DVD Review: Deadwood Season 1

'Deadwood'At first this is quite hard to get into, mainly due to the dialogue. Sporting more motherfuckers and cocksuckers than a gansta rap movie and more colourful expletives that would make your granny's toes curl with fright, it seems somewhat odd that your average everyday Western folk would spout such stuff. Within a few episodes though, this seems quite natural as you are immersed into the world of the grimy and filth spewing Deadwood.Set in the up and coming cesspit that is Deadwood, a sink hole little town in the Black Hills of Dakota just shortly after Custer had his last stand. This lawless little place is full of corruption, deceit and murder. Gary Cooper would seem so out of place in this muddy and bloody hyper real environment.

This series is filled to the brim of great characters, the above mentioned Ian McShane has never been better and fans of ‘Lovejoy’ will hardly recognise him here as Al, but there is such a wealth to get your teeth into. Alma Garret (indie fav Molly Parker) is a laudanum addict almost loosing herself into oblivion, and her husband meets more than what he bargained for when dealing with a possible gold claim. Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) is a war vet who has more than a few skeletons in his cupboard. Trixie (Paula Malcomson), a whore with a heart of gold but a knife in her hand, goes through more than just an emotional time. Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert), as you have never seen her before, she could make the paint strip from the walls just by breathing on them and what comes out of that mouth defies description, this is a long way from the folksy singing rootin’ tootin’ of Doris Day and the Hollywood musical. And then there is hotel operator E.B. Farnum (the ever reliable William Sanderson), a shrewd, weasel of a man with no end to his greed. These are just a few of the characters to walk the muddy streets that are not always paved with gold.

With the odd gory moment, people meet their maker and end up at a boot hill or more commonly as food for the Chinaman’s pigs. This is not the bastard child of the sanitised ‘High Noon’ or ‘Shane’ and in some ways harks back to the old serial westerns, but with it’s bloody and muddy look with frequent cussing, it is definitely something you have not seen before.

Unlike the Region 1 edition, this extra free territory, not a commentary or a featurette, but please do not let that put you off as this is very much class television, just make sure the young ones are firmly in bed first.