Years ago, back when HBO was just a fledgling cable channel, I was one of the many who helped it become the juggernaut it is today. I loved the idea of having access to theatrically released movies faster than they could come out on video. But times changed, and I spent several years without any kind of cable service at all. It wasn't until about four years ago that I finally got cable, and then about a year ago, switched to dish. Of course I learned pretty quickly that even with 180 channels, chances are there isn’t a darn thing on that I want to watch. Thanks be to God for the advent of DVD. Now, even though I finally made the trek back to the world of multi-channel access, I still haven't added a single pay movie channel. I don’t have HBO, Cinemax, or even The Movie Channel for fear of paying extra bucks for movies that I already own on DVD. But here's the kicker, most of these channels have added original programming to their line-up, and in most cases… EXCEPTIONAL original programming.

Some of these shows are so good as to make me re-think my position on paying a little extra to see them. HBO in particular has led the pack in quality programming with shows like The Sopranos, Carnivale, Six Feet Under & Deadwood. Unfortunately, Carnivale was cancelled after its second season and Six Feet Under played its swan song after its fifth, but The Sopranos just keeps going.

A lot of these shows I've finally had the opportunity to watch, again thanks to DVD, and in my opinion the absolute best of the bunch is Deadwood. When the western series first aired I heard a lot about it through friends, and the general consensus was that it was one of the most brutal shows on TV. Its fictionalized story was set in the very real town of Deadwood in the Black Hills of Dakota, circa 1877. It was a mining town, where most of the population hoped to make their fortune by discovering a vein of gold or by servicing those who do. And by servicing, I mean selling them food and provisions, as well as drink and a… ahem… good time.

The town of Deadwood, as it is presented in this series is owned by a man by the name of Al Swearingen (Ian McShane). Think of him as the local mafia. He owns the town's only (at first) saloon and brothel, and has his hands in every dirty deal rides in on a horse. He is the go-to guy if you want to get your shop built… but be prepared that ding business with him is akin to selling your soul to the devil. But while he is the central figure in the town of Deadwood, he is not the central character. We see the toe nod Deadwood through the eyes of Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) , a man who has turned his back on his past as a lawman and comes to town with a new partner and hopefully a new lease on life. If he has it his way, he won’t have to deal in death anymore, but rather in hardware. Unfortunately, the town of Deadwood is not the place to come to make your peace.

After all of the brouhaha I heard about the series, I was bound and determined to see it for myself. I bought a copy of the 1st season on DVD and set aside several days to watch the 12 episodes that were available, but it turned out that I didn't need them. My wife and I devoured the entire set in less than two days. Regardless of the fact that we do, indeed, have lives… we were completely hooked from the very first episode and could not get enough. It was just that good. And as to the allegations that it was a brutal show, those were not exaggerations. The brutality of life in the old west was presented here front and center both physically and verbally. We learned quickly that any life could be ended with the snap of a finger and language, no matter who it was in the presence of, could make a sailor blush. Deadwod is undeniably a series I wouldn't let my kids watch, but when they are old enough to understand its attempt to recreate history I may introduce them to it.

Deadwood is also full of some extremely colorful characters, some of which are pulled right out of history. The 1st season introduced us to the likes of Calamity Jane, portrayed by Robin Weigert. Her portrayal is dead on from what I know of the real Calamity Jane, and the makeup job done on the otherwise attractive actress makes her an almost perfect match physically. Then we had Keith Carradine as Wild Bill Hickock, again portrayed exactly as I would have imagined him.

I'll have to admit that there isn’t a single weak performance to be found in the entire series. That being as it may, I have to mention a few standouts. Brad Dourif, who is probably best known as the voice behind the villainous Chucky, portrays 'Doc Cochran', the cantankerous alcoholic doctor… and probably one of the only people in Deadwood who actually cares about others. I've been a fan of Dourif's work for years, even though he has usually been cast in villainous or insane roles. His work in this series marks the finest of his career in my opinion, and he deserved to win the Emmy that he ended up only being nominated for. I'd also have to bring attention to Ray McKinnon, whose role of the Reverend H.W. Smith only lasted the 1st season. In what seemed like a throw away role at first, his character became part of a central storyline when he began to suffer the effects of a possible tumor. His performance was Emmy worthy, and his lack of a nomination was criminal.

