Closest thing to Deadwood?
 

Not that I want an exact replica but I'm really loving the tone and setting of Deadwood. Only near the end of season 1, watching via DVD, way behind the times ... but I know it ends after S3, and that sucks.

Suggestions?

John from Cincinnati

There is nothing like it.

Yup. You will spend the rest of your days roaming the earth in an empty husk of a soul that knows there where will be no more new Deadwoods.

But at least you can call people squareheads and hoopleheads without them knowing what the hell you're talking about.

Best show ever made. The Wire is a close #2.

Good one.

Hell on Wheels looks interesting.

There's nothing like Deadwood that I can think of. The mix of profanity, grandeloquence, humor and violence doesn't fit into many narratives.

Storywise, the closest I could think of is Gangs of New York. Stylewise, Milch's work in the first season of NYPD Blue probably comes as close as anything could.

Setting is totally different, but I think that Game of Thrones (which only has one season so far) is similar in the machinations of some of the characters. Al Swearingen=Littlefinger=Gus Fring.

Thats probably right. BTW, Milch's new show "Luck" premieres on HBO in December. Looks interesting.

I never saw them, but how do "Carnivale" and "Rome" compare to Deadwood?

Rome was amazing, I wish there were more than 2 seasons. Carnivale was interesting, but I didn't think it was on the level of the other HBO greats. Truly, they're both worthy of watching.

The show itself is nothing like Deadwood but if you enjoyed Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bulluck in Deadwood, then check out Justified on FX. He plays a law-man in that as well, but instead of being the barely restrained strong/silent type as he is in Deadwood, he is a smartass somewhat trigger happy badass federal agent stuck in hillbillyville.

Yeah, definitely give Rome a shot. It's great if you like the historical Roman era. But if you're not into that so much, the show also spends about equal time on a couple of Roman soldiers. So you basically get to see one of the most influential times in all of Roman history through the eyes of the power players, and also through the eyes of a couple of grunts.

Great production quality. I wish they had done more seasons, too.

DVR set to record.

Not usally a western fanatic, but this looks good.

Carnivale was actually the first HBO show I got into. Before I even started watching Sopranos.

I think for me, the first season was all kinds of awesome, but the second didn't feel like it lived up to it.

Just to mirror other folks, there's no other show like Deadwood. And you're not likely to see one. For whatever reason (probably a century of pop-culture brainwashing...) much of the American public still romanticizes the west, and a lot of people didn't and don't like the idea that people actually cussed and ****ed and sliced and diced each other back in those days.

Rome, The Tudors, The Borgias

This looks interesting,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1699748/

AMC has been smashing it lately

Carnivale was amazing deep in the fact a lot of what was going on was for ones self to examine and process on how what they thought certain things meant. A buddy of mine and I used to have long talks about what we thought was going on and both had different ideas. In the end it was a mix of both of our ideas that actually was correct.

The show is well worth viewing.

Rome was another really good show but sadly it was cut too soon.

Rome and Deadwood probably have a decent amount in common at their core. Wide variety of characters at various levels of society who are largely all plotting for more power. Game of Thrones has a lot of the same thing going on as well. Definitely recommend both.

Deadwood is one of those shows I just flat out missed.

Got season one now, though. I'm looking forward to it.

You should dig it. Doesn't reach greatness immediately but also don't recall it starting that slow either.

Just finished season one & i'm really liking this show, just rented season three today, because my lame vid store doesnt have season two.

Al Swearengen is one of the best bad guy characters of all time, just great writing & casting, who else but the guys playing them could you envision for each character?

Farnum? dead on, Swearengen same thing, Olyphant fits, for Wild Bill i would've liked to see someone that looked more like him, but i think Carradine got the attitude right, which makes sense because he's a bit of a student of the wild west iirc. I've honestly laughed, tears, for days straight at the guy who played Jack McCall & how he needles wild bill at cards... well thats one in a row for you wild biiilll.

Great show, cant wait to start year three tonight.

Yeah, the cast is incredible. There really isn't a weak performance in the bunch. Even the more minor characters, like Johnny, are great. But I think the most underrated performance is Brad Dourif as Doc Cochran. He did some amazing stuff with that character.

