The Old West gets a refreshingly unromantic, gritty, grim portrayal in this effective pilot to an unfortunately short-lived series. Series creator David Milch (who also scripted this episode) introduces us to the characters and situations, nicely setting most of them up as complicated individuals - characters are, for the most part, not written in simple black & white terms. The dialogue is overflowing with a hilarious amount of profanity, and the violence hits hard. Still, there is time for some humor here and there. Mostly, what this viewer appreciates most about this series was the rich assortment of character-actor talent that was amassed: many supporting and bit parts are played by familiar faces.
Timothy Olyphant takes center stage as Seth Bullock, a former Montana lawman who moves to Deadwood, South Dakota, to open a hardware store with his business partner Sol Star (John Hawkes). Soon after, a legendary name arrives in town: the gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine), along with an entourage that includes Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert). Among the people to whom we're introduced is local mover & shaker Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a tough, potty-mouthed saloon owner.
This rich cast also includes Molly Parker, Jim Beaver, Brad Dourif, Paula Malcomson, Leon Rippy, William Sanderson, W. Earl Brown, Jeffrey Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Ray McKinnon, and Peter Jason, and the script allows many of them time to make a vivid impression. Olyphant does some effective underplaying, allowing for veteran talents like McShane and Carradine to dominate the screen in showy roles.
Directed by longtime feature film action specialist Walter Hill ("48 Hrs.", "The Warriors", "Extreme Prejudice", etc.), this is complex, intelligent, absorbing material that was well-researched and definitely feels authentic, through and through. If you pay enough attention, you see interesting things happening in the background (like a graphic, 19th century incarnation of dentistry). Solid entertainment overall.
Eight out of 10.
Timothy Olyphant takes center stage as Seth Bullock, a former Montana lawman who moves to Deadwood, South Dakota, to open a hardware store with his business partner Sol Star (John Hawkes). Soon after, a legendary name arrives in town: the gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (Keith Carradine), along with an entourage that includes Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert). Among the people to whom we're introduced is local mover & shaker Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a tough, potty-mouthed saloon owner.
This rich cast also includes Molly Parker, Jim Beaver, Brad Dourif, Paula Malcomson, Leon Rippy, William Sanderson, W. Earl Brown, Jeffrey Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Ray McKinnon, and Peter Jason, and the script allows many of them time to make a vivid impression. Olyphant does some effective underplaying, allowing for veteran talents like McShane and Carradine to dominate the screen in showy roles.
Directed by longtime feature film action specialist Walter Hill ("48 Hrs.", "The Warriors", "Extreme Prejudice", etc.), this is complex, intelligent, absorbing material that was well-researched and definitely feels authentic, through and through. If you pay enough attention, you see interesting things happening in the background (like a graphic, 19th century incarnation of dentistry). Solid entertainment overall.
Eight out of 10.