But while the series Deadwood is people by so many colorful characters, the story arc boils down to the meeting of the two main men, Al Swearingen and Seth Bullock. In the role of Bullock, Timothy Olyphant nearly owns the show with his focused stare and nearly impossible to believe posture. He stands and stares as straight as anyone I've ever seen on TV. (It was actually kind of a relief to catch him in a recent episode of My Name is Earl, just to see if he could smile.) The depth of his performance is so dimensional, though you catch the majority of it through the simplest of expressions. On the other hand, Ian McShane is a barrel of a man as Swearingen. From his opening scenes in the first episode, he serves up one of the most terrifying characters in any recent series. He is a giant snake, ready to win you over with a drink and a smile one moment, yet can strike you dead within the blink of an eye. His is a ferocious character, motivated by greed and power, the latter he wields with an iron fist. Yet for all his blustering, you cannot help but wonder if there is something deeper at work in the man. I found this most evident in one of the final scenes he plays during the first season with the Reverend H.W. Smith. It is as equally shocking as it is poignant.

Last week, we received the 2nd season DVD set, and like the 1st, my wife and I got through it in less tan two days. Worried that the 1st season might have been a fluke, we were soon shown that it was indeed, still one of the best shows on TV. The plotlines that were beginning to gel towards the end of the last season became even deep and more complex as this new season moved forward. Bullock's decision to return to the post of lawmaker causes reverberations that even he could not see, as well as the secret affair he began with the widow Garrett (Molly Parker). And Swearingen's competition, in the form of Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe), becomes an even stronger focus of this sophomore season.

One thing I will say about HBO is that despite their unusually high cost for their DVD releases, they go to great lengths to try and make them worthwhile for those willing to spend the money. Their box sets are usually gorgeous, and this is the case for the Deadwood 2nd season release (as well as the 1st season). The discs are housed in a large brown box, which when opened in turn houses a foldout digipak. The digipak has all of the episodes listed, as well as all the commentaries attached to specific ones. Then when you unfold the digipak, the each disc has a picture of one of the main characters in what looks similar to an old tintype image.

And as for extras, HBO included 9 full length commentaries by various members of the cast and crew. I've listed them below, and as you'll notice the cast was given a lot of opportunities to be involved with the commentaries. So much so that in fact that three of the episodes have two separate commentaries each. So far, from what I've listened to form them, there has not been a boring one on the bunch. As god as it is to hear from some of the creative team, it is even more interesting to hear the actor's take on what their perspective of their character or a particular episode is.

You'll also find 2 excellently produced featurettes. The first delivers a little bit of a look into what the real Deadwood was like back then. We find that even though the stories in the series are mostly fictionalized, they aren’t too far off the mark of what could have been. They follow this up with an extremely detailed look at the making of the 2nd season finale. This is a fascinating featurette, but I strongly advise watching it after you've seen the episode.

HBO is releasing the 2nd season of Deadwood just a couple of weeks before the premiere of the 3rd season on TV. So that will give you just enough time to get the 1st and 2nd season sets and watch them ahead of time!!

Episodes:
A Lie Agreed Upon, Part 1 (Commentary by Timothy Olyphant & Ian McShane - Commentary by Molly Parker & Anna Gunn)
A Lie Agreed Upon, Part 2
New Money (Commentary by creator David Milch)
Requiem For a Gleet
Complications (Commentary by executive producer / director Gregg Feinberg)
Something Very Expensive
E. B. Was Left Out (Commentary by Kim Dickens, William Sanderson & Dayton Callie - Commentary by Powers Boothe & Garrett Dillahunt)
Childish Things
Amalgamation and Capital
Advances, None Miraculous (Commentary by John Hawkes & Paula Malcolmson)
The Whores Can Come (Commentary by Timothy Olyphant & Anna Gunn - Commentary by Ian McShane & Paula Malcolmson)
Boy-The-Earth-Talks-To

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Jim Beaver, W. Earl Brown, Kim Dickens, Brad Dourif, Anna Gunn, John Hawkes, Jeffrey Jones, Powers Boothe
Extras: The Real Deadwood - 1877, Making of the Season 2 Finale, 9 Audio Commentaries
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: HBO
Release Date: 5/23/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Deadwood: Season 2 an A+.