Just enough Deadwood

I recently finished watching Deadwood’s third and last season on Netflix. Best television series I’ve seen, which is especially high praise considering that I often had to go to the Television Without Pity website afterwards to decipher the dialog I just heard.

It’s an extremely violent cowboy Western showing the founding of a new town, much of it written in Shakespearean style, complete with iambic pentameter. That alone is enough to make it interesting. The crowning point is that deals with the physical and moral sacrifices to find a home and develop “civilization,” with costs you weigh for yourself, for people you love, and for people who stand your way.

I had felt there was a serious flaw in the third season, but the finale fixed it in my opinion. I can’t write about the flaw without spoiling the finale, so I’ll just put something in the comments. Still, the first season was the best. I know the show was canceled only because of poor ratings, but I think that might be for the best.

Great story, great dialogue, great acting, and I’m glad it ended. Highly recommended.

(And now I just watched Battle Royale. This high-quality violent stuff is a little disturbing, especially when I seem to appreciate it.)