Deadwood

One thing about her character which grated on me was her reaction to Swearengen and Tolliver - The rootin' tootin' cussin' facade collapsed into abject terror which, of course, hinted at abuse at the hands of alpha males. Aside from being a bit trite, that aspect to Jane wasn't really explored.

Talking of trite, we then got the 'hot lesbo bath romp'.

Jane - I don't think Milch knew quite how to paint her.

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Jane's a difficult one - rolls in with Buffalo Bill, a guy she obviously worships & is left bereft after his killing in a town/camp dominated by strong males. I see a case of over-compensation, trying to be as tough as all the men in the only way she knows how, trying to drink as much as them, cuss as much as them & over-doing everything. & I think Tacitus is right about the history of abuse - her alpha male (abuser?), Bill was killed & suddenly there are 2 even stronger ones around & she's terrified.

It's only later when she's actually shown respect in her own right, that you start to see the gentler (?) side, the more sensitive (???) side, the caring (???) side.

I think the character is one of the real highlights of the writer/s.

I'm up for a complete rewatch of Deadwood, actually. If you've got the DVDs with the extras, the commentaries are also well worth a listen, especially the McShane/Olyphant ones.

I could go for a re-watch as well. Although I've already seen it several times. I'd agree that the first two seasons are some of the best TV ever made, although they were on HBO so I'm not sure this can really be called a TV show. There's a lot of movies out there that don't have half the production behind them that HBO can muster, but even so, really, really great show.

I've always felt though, that it ended too soon and that really put a crimp in the season 3 story arc.

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That's my one big problem with the show, PW - Milch discovered that HBO were pulling the plug so he tried to fit too much into Season 3. The actor's troupe, for instance.

Apparently it cost an absolute fortune to produce and the viewing figures weren't great.

Around the time of its cancellation I heard that Milch was planning to do a few feature-length episodes to tidy up the story but they got canned. He did get complete control over John From Cincinnati though, and boy did that go well.

I guess she never totally bothered me because she does get such great lines. Then again, everyone does. See, the revival of this thread means I'm going to have to pop some discs in and rewatch the whole series.

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Including one of the greatest characters:



"SWEGGGGGGIIINNNNNN!!!!!"

The above is probably the only line I'd be allowed to repeat

She may well be a very well written character and I get what they were trying to do with her in some respects. Maybe it's the performance that bugs me, though again i'm sure that's part of the character- putting up a facade that can't be seen past. Meh. Either way, rather they killed her.

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AAAAArrrgh, you guys-- Now I'm all fired up to do a series re-watch!

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Me too, but I've just started the 6 seasons of 'Oz', after which, 'Carnivale' is in the queue.

God bless HBO & Christmas pressies

Oh, Carnivale is a wonderful show. BUT, even worse than Deadwood, its abrupt ending really was abrupt. They didn't have warning that the show was going to be cancelled, and so you'll find it a bit frustrating.

But still worth watching. More gorgeous period-cinematography, great acting, and wonderful characters. Also very realistic and rough.

But I'm still miffed about that sudden ending. LOL

Yep, I loved Carnivale too and it's a crying shame that it got treated even worse than Deadwood. At least Milch was able to reach some sort of conclusion.

Carnivale could have been another Twin Peaks.

Well, hey, same dwarf.

I concur with all of you guys in that Deadwood ended too soon, because it's one of the all time great shows. I don't think there was ever better dialogue in a drama series.

That being said, the ending was terrific. Al scrubbing the blood stained floor of his quarters when Johnny walks in.

"wants me to tell him something pretty"

We all wanted the show to end 'pretty'; perfectly wrapped up. We all wanna be told something pretty. But often times, life isn't like that either. You don't always get what you want...

**** it, I'll rewatch it too.

Okay, so, show of hands: How many of us will be rewatching Deadwood soon because this thread was revived?

(raises hand) Me!

That's one.

Like I said, I will too, but I probably won't be able to keep up with the rest of you guys. I'm currently watching Dexter, Modern Family, Community (as of next week), Borgen, American Horror Story, and The Borgias.

I'll be able to squeeze in a couple of episodes a week I reckon.

Once I get Mad Men season 2 out of the way.

I did a season 1-7 Sopranos watch before Christmas - Deadwood will seem like a short jog down to the shops for a paper compared to that...

...But much meatier.

mmmmm meaty jogging!

I remember how I first heard about the show - Belfast-bred Paula Malcomson's (very proud) dad rang up a local radio show just as season 1 was wrapping to announce that his daughter was about to star in a new American TV series. He sold it so well I immediately went online to try and get more information on it.

I don't remember him ringing up when John From Cincinnati was about to be premièred.

Recently bought all three series for £15 on DVD and started watching them.

Watched 8 episodes so far, and I'm in love already. I've avoided going through this entire thread as to not spoil myself, but read Holden Pike's excellent post on the first page and can only agree with what he has said based on what I have seen so far.

Now I am really beginning to love these characters, Al is by far the best for me, so complex and intelligent, he essentially runs the town and attempts to make decisions best for both him and the people around him, since they introduced rival saloon owner Cy I've enjoyed these two characters together.

The dialogue is excellent, again Al is the best written character, everything he says is absolute gold (get it?), it's often brutal but just completely hilarious.

I'll probably avoid posting in this thread too much until I've seen all three seasons and then I might discuss is further with you guys, but nice to see there's a lot of fans here

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