For someone who’s been brought up on Gunsmoke and it’s ilk, Deadwood is a major kick in the nuts. A gritty and realistic portrayal of the Wild West, the series shatters every conceivable myth and notion held by an average TV viewer. Some might need therapy if they were really glued on to their Western ideals.

Characters that inhabit DEADWOOD are dirty and grimy for whom baths are a rare indulgence. The men are unshaven, the women unglamorous, there’s obscenities and nudity (sometimes full frontal) in plenty, the good guys are people with issues and the bad guys are, actually quite entertaining. Ian McShane as Al Swearangen, who plays the self-appointed boss of the camp and owner of the Gem Saloon, is an irresistible concoction of a manipulative bastard and a ruthless killer with a sunny disposition.

The series is inspired by and based in part on factual events and people that inhabited the illegal settlement of Deadwood during the 1870’s. Some fictionalization is understandable to maintain the edge and interest in the series.

Cast regulars that we become familiar with - aside from the afore mentioned Swearangen, in no particular order are: Seth Bullock (Olyphant) - half-owner of a hardware store, a man who’s straight as an arrow and a total foil to the slimy Swearangen. Then we have the famous gunslinger Wild Bill Hickock (Carradine) - a friend of Seth’s, but a damaged man who’s at odds with himself and his legendary status. There’s Calamity Jane (Wiegert) - Wild Bill’s foul-mouthed sidekick, Charlie Utter (Callie) - Wild Bill’s friend and manager, Doc Cochrane (an excellent Dourif) - the bitterly sweet doctor of the camp, Rev. Smith (McKinnon) - the unofficial padre with a serious case of seizures, Trixie (Malcomson) - the cliched whore with a heart of gold, albeit one with a mouthful of expletives, E.B. Farnum (Sanderson) - owner of the camp’s only hotel and an accomplice in everything that Swearangen does, and many other such characters that keep the the plot mechanism running at full steam.

Attention has been paid to period detail and costumes, with very realistic sets & designs.

Pilot episode has been helmed by Walter Hill - a director who knows a thing or two about Westerns (and who may/may not have a thing for Wild Bill).

As far as Westerns go, you will never see it in the same light ever again.

Season: 1
Episodes:12
Cast: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Keith Carradine, Brad Dourif