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Deadwood (seasons 1-3)
It only took me a year to get through all three seasons, but I have FINALLY managed to watch the final two episodes of Deadwood yesterday, after having the disk from Netflix for like a month or something.
I have NEVER, ever, no seriously never, been more shocked (and horrified, and goddamn SAD, but that's not really the correct word) watching a TV show than the moment Ellsworth was shot in the head and killed. I loved Ellsworth. That was singularly painful. I must be more heartsore over the series 4 finale Doctor Who than I realized, because to then add Ellsworth being killed like that on top of it, well, I was a babbling idiot for the rest of the episode, to the point where my roommate had to ask if I was okay. I was *prepared* for DW to rip my heart out. I was most emphatically NOT prepared for Ellsworth being killed. It made the actual final episode of the series anticlimactic and kind of whatever for me. Especially since Hearst wasn't killed; I was starting to get a little blood thirsty by the end.
TV is painful, man. /o\ It hurts too much.
...
okay, enough of the dramatics. *g*
So, Deadwood!!
--I found myself just sort of grooving to the cadence of the dialogue, my ear becoming tuned to the twisted flow of sentences and meaning. Must have been such a trip to write for that show. One time while watching my roommate (who is an actress, mind, and has performed Shakespeare many times) stopped for a minute and then got up and was like "ugh! iambic pentameter!" and like ran away, which made me laugh.
--Like Shakespeare, it was when a character's dialogue broke out of its meter that always raised goosebumps of "oh dang, that was important". I loved that.
--Everyone said I would love Al Swearengen and, based on the first four episodes where I really had a hard time sticking with the show because I just couldn't take him and just how ugly the whole show was and the misogyny, I NEVER would have thought I would really like him. I mean, I know all about likable dislikable characters, I'm well aware how easy it is to like a character with questionable morality despite yourself, and that's what I assumed everyone meant with regards to Al Swearengen, that you know, he's a bastard you kind of love to hate with maybe some grudging respect.
--I did not realize, however, that I would really grow to love him! It crystallized when Hearst's man was beating the crap out of him, but then really sort of blossomed in the final 4 or so episodes, especially when Alma was shot at. (And on a side note, why is Ian McShane not on my TV more?? I amused myself the other day with imagining him as the eleventh Doctor on DW. He's British! He could so do it! And OMG can you imagine!! He'd be the most frightening Doctor ever. That thing that River Song said about armies turning and running when facing the Doctor would be completely believable).
--I admit I was really becoming weary of the misogyny, though. True to history or not, treated with unvarnished honesty or not, I could only take so much.
--Also, the first season was very good, more than good, jaw-dropping in its excellence, but the show lost some cohesion in the second and especially the third season. I could only get mildly interested in most of the secondary plot points that had not much to do with Seth, Al, Sol, Alma, or Trixie.
--After Bill Hickok, who remains the character I loved the most, I love Sol Starr, then Seth. I loved Seth's wife and was very glad she didn't leave after the death of her son. I loved Alma, but was kind of glad her and Seth's relationship was cut short, and was really really really rooting for her and Mr. Ellsworth to have a good marriage. I'M STILL DEVASTATED. I'M SO SAD DAMN IT THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING AWFUL, and also not historical so it didn't even need to happen like Bill's death. God, I'm just. *sob*.
--I LOVE Trixie, and Sol/Trixie, and Jane and Jane/Joanie Stubbs. I loved Jewell. I adored Doc Cochran and I'm really very relieved I don't have to watch him die a slow and gurgling death. I formed deep affection for Dan Doherty, and Johnny, and was beside myself with worry Dan would be killed. And I kind of want a Richardson of my very own.
--ETA: I forgot to say that I also loved Charlie Utter.
--I did NOT, however, form any affection whatsoever for E.B. Farnum. I found him tedious and disgusting, not amusing, and generally serving no purpose, not within the show, or on a meta level, either, historical accuracy not withstanding.
--I also grew tired of the unrelenting cold-hearted attitude of Cy Tolliver and Hearst. There was no variation there, nothing to give real interest. I find Powers Boothe to be exhausting to watch as an actor. All he does is bite out his dialogue through a locked jaw and look vaguely menacing. The actor who played Hearst was at least outstanding.
--Surprisingly, I did not find myself annoyed with Brian Cox, who played Jack Langrishe, even though I normally can't stand him. Although I found myself bored with the storylines surrounding the theatrical troop. I'm sure it was all building for future episodes, but I quickly lost interest.
--Random Wyatt Earp is random. wtf? Not that I wasn't thrilled to see Gale on my TV again. Hello, goodlooking! He should have random guest appearances on every TV show, I say.
--Can someone explain the antler thing?
--Could have done without the killing of Jen the prostitute to save Trixie, even if I didn't want Trixie to die. The whole prostitute thing, and don't get me started on Wolcott and all of that, in Deadwood was the only part of the show that literally made me ill; I just couldn't deal with it anymore. By that point, in the final episode, I was quite ready to walk away from Deadwood forever, and kind of glad I didn't have any more episodes to torment myself with.
