season he was a bit less front and center. His character is currently more involved and more interesting, and I may be changing my tune a note or two by seasons end.
For sure, Olypahnt's finely carved features stand out like a sore thumb next to all the other male players. Everyone else could pass for homeless ( almost ) compared to Bullocks sauve perfection. He does define a pretty boy for me, 'course that's just my opinion. I also find his physique a tad slender and slight considering how violent and tough his character is, it's a notch or two shy of convincing to my eyes. This dude would just flat out get his ass kicked silly in a no holds barred fight. To his credit, Olyphant does alot to sell the character and I do seem to have gotten used to him over time. I found him distracting for a long while because I had diffiiculties buying the actor in the role. This season the character is developing a bit more depth and I can see more shades to Olypahnts acting than just the slow burn and the explosive lid flying off the pot. I mean, what is this guys REAL problem? He's had serious anger issues since he hit camp, and Bullock seems more a cypher and less of a full blown charqcter comapred to almost everyone else on the show.
So I am feeling better about Olypahnt as the season progresses. Maybe we can hold off our showdown til after the last episode?

Hmm. Maybe. But again, for me he stands out in exactly the way he should.

Does the relatively high quotient of good-looking female players bother you?

Well, your mileage may vary, I guess. I've always related strongly to him, for reasons that I won't bore people here with. The "slow burn" and "anger issues" are part of it. Maybe that biases me, but I found that he and Al were the doppelganger soul of the first season, and I think the show works best when it grows around that paradoxical pair that way.

I just semi-rewatched the latest ep while doing some other stuff. I rarely did that last season, another sign that they're really cooking. I find these episodes are even better upon second viewing, and not just because I can catch dialogue I missed the first time around. I haven't seen a dramatic series since TWIN PEAKS that made me want to write down quotes from it all the time. Langrishe's "Do survive!" was maybe my favorite from this episode, partly because of Brian Cox's impeccably plummy delivery.

Count yourself lucky, John. Count yourself lucky.

Here come the Earps!

Hmm... did I miss something last night, Mike? I thought I was watching/listening closely, as always.

Been meaning to post some more on this thread, but no time now. I'll just pass along the comment that popped into my head recently: "The Great American Novel in television form." Probably it's been said before.

Earps were featured in the preview for next week.

You know, right after I posted, I knew that I shouldn't have asked. I've started avoiding the previews, to preserve more surprise/suspense.

But I asked. :rolleyes:

Thanks!

And I should have added a Spoiler warning up front too, my bad.
Funny, they don't have the recaps and previews on the DVD's or On Demand. They seem to only use them during the regular HBO airings, as if we are going to forget next week, or really need a reason to tune back in.

I don't know how they keep doing it. Surprising me... no, leaving my jaw on the floor... week after week. That one shot with Aunt Lou and Richardson... Al's closing solo scene...

And how do they keep coming up with characters who scare me, when it's been a parade of sociopaths from episode one? Hearst's new employees are unnerving, particularly that deceptively mild-looking, white-haired SOB.

Anyone hear any definitive word on the tentatively discussed two movies to wrap up the show? Is that actually going to happen? How can something this good just be allowed to die?

Naive &$^#in' question, I know.

I discovered DEADWOOD via DVD (I don't have HBO) and its great. I'm still getting through Season I and I'm excited about discovering all the stuff that's happened so far.

The writing in DEADWOOD is absolutely phenomenal - profane, Shakespearian, course, moving - David Mamet couldn't have penned it better!

Talk about revitalizing a genre that hasn't been visited in a long time!

Last night was an amazing episode that delivered just about everythingn a fan could want. Classic moments with Jewel and EB and some brutal plot development that really sets the stage for some big fireworks coming up. Bring it on!

Geri Jewell does so much with her character of Jewel in the short amount of screen time she has, she doesn't waste a second! Geri does have cerebral palsy, but she sure hasn't let it slow her down.

Holy &#%!!! Second episode in a row to leave me breathless and drained.

****************SPOILERISH BELOW FOR AUG. 20 EPISODE****************************





Do you think they can let ten days pass before the season finale? Enough time for Wu to get back with his countrymen? What I wouldn't give to see him leading a hundred armed Chinese down the thoroughfare.

And Trixie, honey, for god's sake, shoot for the head.

Anyone else think Langrishe was a goner in that moment in the hallway with Hearst?






**************************END SPOILERISH***************************************


From what I'm seeing online, it looks like the four-hour wrap-up is a go. Ian McShane said something in an interview about next May, although it wasn't clear whether he meant it was airing then or they were shooting it then. I have fair confidence that Milch et al. can pull off something special even under such limitations... but the cancellation is still one of the worst bum deals that quality TV has ever been handed. (I've seen some intriguing/frustrating information also that suggests Milch is far from a helpless victim of corporate boneheadedness in this whole fiasco.)

One way or another, I think I'm gonna be in mourning for a bit after next week.

Cancelled you say?

If they have time to effectively wrap everything up, then maybe that's a good thing. I love episodic television shows but popularity can lead to them outstaying their welcome and they start to tread water (X-FILES?).

I haven't seen any DEADWOOD yet - didn't really interest me - but the glowing testimonials on this thread urged me to pick up Season One, which I've just done but have yet to start. I'm always reluctant to take on a new series to engage with - time is the problem - but I embraced SOPRANOS for its writing, and its promise of proper closure after 6-7 seasons. I love the idea of a series being conceived with a proper third-act closure that makes sense of all that preceeds it. With DEADWOOD, I'm hoping that this has been anticipated and all the threads (that I've yet to enjoy) tie up. Wouldn't it be funny if they all turned up to film the last episode and the director just tossed the script in the trash and had everyone just shoot each other?

Given all the positive word here, maybe three seasons of perfect TV - preserved on disc and properly resolved - would be better than 6-7 seasons of repetition.

Which reminds me, I still haven't picked up (or seen) SOPRANOS SEASON 5!

Victor

Maybe SPOILER...

What rankles about the diminished DEADWOOD is that Milch only ever intended the series to last for four seasons, the exact length of time the Deadwood camp existed. Those of us who love the show are annoyed that HBO isn't letting it play out properly, but that's showbiz. I hope the seams don't show too badly in the proposed wrap-up miniseries.

A five-season SOPRANOS, minus episodes of navel-gazing in the past and I expect in the future as it winds down next March or so, would have been just the ticket. SIX FEET UNDER was smart to shut down when it did.

This from today's NY Post:

"HBO insists it intends to produce two, 2-hour "Deadwood" movies that will serve as finales of sorts for the series. With production tentatively scheduled to commence next spring, the movies won't likely hit the air until late next year or 2008. "

Well, at least we'll have that!

2008. That's just brutal. I think I'm still in denial about this whole thing. And knowing HBO they'll sit on the dvd release of season 3 for two years like they did with THE WIRE so they can market it and the first film together.

Great way to end up the season. I saw a trailer for Jericho and it looks like
Gerald McRaney is in it. He sure did a superb job in Deadwood!