Never saw it when it was on (never had HBO, except for a brief spell when Comcast fucked up our HD install and gave us three months of it for free), and now that we're Cable Free®, we're burning through all sorts of missed series on Netflix.

So far, up to Season 1, Episode 5 ("The Plague"). Can't complain about the show at all, although Swearengen's cursing isn't as creative as I was led to believe. But it's damn skilled cussing. He wields "cunt" like a knife.

I thought it was decent but I guess not all that memorable because I can't recall anything specific I felt about the show.

ah you bastard, I thought Deadwood had been added to Instant Watch.

I haven't seen it either, but it's way up there on the list of things I want to see. Especially after seeing Olyphant in Justified.

Funny, seeing Olyphant in Deadwood has piqued my interest in Justified (also not available streaming on Netflix)

I liked the show, but thought it was generally over-rated. I think it got better as it went along though as more characters and outside influences/forces were added to the camp.

Personally, I think the more the series went along, the more convoluted it got and, thus, it got pretty confusing. The whole state thing with Swearengen trying to find the "n*gger in the woodpile" etc. was pretty much. Then with the added the Hearst element, it made things even murkier.

I understand you can't just have a show that deals with street fights, gun play, and whores (but the again, why not?), but it just seemed this series tried to do too much.

I love that show. Always end up watching it 1-2 times a year.

The increased complexity in the plots was a good thing imo. It sort of added to the shit storm of the camp growing. The very thing that Al didn't really want because of the extra things he had to keep track of.

I hate where the series ended though. HBO fucked over that show and the fans watching it.

I thought watching Swearengen adapt from no longer being the largest fish/predator in the pond was the best part of the series. He was by far the most interesting character of the entire serial.

But I came from already enjoying the complex serials HBO was already producing at the time (The Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers), so I was glad it wasn't just a stock western drama. I probably should watch this again. Knowing where Swearengen (and the Deadwood settlement) was going to go, I might have more appreciation for the more straight-forward direction of the first couple of seasons.

The Wire is next on the list. I figure if the wife's more than willing to sit down for a cussin' western, she'll be down with that.

I still miss Deadwood. Felt like the rivalry between Tolliver and Swearengen was about to reach a new level and the show ended. I for one, loved all the shit with Hearst, the Pinkertons, and whatnot.



Enjoy. And there's just as much swearing used in an equally creative way. I'll post this video as it doesn't really spoil anything....

I fucking loved Deadwood, you cocksuckers.

And I loved all the elements and subplots.

And they are fucking cunts for pulling the show without resolving any of it.

(And I wanted to like Justified, but it's waaaaaaaaaaay too episode-oriented rather than serial-oriented, which after getting used to seriously good television feels really shitty to me)

Well spoken. I can't stand episode-oriented tv-series anymore.

The advantage to episode driven television series is that they are much easier to watch as they air on television. I agree that series driven plots are better than episode driven ones, but series driven plots make me watching one week at a time so damn difficult. And I don't have the patience to wait for them to come out on DVD so I can just watch it all at once in a marathon session.

I watch in season-long chunks. I don't like waiting either.

Just finished s2 of Boardwalk Empire.

Before I started watching all these great series shows (which for me started with Sopranos), episodic tv was all I knew, and it was palatable...but after Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire, The Shield, Rome, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, etc. I just can't do it anymore outside of a sit-com format.

Off-topic, I know, but I'm not entirely sure I see Justified as being all that episodic. I did season 2 in a marathon late last year and thought it worked really well as a serialized show. There are a couple episodes in season 1 and 2 that I suppose could be considered standalone or have tangential plots, but if I remember right even those had some loose connections to the overall season arc.

I don't think I could have stood watching The Wire as it aired on TV. The anticipation each week would have driven me nuts, and I probably would have lost the plot some. I watched seasons 1-4 in quick succession (currently working through 5 after a couple weeks away from the series) and thought that worked quite well, but it's definitely something that should be watched at least in season marathons.

I watched The Wire as it aired from the second season on. It was fun, but sort of frustrating. I'd end up watching every episode like four times On Demand after the original airing until the next one aired. There really wasn't/hasn't been anything like that on TV!

Having never subscribed to HBO, I was fortunate to always watch these shows on DVD in marathon sessions. Especially for The Wire, the wait for the next episode would have killed me. And in between seasons.....that would been pure torture.

It wasn't no big thing. If anything, it got you more invested into the show, where you were able to obsess over every detail and provided time to hypothesize of what was coming next. A lot of the threads that happened were really slow/patient to develop, which ended up coming to fruition. Other times, quick and violent actions turned The Wire world on it's head.

Crazy that palsy friend from Facts of Life was the crippled help in the whorehouse.

Also crazy - retarded brother from There's Something About Mary is Al's right hand man

Moar favorite scenes with Mr. Al Swearengen!

Watching the preacher slowly die from a brain tumor is the saddest fucking thing in the history of ever.

I don't know about that. But it was worse than Bullock's "kid" getting killed.

Haven't gotten that far. We finished up with "Mr Wu" last night.

Mr. Wu's a damn classic. One of the best characters on that show.

Found this: