Reading Deadwood: A Western to Swear By (Reading Contemporary Television)

Apart from its brilliance as television, it’s amazing what “Deadwood” gets away with. This acclaimed series from HBO, which premiered in 2004, is set in the teeming outlaw camp of ‘Deadwood’. It has been described by “Variety” as ‘a vulgar, gritty, at times downright nasty take on the Old West brimming with all the dark genius that series creator and sceenwriter extraordinaire David Milch has at his fingertips’. All this and more. The international cast of authoritative contributors assess “Deadwood’s” many facets: its profane language, its characters, from Al Swearengen (who lives up to his name) and Calamity Jane, to B.B. Farnham and Mr. Wu, its place in the western genre, “Deadwood” and serial fiction, prostitution, the making of American civil society, “Deadwood’s” Chinese, the opening credits, Reverend Smith and much more. Episode and character guides complete the book - the “Deadwood” companion for fans and students to swear by. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Contributors......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 Part 1 Characters......Page 24 1. All Swearengen, Philosopher King......Page 26 2. You Motherfucker......Page 38 3. Six Shooters and the Fourth Estate......Page 48 4. Why Wild Bill Hickok had to die......Page 58 Part 2: The Women of Deadwood......Page 72 5. Myth Maketh The Woman......Page 74 6. Whores, Ladies, and Calamity Jane......Page 94 Part 3: Deadwood Genre......Page 106 7. "The Horse Doesn't Get a Credit"......Page 108 8. Robert Penn Warren, David Milch, and the Literary Contexts of Deadwood......Page 116 9. Old, New, Borrowed, Blue......Page 130 Part 4: The Fabric of Society in Deadwood......Page 146 10. "Laws and Every Other Damn Thing"......Page 148 11. Pimp and Whore......Page 160 Divining the "Celestials"......Page 172 Part 5: The Body in Deadwood......Page 184 13. "What's Afflictin' you?"......Page 186 14. Deadwood Dick......Page 200 Appendix A Deadwood Episode Guide......Page 216 Appendix B A Deadwood Encyclopedia......Page 218 Notes......Page 238 Bibliography......Page 256 Index......Page 268

With the debut of Deadwood on HBO, a vision of the "Old West" emerged that was unlike anything done before on TV. David Milch, also the creator of NYPD Blue, imbued the series with his signature use of harsh language, complex storylines, and shocking acts of violence. The characters he created redefined the hackneyed stereotypes of the Western genre, from the harassed but defiant "Chinaman," Mr. Wu, to the murderous, ferociously funny Al Swearengen, to the whiskey-drinking Calamity Jane who's only too happy to help her friend run the new brothel in town. Reading Deadwood offers an entertaining and eye-opening look into everything from the use of profanity, the characters, and the way the show bends the genre, to subjects like prostitution, race, and the making of American civil society. Complete with episode and character guides, no fan of Deadwood—and no one interested in Westerns—should be without this book.

With the debut of Deadwood on HBO, a vision of the "Old West" emerged that was unlike anything done before on TV. David Milch, also the creator of NYPD Blue , imbued the series with his signature use of harsh language, complex storylines, and shocking acts of violence. The characters he created redefined the hackneyed stereotypes of the Western genre, from the harassed but defiant "Chinaman," Mr. Wu, to the murderous, ferociously funny Al Swearengen, to the whiskey-drinking Calamity Jane who's only too happy to help her friend run the new brothel in town. Reading Deadwood offers an entertaining and eye-opening look into everything from the use of profanity, the characters, and the way the show bends the genre, to subjects like prostitution, race, and the making of American civil society. Complete with episode and character guides, no fan of Deadwood --and no one interested in Westerns--should be without this book. Unless this book is assigned to you as a student in film class do not buy it. The muck here which passes as narrative is better layed in the streets of Deadwood then to be read by us today. My God be praised I wish I could get my money back from this one.