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Dr. Bombay Gives HBO's DEADWOOD Three Stars!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
“Dr. Bombay” is good with this series. Other opinions appear to be in line. USA Today gives it 2.5 stars. Entertainment Weekly gives it an A-. I’ll be watching. Can you resist?
Deadwood 1.1 FAQ
Isn't it weird that HBO is doing a western? I mean, aren't those
usually left to TNT or CBS?
Isn't it weird that HBO is doing a western? I mean, aren't those
usually left to TNT or CBS?
As you might imagine, a western from the people who brought us "Oz" and
"Hookers On the Point" is not like anything you'd see on TNT or CBS.
What do you mean, Bombay?
Let's put it this way. You know how most westerns look too clean?
Sergio Leone's fabulous spaghetti westerns were about the grungiest ever
made, but you still came away from them thinking that things in a world of
much violence, little law and less deodorant would have been nasty
beyond belief. "Deadwood" attempts to capture why it is any normal person
would not want to go back in time and live in the old west. Put your
cowboy fantasies away. This place is awful.
How so?
I won't get into a history lesson, but basically Deadwood (in the late
19th century) was a real place in what was then known as the Dakota
Territory; a mining town on Sioux land that was outside the laws of the
United States. Not quite a town, it was a community that sprung up around
the discovery of gold. But as the show's tagline say: "It's a hell of a
place to make your fortune."
So it's a historical drama?
Only in the sense that it's set in a real place and features some real
characters, including Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. As series
creator David Milch ("NYPD Blue") said when asked about historical
accuracy: "I want to make it clear I've had my ass bored off by many things
that were historically accurate." That in mind, I do not know whether
dead bodies were actually fed to pigs in Deadwood, or if entire families
were actually wiped out for their meager belongings, all of which
happens in the first two episodes. That's just the beginning. This is the
foulest place on Earth.
Hmm. So what's good about it?
Plenty. First of all the cast. We meet the aforementioned Hickok in his
declining years, played magnificently by Keith Carradine. He's one of
the good guys. Also good is Timothy Olyphant ("Go") as Seth Bullock, a
former lawman and fast gun who's come to Deadwood to open a hardware
store. As his partner, Sol Star, actor John Hawkes is just wonderful. A
bit of trivia: Hawkes was the guy in the roadside store who got shot up
and burned by the Gekko brothers at the beginning of "From Dusk Till
Dawn." The great Brad Douriff is also on hand as Doc Cochran, the town
medic who initially gives us the impression he's a mad doctor. By episode
2 however we want to be his friend. Another character to watch is
Calamity Jane, played by Robin Weigert. The famous sharp shooter and roper
has, like Hickok, seen better days, but can still scare the crap out of
most men. And speaking of scaring the crap out of most men, Ian
McShane, who was so chilling as the gangster Teddy in "Sexy Beast," is
Deadwood's devil incarnate -- a villain among villains named Al Swearengen. In
the absence of any real law, he's the closest thing Deadwood has to a
mayor by virtue of sheer strength and willingness to kill someone over
nothing. A classic struggle begins to take shape the day Wild Bill
Hickok and Seth Bullock arrive seperately in Deadwood. As good guys they
bond right off and pose an immediate threat to Swearengen's evil empire.
Beyond that what's good about "Deadwood" is great writing, pure and
simple. I made much earlier of the grunginess of the town and its people,
but as with all great, compelling drama the secret to this show lies in
the authenticity of its characters. The show is perfectly cast and
extremely well written.
What's bad about it?
Nothing, really. The episode is directed by Walter Hill and it's a fine
one. But it's the second episode that really makes me believe this show
will be something special (more on that next week). If you watch
"Deadwood" try to reserve judgement until you've seen at least two episodes.
Trust me. Some have given the show bad reviews for its language. My
ears aren't all that sensitive but I will admit I think the language does
go over the top. The prisoners in "Oz" had better manners. The guys in
"Reservoir Dogs" were more erudite. David Milch, who's something of an
academic, swears (no pun intended) that people in the real Deadwood
spoke this way.
The show premieres right after "The Sopranos," so comparisons are
inevitable. Go on record, Bombay. Which is the better show?
I refuse to compare them after just one episode of "Deadwood." However
the more logical comparison might be to "Carnivale." Both shows are
period dramas and they have similarly heavy tones. Dr. Bombay’s rating for “Deadwood” 1.1?
***
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
***** better than we deserve
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins 9 p.m. Sunday. HBO
Watch “Wonderfalls”!! Herc says it’s the season’s best new show!! 9 p.m. Fridays!! Fox!!
Looking for bumper stickers, plush toys and girls’ underwear covered with cute cartoon double-amputees? Visit The Herc Store!
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+ Expand All
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yup, it's true. I wish I had HBO, this show sounds interesting. Too bad, I'll just have to wait for the DVD set. PLus, it can't be as good as Wonderfalls. No new show could be, even one on HBO, with it's ridiculous buidgets and no commercials. Those fucking shows shouldnt be compared to netowkr shows. It's not fair. As good as they are they should not be fucking allowed to be in the running for the Emmy's. They have an incredibly unfair advantage. I love HBO shows but Fuck them, seriously. Let them be their own thing and not in the same league as the lame network television.
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Even though I don't think I'm living in the wild west, I think I want some episodes before all the other rubes. Give it to me!!! Now!!! Second!
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THE BOMB DIGGEDY!!! Booyah!
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Yaayyy for me!!
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I am stone-cold sober. And I have no desire to be a cowboy. And I'm excited about this show, though I know almost nothing about it.
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I'm curious about checking out this show. This is exactly the kind of broader coverage and discussion of other shows Coaxial benefits from that others have been arguing. More please.
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deadwood will do for the tired western what sopranos did for the tired "been there seen that" gangster genre.