The first three episodes of season three tonight were great, you can see where the actors are really growing into their roles & just the overall quality from writing to production are better & your right about Doc, he owns that character, looks like he might be lost soon though, the ****suckers puking blood...

Love this series, i've been looking for something Sopranos worthy for awhile, looks like Rome is next.

Carnivale is awesome. I actually preferred season 2 to season 1. Did ya'll know that the show was designed to have 6 seasons? Therefore, they had to tweak things at the end of season 2. The end of season 2 was awesome.

First HBO show I got into was "Oz." One of my favorite shows of all time. Second was "Six Feet Under." Love that show as well.

Just finished season 1 of Deadwood and God Damn if the season finale of season 1 wasn't one of the best episodes of TV I've ever seen.

I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to watch this show!

Yes. It's the first show you need to watch whenever you're done with whatever your current show is.

Currently, I'm catching up on How I Met Your Mother.

Deadwood will be next.

Cock - wait for it - sucker!!

Not directed at you, RB. It'll make sense when you start watching Deadwood.

Still smiled.

Wrong. He needs to stop watching whatever it is that he's watching now, and go watch Deadwood.

Yeah, probably.

I can't believe how many times I've heard the words "one who sucks the penis" and "prick" in the last few days, by the way.

Deadwood getting cockblocked by a sitcom is the funniest thing I've heard in a while.

This is funny.

The word "****" was said 43 times in the first hour of the show.[9] It has been reported that the series had a total count of 2,980 "****s" and an average of 1.56 utterances of "****" per minute of footage.

Finished season 2 last night.

Did the same guy play Jack McCall and Francis Walcott?

Oz

That was badass mother****ing show

Yup, Garret Dillahunt. And he also plays the dad/grandpa on Raising Hope. He's a great actor with a lot of range.

Dont feel like reading the whole thread but Im sure its already been mentioned - Hell on Wheels. Not as good as Deadwood but badass nonetheless

Agreed, but its nothing at all like Deadwood

Saw the sneak peek after the Boardwalk Empire finale.

Definitely had the Milchian flavor in the characters and dialog [though not stuffed with cursing like Deadwood], more in the sense of just dropping you into a situation with it's own rhythms and beats and expecting you to catch up.

It's not deadwood, but after 3 episodes I'ved watched of AMC's "hell on wheels" I'm becoming a fan of that show.

I thought that if HBO did it, it would be awesome. As it is, it's a show I'm recommending so far. I've got 4 more shows in the dvr and I'm anticipating watching them....and most shows I just don't care.

I watched every episode of Deadwood at least 3 times. For HBO to pull it after 3 seasons was ****ing reeruned. It's by far the best thing they've ever done, (sands Sopranos seasons 1-4 and Oz).

Rome was just ok, Carnival was on it's way somewhere but cancelled, (don't even get into it).

AMC seems to have it going on, I'm going to check out Hell on Wheels this weekend.
I haven't watched Justified but from what I've heard, it's completely different from Deadwood...

If you haven't watched Oz, go to Amazon and buy a box-set. You won't be disappointed.

I have really enjoyed Hell on Wheels as well. I know the reviews have not been great but I have enjoyed the characters and the story of the show to this point.

Justified is one of the best shows on television. Great story and even better and well delveloped characters.

As for Oz, that show was and will always be one of the best things HBO has ever done.

Justified has retained a good deal of Elmore Leonard's [who created the character] voice. For those unfamilar, Leonard also authored 'Out of Sight,' 'Get Shorty,' and 'Rum Punch' [which went to film as 'Jackie Brown']. He also wrote 'Three-Ten to Yuma.'

So picture a Kentuckified version of those films, with the straight-laced lawman who has endearing personal weaknesses/egos and unconventional, charismatic, lawbreakers, exchanging tense and fascinating dialog that eventually builds to epic showdowns and/or mutual detante.

And its great in so many ways. One week it will be a huge rousing speech. The next there will be a momentary eye-roll that just slays you. Then out of nowhere there'll be massive carnage that has you rocking in your seat, arms wrapped around your knees, murmuring nonsense.

Raylan Givens is the best character on TV for my money! Love that guy.

Mags, both in the performance and the story arc they gave her, sure gave him a run for his money last season. Boyd hasn't been a slouch either.

