So I've just finished my 3rd run of Deadwood and I'm saddened all over again. What a fantastic series to just be left hanging, shame on you HBO. Over the years I've held out hope that they would remove their heads from their collective @sses and give us some sort of closure but I guess it will never be, such an utter shame.
Too late to reassemble everyone now. Biggest tragedy in tv history, & Hell On Wheels is no substitute, imho
I watched the first 4-5 episodes of Hell on Wheels and found it completely boring, I'm amazed it hasn't been canceled.
^ I like Hell on Wheels; it definitely got much better as the season went along. But it's no Deadwood, that's for sure; in fact, very few shows could even hold a candle to the quality of writing and acting on that show. Shame on HBO for not giving it the respect it deserved. I'm still in awe of the quality of Deadwood. I keep hoping that, some day, Ian McShane will show up on an episode of "Justified," and we can have a mini-reunion.
I saved the first season & eventually watched it, since auntiehill vouched for it, and it does sharpen up and improve in the latter half of the season but the ratings are weak and I think they fatally damaged the show from the outset by having the lead character be inarticulate and have a motive (revenge) that has no natural link to the premise of the series, namely building a railroad. The writers will need to keep inventing new reasons why the guy even sticks around, and so far, theres been some pretty strained logic on display to accomplish that. God forbid a show should have a black lead character, but I think that's the more natual direction they should have taken - make Elam the lead. He has a reason to stay with the railroad. He's making money and if Colm Meany values him for being willing to do whatever it takes to make money and earn respect, then Colm will keep bribing him to stay with more and more of what Elam knows he's unlikely to get easily anywhere else. The audience cant help but still have sympathy for Elam, considering his restricted options in life, while still cringing as he descends into greater villany. And you'd still have all the other characters to create the side dramas. Bohanon could stll be on the show, as the resident racist wild card wackjob that poses a threat to Elam.
I'm satisfied with the ending. Nothing left hanging. Spoiler: Season 4 In the months that followed cancellation and the rumor surrounding a 4 hour telefilm instead of season 4 was swirling, IIRC Milch stated that had season 4 been produced, it would have started with Bullock already (and without explaining how or why) re-instated as sheriff and as far as I'm concerned, that's the only thread left hanging that I personally needed resolved. Oh, and the entire town burnt down and would have been under reconstruction. Can we assume it was The Man The Earth Talks To who lit the fire? BTW, I think Milch loves unresolved shows. John From Cincinatti, Luck, etc. A swath of non-finales lie in his wake.
I absolutely loved that show and I need to rewatch it. I did actually get to go to South Dakota to visit the town and see some of the historic sites to include the saloon. I wish they would have continued with the show.....
Even without a clear resolution to the series and some of its character arcs, this still sits very comfortably in my top 10 TV shows of all time. Where it sits wholly depends on how long it has been since the last rewatch. Currently hovering around #6, but only because I have recently rewatched Breaking Bad and Mad Men, otherwise it'd be in the top 5. Not a single dull or wasted character, rich and elegant storytelling, and the finest, most poetic dialogue to grace TV. Cussing an' all! Hugo - Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man.....and give some back!
Here's that scene; Ian McShane's performance is fucking amazing. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Q7YRDL90E&feature=player_embedded[/yt]
Yeah... Another HBO fav that ended too soon.. Dare I bring up Carnivale again. Seems as though HBO did some shuffling of the deck since these shows ended (along with Rome, which had a much more satisfying conclusion but could have come back if they had wanted to foot the bill) and are giving shows like these more of a chance (ala Game of Thrones)...
Those shows were both cancelled, not deliberately left unresolved. As a television show creator, Milch hasn't had a lot of luck since his first big success -- NYPD Blue.
You know I just noticed Al holds up four fingers and then quickly pulls one down to make three and never once lost his lines. Why couldnt he find a role in Game of Thrones dammit!! I do so miss this show and its brilliant characters. To this day I will reference Wu and at parties ask if they are having peaches and cinnamon. Noone gets it but me, but thats enough.