BTW- yer mom's box in 2004 -
Ian McShane will redefine bad ass and Samuel Jackson needs to be brought into the series so they can have a rivalry/cus off. Princesshhh.
off topic--- how could trey and matt be left off of EW's funniest people in america, whatta rip. -
The makeup for this show consists mostly of dirt.
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This show is going to rock, and rock hard. Bring it on! (Also, while you're at it, bring on Season 2 of Carnivale, please!).
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Just about anything directed ny the great and underrated Walter Hill is worth watching
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Woo! Hoo! She's great!
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...were both about Billy 'the Kid'. First off is Peckinpah's masterpiece 'Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid' with some of the filthiest looking sumbtiches I've ever seen. But with a gang consisting of LQ Jones, Harry Dean Stanton, Luke Askew, and Bob Dylan (!) that's to be expected. Second is 'Dirty Little Billy' which just about says it all. It's not quite as good as 'Pat Garrett' but it's probably a helluvalot grungier. The fantasy world of Sergio Leone with its 60s fashion cowboys ain't nothin' compared to these wallows in the mud.
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Is that the john cusack western you're talking about? Though not a typical western, Ride with the Devil is one of my favorites.
............. And where's the "Alias" news, reportedly Lena Olin is returning. -
New York Kid, The Jack Bull is the name of the John Cusack western - and HBO played it earlier in the day, obviously in anticipation of the Deadwood debut.
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where the hell is the Alias talkback........
spoiler space--- A new rambaldi tidbit, a box with someone's name on it(A certain spy's mother) -
... is the mist under-rated and grungiest television western ever.
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Somewhere around "The Wild Bunch" (a great, great, great movie), the Western went all dirty and grungy and filthy, and its been that way ever since,
"Unforgiven" probably being the best of that bunch. "Deadwood" is par for that course. I guess that's more "real," but hell, "Rio Bravo" "High Noon," "Shane," "My Darling Clementine" and "The Magnificent Seven" were a lot more fun with a lot more honor to 'em. I know, I know, they were fantasies, the West wasn't like that. But "Deadwood's" nothing we haven't been seeing for the last 30 years ("Doc," "Dirty Little Billy," "Great Northfield Raid," etc etc etc.) -
Herc, what's the deal with the lack of Alias previews/reviews, or even a single talkback. Tonight's episode was pretty good, and that look on Jack's face at the end of the episode was gold... Oh, he so knows now. I just wanted to know where the Alias coverage on the site has been!
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Does anyone remember Hill's Wild Bill with Jeff Bridges in the title role and a great performance by Ellen Barkin as Calamity Jane?
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Herc only likes the stare into the camera with your lips slightly open while crying overacting cookie-cutter actresses or he would have mentioned Molly "Kissed" Parker is in it.
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Hey!!! Molly is great! Obviously you have never seen Twitch City!
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I love westerns. Really. Grew up when Bonanza, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Rifleman were in 1st run. I really wanted Deadwood to be good. It isn't. I didn't care about anybody or anything in the town at the end. Thirty seconds of boobies at the end did nothing to salvage it! LOL.
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I didn't get it at first either, but he's calling OTHER actresses dead-eyed stare-into-camera with lips-parted types, not her. And yes, she's delovely and de-exellent and I can't believe Herc didn't mention her. Check her out in Rare Birds. ( props for a Newfoundland movie sneaking in here )
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Mar 23, 2004 3:49:13 AM CST
just want to remind you that herc wants you to jerk off to wonde
by cornstalkwalker
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I haven't been this excited since the debut of "Tombstone." "Deadwood" is just what the genre needed to get Westerns back on the map. Now watch and see how many actors/actresses line up for guest appearances.
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I went in with low expectations & really enjoyed this. Great job all the way around on the casting. Mcshane kicked ass,(especially w/that final stare),Olyphant's got a young Bill Paxton thing going on,but what got me was the smaller roles.If you'd told me I'd enjoy any show w/principal Ed Rooney,Larry(without his Darryls)& the handicapped girl from The Facts Of Life(the gun provider),I woulda laughed in your face.Judging by the promo for next week,Bombay's right on the money about this one only getting better,you limp dicked cocksuckers.
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After about the 20th f--ing sentence and the Brad Dourif brain prodding scene, my husband and I just lost it. Who in the heck thinks this is great TV?? We couldn't stop laughing and the melodrama just got worse and worse. We saw every plot "twist" a mile away, and the more serious the actors got, the funnier it got. It was like Tarantino had decided to do a Western. We'll tune in again only if we need a serious dose of the ludicrous.
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Mar 25, 2004 2:50:19 AM CST
"basically Deadwood (in the late 19th century) was a real place.
by kilwolski
I hate to break it to you ya, Herc, but Deadwood STILL IS A REAL PLACE JACKASS!!!! Er...I know this because I live in the fucking shithole. So I would like to take this time to perform a public service to anybody who is thinking of spending their family vacation in Deadwood this year after viewing this series, thinking that it will be like stepping back in time and entering the old west...
DON'T FUCKING DO IT! THE TOWN SUCKS FOUR KINDS OF ASS AND ONE KIND OF DICK. It's become nothing more than a fucking low rent gambling town. Think Las Vegas minus the glitz, glamor, Wayne Newton, and good looking whores and that's pretty much what Deadwood is now. And even that description does it far too much justice than it deserves.
So please whoever you are, don't ruin your family's vacation this year by coming here. Go to Disney World. Go to Hawaii. Go to places where you can actually have a good time! DON'T COME HERE!!!! -
Dec 26, 2010 6:00:30 AM CST
I hope anyone who thought it was shit is now eating their words
by iamnicksaicnsn
Probably tied for the best show ever. Too bad it didn't end.
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