Oh, and speaking of 'Out of Sight' [which went to TV as 'Karen Sisco'], Carla Guigino has a recurring character next season. Character's named Karen Goodall, don't know if it's a continuation/evolution of Sisco, or some new character altogether.

Oz flew under the radar bigtime. It really got stronger as the seasons went on. The story arc with the O'Reilly brothers late in the show's run was absolutely perfect. Oz was very much like the Wire in that it had numerous interesting characters and a number of different stories being told at different levels.

Mags was a great character and I do also love Boyd. Boyd is a close second to Raylan. I love how conflicted Boyd is as a character. One minute he wants to do the right thing and the next he is plotting something evil. love it!

I missed about the last half of the last season of Justified. Anyone know where I can go to watch them? (besides the obvious torrent download)

Amazon instant or Itunes, $2.99 an ep. Hulu airs them free 30 days after network airing, but have taken old eps off at present.

Thanks for the info. $3 an episode is definitely worth it to get caught up.

*EDIT* Damn, Amazon has both seasons for $20 each. I'll probably just buy them.

Did you ever watch The Wire?

Is Justified serial or Criminal of the Week?

Serial (at least Season 1 was).

Good.

Once I finish up Deadwood, I think I'll start on Justified.

I haven't clicked on the Homeland thread as I'm just now watching it, but have you seen that show yet?

Actually, a bit of both. Certainly less serial than S2. They had story arcs that carried through [the Crowders, the ladies, Pappy, what to do about Miami], but they also had standalone stories [the dentist cartel accountant, that lady with the stables and the guy who collect paintings by Hitler in order to burn them]. It was a cause of concern for the more navel-gazing of critics [ie, what kind of show does this want to be? Deep musings, eh"]

Yes, and it's ****ing awesome.

Let me know what you think about it at the end of season 1.

I watched the first 5 episodes or so of season 1. The last one I watched I think that there was some kind of shootout with a black guy at the walkway of some nice house. Can't remember. I know I stopped watching it because it felt too episodic for me, but I also felt as if Walton Goggins started becoming the big bad. I should have kept watching.

Because of this thread I just watched season 1 of Deadwood. Thank you peeps because this show is awesome!

It's really unique that they can make the "bad guy" (Swearingen) so likable. Hes hilarious, smart, evil, and even compassionate.

I'm a fan of Olyphant, so I think Justified will be next.

That show had the makings of being the best show ever created. But hey, we got John from Cincinnati in its stead.

:( :#

Goggins character isn't really the big bad. By the time the show ends he may be, but for now he sort of goes back and forth.

Al is the older, harder edge JR Ewing & Tony Soprano rolled up in one... seeing you rave about this show makes me deeply regret not getting past season 3, i'm going to fix that... incredible tv, each show its own movie.

Easily the best show on TV.

Ehhh... Game of Thrones.

I love both.

There's a new series on Starz in the Spartacus slot on Friday nights called Magic City, about a Miami hotel owner in bed with the mob. The head mob guy definitely reminds me of Al Swearengen.

I honestly regret seeing E2 OTG, giving me nothing GOT for tonight. Perhaps a rewatch?

Seconding Game of Thrones.

I wish I could say Walking Dead, but I really can't.

I finished the first season of Deadwood tonight. It was as good as I've heard. I love it.

But, now I want to use "C-sucker" all the time, like it's "jerk" or "asshole".

(Wow, didn't know that was filtered.)

Season 2 is just as good.

Haven't watched season 3 yet.

Can you let me go to hell the way I want to

Hell of a line.

I loved Deadwood but hated the way it ended. It was like ****ing the hottest girl ever and never getting a nut. If they could have finished it properly it would have been the greatest show ever.

Without reading the entire thread I would suggest the following: Breaking Bad, The Wire, and Generation Kill. If it's a western you crave check out Lonesome Dove. Robert Duval is incredible.

What's the deal with using the same actor for two different roles in seasons one and two. Confused the hell out of me. I was thinking, is this his long lost twin, or what? Weird.

Dude me too. It unnerved me throughout the whole season.

Haven't seen season 3 yet.

They hired a GREAT Actor for a limited role then needed another. End of story.

he played both roles great, didn't bother me one bit.