What strange fate has had me slumber upon this gem for two decades? The subject of my thoughts is Deadwood, a TV show first aired in 2004. Being almost 22 years of age does not impede its qualities at all, on the contrary, it is still as valuable as the gold which is cause for its genesis.

Deadwood tells the stories of a colorful array of characters as they establish themselves in a camp in the Dakota territory during the gold rush in the 1870s, started first as tents on a muddy patch. The camp quickly turns into a prosperous town due to the abundance of gold found in its surrounding hills. While this is the catalyst for this story, the show takes its brilliance from the fascinating characters, and its very unique Shakespearean dialogue mixed with considerate amounts of profanity. Almost every sentence in this show is a delight to listen to, and while generally its topics are challenging, its dialogue adds a poetic and sometimes amusing nature to it. Make no mistake, while they may speak like 15th century poets, they are some of the vilest cocksuckers the Wild West has seen.

At least that is the cause for one of the main characters of the show, Al Swearengen, proprietor of the Gem, where comely whores, decently priced liquor and the squarest games of chance in the hills remain unabatedly available at all hours, seven days a week. He is played by Ian McShane, ironically a British actor, and is based on a historical character. He is certainly not a nice or likeable person, apparent in the treating of his employees and particularly his whore. Somehow, though, by the end of the first season, you start to understand that this cocksucker does care for the camp, and does what he can to bring it forward. Eventually, as the show progresses, even viler, more evil cocksuckers are introduced, that make him look like a positively great person? Mayhaps?

But there were good people too in the Wild West, the most notable of which in this show is Seth Bullock, a young merchant and former Marshall who comes to town to open a hardware store, but eventually evolves to be the sheriff. He is also based on a historic figure. He is certainly not without flaws, having a short temper, but he acts as a contrast to the more morally defunct Al.

And the cast of characters in this show, both good and evil and somewhere in between, is wholesome and delightful. Even the arguably least significant side character will grow into your heart by the end of the show, be it the bumbling cook Richardson, loyal to a fault Dan Dority, perching vulture E.B. Farnum, or the utterly loveable Charlie Utter. Every single character, no matter how much of a hoople-head or cocksucker, stirs emotion from joy to contempt.

Having spent 3 seasons and a movie with these characters broadened my horizons and taught me about life in the Wild West, which IMHO still affects the mindset of people there. Merely 150 years ago is not that long, but life then was so different. The idea of coming together for a common goal runs through this story and shapes the town and its people. It is also an escape into simpler times, where your world generally ended on the horizon, despite people having come far and wide to find prosperity. I loved Red Dead Redemption 2 for similar reasons.

My only issue with Deadwood is the lack of a proper ending. The show was not continued after the third season, and only 15 years later did it get a conclusion in form of a movie. The movie felt like whiplash, not only because it’s fairly obvious that it compresses the plot of what should have been an entire season into barely 2 hours, but also because almost all the characters look like they aged 20 years (as opposed to the 10 years later this takes place in the story). It concludes the story, but not in a satisfactory manner as a proper season would have.

Deadwood and unchallenged experience. It’s vile, offensive, realistic, brilliant, and so poetic.