Deadwood

This stands out for me as one of the best series I have ever seen hit the small screen. The attention to detail,story and character is second to none. Deadwood is brought to life by the good, the bad and the very ugly- with some of the most wonderfully theatrically profane, but ultra-realistic dialogue of any western. True, you could question some of the dialogue for exactly how accurate it is to the time it is set- but it sounds absolutely convincing in the world they have managed to build. Lets face it- not too many Westerns even bothered all that much in the first place! The 3 series have impeccable standards of production, weaving some of the real historical events of the time into a fictional Old West testament. The degradation, ill manners, costumes, dirt, mud and profanities are all present and accounted for.

Aside from the "real" characters we know of from Deadwood (Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and even the Sheriff Bullock), we have some of the most unsavoury villains of the time as well.

The various stories, historical events and personal issues of the characters interweave with no discernible template or pattern to formalise the show. The only thing that is certain in the old West is that where the desire for excess, fortune and greed are combined, human nature will see to the rest.

Stand out performances are plentiful in this series- but Ian McShane is incredible, a true tour-de-force, a foul-mouthed, back-stabbing bad ass villain- who manages to humanise a repellent character in Al Swearengen.

As the series wore on, the writers broadened his character and nature a little more so it was unavoidable but to side with him- even agree with his nastiest ideas.

This was not a compromise or sell-out of the principally dark natured and notoriously ill-tempered brothel owner! "Sparks" of humanity seem to have warmed his character, particularly from his confrontations with the flint-like moral code & core of Sheriff Bullock (Timothy Olyphant). However, even Bullocks is prone to questionable actions, as he wrestles with his own conscience to resolve things in a "civil" way, or resort to a pistol-whipping to get the job done.

If you have never seen this- look out for repeats or go buy the box sets and enjoy the best Western experience ever made. My only regret is that its all over after 3 series (apart from a couple of 2 hour specials they plan to make to round it off.) Short but ever so sweet!!

I felt I needed to write after reading the comment made of the show. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but the individual the wrote the comment "Falls Short" does not know anything. I live in Deadwood and with the exception of stuff added by Hollywood to quicken the story it is quite close to our history. None of the characters are fictional, the all lived at one time. I admit the show in vulgar but cleans up as the show continues and the town grows from a miner's camp to a town. Don't let the first few episodes scare you off. The show is very good and quite close to the truth. If you like old west history you will love Deadwood.

Don't get me wrong, there have been great westerns to come before Deadwood, but none of them really got it right. There is just a reality that some people aren't willing to deal that after 50 years of our history being whitewashed through film and TV, we're finally starting to see the truth. David Milch has done his research and discovered the wonderfully bizarre contradiction of languages used in the old west. Watching the cast of Deadwood converse with a combination of old world English laced with profanity straight from the gutter is incredible and feels right for the first time. Where do people think our language came from? People always want to think that they were the first to do something, when things like profanity, substance abuse and prostitution have been around since before man walked erect.

Along with the incredible dialog and storytelling, David Milch has introduced possibly the greatest character to ever come to TV or film...Al Swearengen. Ian McShane plays Al with the same intense conviction and truth that the character himself lives by. In Al's world things are black and white and never apologizes for a second for living his life by a strict code of morals of his own making. I don't think we've ever seen a character go from crying after a mercy killing to watching a murder he orchestrated stone faced.

This is indeed a special show that is continuing to pave the way for the facts of our history to finally be told with truth...Instead of the whitewashing we've seen our whole lives to make us feel better about ourselves.

Deadwood truly is a special show! It is more than just a great western show, it's just a flat out great show in general! Everything about it is top notch. It's so good they even had to come back and make a movie over 15 years after it aired! Deadwood is on just about every "best show ever" list that you can find for a reason...because it is!

When you look up most underrated shows of all-time I guarantee you that you'll find Deadwood near the top of every list you find. This is truly a special show! Deadwood takes place in a fictional mining town in the U. S. post Civil War years. It's a lawless town that attracts people that like it doesn't have organized law and people looking to strike it rich after a huge gold strike. It is more than just a great western show, it's just a flat out great show in general! Everything about it is top notch. It's so good they even had to come back and make a movie over 15 years after it aired! Deadwood is not only on every most "underrated show ever" list that you'll find but you'll also find it on just about every "best show ever" list too. If you're a fan of westerns and looking for a great show to binge then give this a try.