Deadwood

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

HBO is packing more violence into its Sunday night programming. But this time, instead of Bolognese and severed heads, it’s whiskey and…well, severed heads. Deadwood witnesses the birth of a far West pioneer town—two weeks after Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn—that boasts no law and plenty of everything else. The whores pack pistols, murder victims become pig feed, and surviving until sunset marks a successful business day. At the center of action is the whorehouse, run by the drug-dealing, alcohol-pushing Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), and includes two notable newcomers: former Montana sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and none other than Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine). The nearby gold mines drive the local economy (i.e., concealed murders), but Al and the newbies have different ideas about how to run the lawless town. NYPD Blue creator David Milch is given free reign with the language and nudity, but the overlapping story lines will be just as interesting to track. Deadwood should slide into HBO’s Sunday night lineup like a snug pair of assless chaps.