In the fall of 2009, I spent 18 weeks reviewing every episode of the TV show Freaks and Geeks.  I loved that series and was so sad to see it end after one season.  If you have never seen Freaks and Geeks, please go here(the last episode) and watch episodes at your leisure. 

I have decided it was time to watch another one of my favorite TV series, another series that ended abruptly.  Deadwood...I don't think any words of my words to describe the series in its entirety could do it any justice.  Like the real life Deadwood, South Dakota, the series Deadwood was one hell of a wild ride.  No other show has had such an influence in my life.  I drove to Deadwood the weekend after I watched the entire first season just so I could say I was there.  I also tried to grow facial hair like one of the main characters but because of my stupidity that was impossible. When I was about 3, my dad was a heavy smoker.  He left a lit cigarette in his ashtray and I tried to be like daddy.  I put the cigarette between my lips.  The lit end went in first.  There is a spot on my lip now where I don't grow hair.  So when I tried to grow a moustache it looked ridiculous.  Anyway, Deadwood...awesome.

Timothy Olyphant stars as Seth Bullock

Ian McShane stars as Al Swearengen proprietor of the Gem Saloon (real Al third from the right)

Keith Carradine as Wild Bill Hickok

Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane Cannary

There are more members of the cast but I just wanted to focus on these four.

Episode Summary: After executing a last act of justice as a Montana marshal, Seth Bullock relocates to a gold-mining camp known as Deadwood, where he and partner Sol Star look to start a hardware business. Bullock soon crosses paths with another new arrival - legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok - and clashes with the formidable boss of the Gem Saloon, Al Swearengen. For his part, Swearengen must handle the deadly result of a run-in between one of his whores and a trick, while brokering the sale of a gold claim to wealthy New York socialite Brom Garret. When reports come of the massacre of a frontier family by Indians, a suspicious Bullock and Hickok ride out in search of survivors; for Swearengen, the results are bad for business.

My Thoughts: This is the start of something beautifully ugly.  I think I am going to sit back and let you share your thoughts on the episodes.

Trivia:  Death Toll: 4
This episode shows Wild Bill Hickok arrive in Deadwood after Bullock and Starr. In reality, Wild Bill first arrived in Deadwood in mid-July. Bullock and Starr arrived in Deadwood on August 1st, 1876, the day prior to Hickok's death.

Jeffery Jones's newspaperman character refers to himself as an "ink-stained wretch." This term for reporters wasn't coined until the early 20th century, either by Alexander Woollcott or by early sportswriter Trent Frayne.

When Calamity Jane draws her revolver and orders Doc Cochran to wait for her, it is a Colt Peacemaker. As she puts the gun back in her holster, it is a Richards Mason conversion of a Colt cap and ball revolver.

As Dan Dority and Brom Garrett prepare to leave to check out Brom's claim, they give each other the "thumbs up." It is believed that this gesture was first used in America by pilots in World War II (1939-45). The show is set in 1876-77.

Seth Bullock states several times that he was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, when in fact he was born July 23, 1849 in Amherstburg, Upper Canada. Ontario is one of the four original provinces of Canada when the federal nation was created July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 (or 'BNA Act') came into force

Most of the male leads have a historical counterpart.  The Metz family, Calamity Jane, Sol Star, E.B. Farnum, Al Swearengen, Seth Bullock, Wild Bill, Charlie Utter, Reverend Smith, and Jack McCall are all real life people although the TV series takes artistic license with the characters.

The music in the closing credits is "Hog of the Forsaken" by Michael Hurley.

Total number of times the word "fuck" is said: 55
Fucks per Minute: 0.917

Enjoy the show!