Deadwood, season 1

[selenak]

While I'm in bed sipping tea and trying to get rid of that pesky cold:

I watched the first season of Deadwood this last week and decided that so far, there hasn't been a HBO-produced tv show I haven't liked.

Comments

[buffyannotater]

Now: is there any fanfiction?

It has been my experience, for whatever reason, that if it is an HBO show, there won't be much fan fiction. I'm not exactly sure why, but as far as I know, even Carnivale, the most culty of the network's shows, never spawned a huge amount of fan fic.

[ion_bond]

Yeah, what's up with that, anyway?

But then again, I haven't had much luck in my attempts to write Deadwood fiction either.

[selenak]

Checking through some people's ljs, I found about four or five stories... and they were Sol/Seth slash. Figures. Mind you, not that I object to Sol/Star, it just wasn't what I was interested in. And that was it. But perhaps I must just look further?

True about HBO, and I don't get it. Lots of interesting characters! Good writing!

[lynnb]

Hope you're feeling better!

Season 2 will be out on DVD next month, and season 3 will be telecast in June, and I can't wait. There was much written about the rhythm of the dialogue, which for some people is difficult to follow at first - then I read the scripts are written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. It makes more sense after finding that out :)

Of course some people believe that people did not curse like that back then, or spoke so formally, but according to David Milch he has the historical documentation to back it up, and I believe it.

[kalypso_v]

I read the scripts are written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

That's interesting - I kept saying last season that it felt as if Swearengen and Trixie were speaking in blank verse, but it didn't occur to me it was written that way! It's a pity so many people have got distracted by the swearing, because I think the use of language is one of the show's great strengths. Farnum's fantastical speeches are a joy, and the scene where Mr Wu attempted to explain the situation armed only with "Cocksucker!" and "Swear'gen!" was one of my favourites.

[lynnb]

I totally agree, there is too much emphasis on the swearing. The language is so rich, and even at its simplest, as you said with Mr. Wu, it's better than most anything else on television right now.

[selenak]

Re: unrhymed iambic pentamenter - now you're making me wonder about Firefly dialogue as well because if would be just like Joss to steal pay homage to that. Fascinating, anyway.

[kalypso_v]

I love it to death, though I'm afraid I don't think Bullock's very interesting. My theory of the first season was that he was frustrated in his love for Sol, and flirting with Wild Bill and Alma to try to provoke him, while Sol was suffering guilt about being completely uninterested. Otherwise, what on earth was that bit where Bullock blurted out about Trixie to Swearengen? But by the second season, I just stopped worrying about Bullock, and enjoyed everyone else. Swearengen is a role to die for; I love Sol and Trixie; and in the second season, which is even better, I began to love Dan Dority too, and Richardson.

And that was the most tender murder I have ever seen.

Get well soon.

PS

[kalypso_v]

Rome is crap, though.

Re: PS

[buffyannotater]

Huh. I adored Rome.

[selenak]

Looking forward to the second season then, and may I ask whether you have made these icons yourself or whether you found them somewhere, and if so, where?

[kathyh]

it shows how little I know Western legends if I admit his death came as a shock

Whenever he played cards I was waiting for them to show him with a hand of aces and eights, which I think are the cards Wild Bill was holding when he was shot, now called the Dead Man's Hand, but of course they didn't!

What I loved about Deadwood is that we started off wondering what the hell was going on and ended up caring about more or less everybody no matter how dark they were, though I must admit I've never particularly warmed to Seth.

Now: is there any fanfiction?

I haven't read any as it's one of the shows I'm content to just watch but killabeez has a page of recs up here. Warning: I strongly suspect the vids contain material from Season 2.

Hope your cold is better soon.

[selenak]

See, you're obviously far better versed in Western lore than me. *g*

And thanks for the link and the warning!

[thepouncer]

People have written Deadwood stories for yuletide. I think I remember that most of them this year dealt with the second season, though.

[selenak]

Are there spoiler warnings?