--In conclusion, it was fucking brilliant, and I loved it, and I'm rather glad I'm done.
eta: argh. damn it, one day I'll manage to cut away correctly. sorry!
I have NEVER, ever, no seriously never, been more shocked (and horrified, and goddamn SAD, but that's not really the correct word) watching a TV show than the moment Ellsworth was shot in the head and killed. I loved Ellsworth. That was singularly painful. I must be more heartsore over the series 4 finale Doctor Who than I realized, because to then add Ellsworth being killed like that on top of it, well, I was a babbling idiot for the rest of the episode, to the point where my roommate had to ask if I was okay. I was *prepared* for DW to rip my heart out. I was most emphatically NOT prepared for Ellsworth being killed. It made the actual final episode of the series anticlimactic and kind of whatever for me. Especially since Hearst wasn't killed; I was starting to get a little blood thirsty by the end.
TV is painful, man. /o\ It hurts too much.
...
okay, enough of the dramatics. *g*
So, Deadwood!!
--I found myself just sort of grooving to the cadence of the dialogue, my ear becoming tuned to the twisted flow of sentences and meaning. Must have been such a trip to write for that show. One time while watching my roommate (who is an actress, mind, and has performed Shakespeare many times) stopped for a minute and then got up and was like "ugh! iambic pentameter!" and like ran away, which made me laugh.
--Like Shakespeare, it was when a character's dialogue broke out of its meter that always raised goosebumps of "oh dang, that was important". I loved that.
--Everyone said I would love Al Swearengen and, based on the first four episodes where I really had a hard time sticking with the show because I just couldn't take him and just how ugly the whole show was and the misogyny, I NEVER would have thought I would really like him. I mean, I know all about likable dislikable characters, I'm well aware how easy it is to like a character with questionable morality despite yourself, and that's what I assumed everyone meant with regards to Al Swearengen, that you know, he's a bastard you kind of love to hate with maybe some grudging respect.
--I did not realize, however, that I would really grow to love him! It crystallized when Hearst's man was beating the crap out of him, but then really sort of blossomed in the final 4 or so episodes, especially when Alma was shot at. (And on a side note, why is Ian McShane not on my TV more?? I amused myself the other day with imagining him as the eleventh Doctor on DW. He's British! He could so do it! And OMG can you imagine!! He'd be the most frightening Doctor ever. That thing that River Song said about armies turning and running when facing the Doctor would be completely believable).
--I admit I was really becoming weary of the misogyny, though. True to history or not, treated with unvarnished honesty or not, I could only take so much.
--Also, the first season was very good, more than good, jaw-dropping in its excellence, but the show lost some cohesion in the second and especially the third season. I could only get mildly interested in most of the secondary plot points that had not much to do with Seth, Al, Sol, Alma, or Trixie.
--After Bill Hickok, who remains the character I loved the most, I love Sol Starr, then Seth. I loved Seth's wife and was very glad she didn't leave after the death of her son. I loved Alma, but was kind of glad her and Seth's relationship was cut short, and was really really really rooting for her and Mr. Ellsworth to have a good marriage. I'M STILL DEVASTATED. I'M SO SAD DAMN IT THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING AWFUL, and also not historical so it didn't even need to happen like Bill's death. God, I'm just. *sob*.
--I LOVE Trixie, and Sol/Trixie, and Jane and Jane/Joanie Stubbs. I loved Jewell. I adored Doc Cochran and I'm really very relieved I don't have to watch him die a slow and gurgling death. I formed deep affection for Dan Doherty, and Johnny, and was beside myself with worry Dan would be killed. And I kind of want a Richardson of my very own.
--ETA: I forgot to say that I also loved Charlie Utter.
--I did NOT, however, form any affection whatsoever for E.B. Farnum. I found him tedious and disgusting, not amusing, and generally serving no purpose, not within the show, or on a meta level, either, historical accuracy not withstanding.
--I also grew tired of the unrelenting cold-hearted attitude of Cy Tolliver and Hearst. There was no variation there, nothing to give real interest. I find Powers Boothe to be exhausting to watch as an actor. All he does is bite out his dialogue through a locked jaw and look vaguely menacing. The actor who played Hearst was at least outstanding.
--Surprisingly, I did not find myself annoyed with Brian Cox, who played Jack Langrishe, even though I normally can't stand him. Although I found myself bored with the storylines surrounding the theatrical troop. I'm sure it was all building for future episodes, but I quickly lost interest.
--Random Wyatt Earp is random. wtf? Not that I wasn't thrilled to see Gale on my TV again. Hello, goodlooking! He should have random guest appearances on every TV show, I say.
--Can someone explain the antler thing?
--Could have done without the killing of Jen the prostitute to save Trixie, even if I didn't want Trixie to die. The whole prostitute thing, and don't get me started on Wolcott and all of that, in Deadwood was the only part of the show that literally made me ill; I just couldn't deal with it anymore. By that point, in the final episode, I was quite ready to walk away from Deadwood forever, and kind of glad I didn't have any more episodes to torment myself with.
--In conclusion, it was fucking brilliant, and I loved it, and I'm rather glad I'm done.
eta: argh. damn it, one day I'll manage to cut away correctly. sorry!