Deadwood ... How Many F-Bombs Can You Handle?

The HBO series "Deadwood" brings an awful lot to the table. I'm not going to lie to you: the money I spent on all three seasons was well worth it, and I deeply enjoyed nearly every minute. That said, there are some major cons to this show, so we'll break the series down "pro-con" style:

The Pros:

-Exceptional acting carries this show throughout.

• Timothy Olyphant does a solid job as the lead "good guy" of the series, playing Seth Bullock. Coming from Montana, the Bullock character gives us the traditional "I was once a law-man, but now I'd like to just make my money thank you" character that makes many of these westerns move. Of course it goes without saying that Bullock's vow of abstinence regarding the law worked about as well as Wyatt Earp's did for him in Tombstone. In Bullock the viewer finds a character with which to identify, for he is a man who is simply trying to make it in life. He often finds himself tied up in things which he wishes to avoid, and by the end of the run he is fully immersed in the politics of this most unpolitical of towns.
• As good as Olyphant is, Ian McShane steals the show with his presentation of saloon owner Al Swearengen. This is probably the best character actings I've seen in a television show, and McShane owns the role. Swearengen is, predictably, the bad guy as the curtain raises on the shows first season. He is vulgar, he is vindictive, and he is a murderer without remorse. In short, he is the man you love to hate. Still, McShane sells the character so well that before very long you find yourself quietly rooting for Swearengen to succeed. Halfway through the series there is a story arch which involves Swearengen trying (in vain for some time) to pass a kidney stone. The man is incapacitated, and the show suffers for his absence: you end up rooting for him to survive and recover as soon as possible. Quite simply, this show could not have, would not have succeeded without McShane's Swearengen.
  
• And beyond these two lead actors there is a strong stable of excellent performances. Robin Weigert is introduced early as Calamity Jane, and she sells the part so well that you might be shocked to find out that she is actually a very attractive woman (I know I was). Dayton Callie does an exceptional job with the role of Charlie Utter as well, starting off as a likable sidekick to Keith Carradine's excellent portrayal of Wild Bill Hickock, then developing into a character who made the scenes he was in better just by his presence. Other characters, including E.B. Farnum (William Sanderson), Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe), Trixie (Paula Malcomson) and Ulma Garret (Molly Parker) add depth to the show, and even "bit players" such as Dan Dority (W. Earl Brown) and Johnny Burns (Sean Bridgers) play the parts exceptionally well.
  

- The story arch keeps you guessing at all times, and they are not afraid to utilize a surprise death or attempted murder to remind you that you are in the "wild west" and that you should never expect the day to go as planned.

- The episodes run smoothly, with excellent dialogue and imagery, and they seem to be much shorter than their 50 minute (give or take) run time.

The Cons

- The vulgarity of this show will almost certainly force some people into not even giving it a try. The show's writers wanted to use modern vulgarity with the same frequency that 1870s vulgarity was used in Deadwood because they wanted the viewer to understand what a frontier town was really like. That ended up with the show averaging a reported 1.56 F-bombs per minute over its entire run, including 43 in the first hour of the show alone. As with many things in life, mother may have been right: if you speak in vulgar ways people may not give you the light of day to see how smart you really may be. With this show, the reality is that you have to fight through the first bit of vulgarity to see that the story is compelling, and that the vulgarity can be tuned into the larger picture.

- The abrupt end of this show is probably the biggest con for me. Three seasons, then canceled. No resolution of any real value to the end of the series. On the one hand, you can imagine what arch the characters would have continued to follow. On the other hand, like Teddy KGB, I am so unsatisfied.

In the end, however, this show is well worth the view. The acting alone makes it a masterpiece of sorts, particularly McShane's work. The vulgarity and abrupt end are only minor blips on the radar:

From My Point of View: 8 out of 10