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S01.E01: Deadwood (Pilot)


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After executing a last act of justice as a Montana marshal, Seth Bullock relocates to a gold-mining camp known as Deadwood, where he and partner Sol Star look to start a hardware business. Bullock soon crosses paths with another new arrival - legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok - and clashes with the formidable boss of the Gem Saloon, Al Swearengen. For his part, Swearengen must handle the deadly result of a run-in between one of his whores and a trick, while brokering the sale of a gold claim to wealthy New York socialite Brom Garret. When reports come of the massacre of a frontier family by Indians, a suspicious Bullock and Hickok ride out in search of survivors; for Swearengen, the results are bad for business.

Watched! Discuss.

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I was very confused as to who Pharoah was until I realized it's a card game.

I really dig this loudmouth admirer of Wild Bill's. "We're riding out, tomorrow." "WHAT'S THE FUCKING RUSH?"  Yes, more please.

Homey didn't want to hang out until that little lady came to and ID'd him. Same result either way.

I really enjoyed it, I definitely felt like I was in a real place with real people.. I never expect less from HBO.

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Great introduction to my beloved Ellsworth: "I may have fucked up my life flatter'n hammered shit, but I stand here before you today beholden to no human cocksucker, and holdin' a workin' fuckin' gold claim, and not the U.S. government tellin' me I'm trespassin', or the savage fuckin' red man or any of these other limber-dick cocksuckers passin' themselves off as prospectors had better try and stop me."

Also laughing really hard at Keith Carradine's delightful deadpan line reading of: "Does 'bosom' mean 'tit'?"

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Just finished watching.  I remember on my 1st time through that I really had to pay attention to what was being said.  The language is flowery yet simple, vulgar yet eloquent.  These folks speak, for lack of a better term, long-hand instead of short-hand.

You get a really good overall picture of what everybody is about and sense of who they are as a person along with striking similarities and contrasts between them.  You can see that Al is a business man, a con artist, shrewd, and dangerous.  Bullock would rather be left alone but sometimes he has to get in the middle of things due to his sense of right and wrong.  Both Bullock and Al would kill you; they'd just do it for different reasons and in different ways.

I love the relationships - Bullock & Sol, Al & Trixie, Al & Dan etc. 

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1 hour ago, Drogo said:

I was very confused as to who Pharoah was until I realized it's a card game.

I really dig this loudmouth admirer of Wild Bill's. "We're riding out, tomorrow." "WHAT'S THE FUCKING RUSH?"  Yes, more please.

That would be Calamity Jane.  She is a delightful hot mess who only gets better as the show goes on.  

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^ Good to know, because right now she seems more like a cartoon character.  But it is only the pilot, so I wasn't really expecting that to last.

Question (I can't remember names for anything right now), the wife of the city guy (played by Timothy Olyphant) - what is she putting in her drinks?  Some kind of drug? or just alcohol?

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1 minute ago, aquarian1 said:

^ Good to know, because right now she seems more like a cartoon character.  But it is only the pilot, so I wasn't really expecting that to last.

Question (I can't remember names for anything right now), the wife of the city guy (played by Timothy Olyphant) - what is she putting in her drinks?  Some kind of drug? or just alcohol?

The city guy is Timothy Omundson.  The "headache medicine" is laudanum.  Timothy Olyphant is Bullock.

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I'm in the midst of a moral dilemma. 

I know my beloved would FLOVE this show,  but watching it together  (something that can only occur after both kids are asleep) will severely delay the binge. 

What to do...

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28 minutes ago, Drogo said:

I'm in the midst of a moral dilemma. 

I know my beloved would FLOVE this show,  but watching it together  (something that can only occur after both kids are asleep) will severely delay the binge. 

What to do...

Easy.  Binge but then watch again with her.  I'm sure you'll pick up stuff on rewatch that you missed the 1st time.

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10 minutes ago, Drogo said:

I don't think I can, I would feel too guilty. 

You're just  too good to be true, Drogo!   ;-)

This is one show that stands the test of watching episodes twice, just to catch each and every delicious little detail (especially the cursing, which has enriched my repertoire).

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21 minutes ago, Drogo said:

I don't think I can, I would feel too guilty. 

Then the only other thing I can suggest is a 6:00 pm bedtime.  Also?  Lots and Lots of naps.

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1 hour ago, CuriousParker said:

Then the only other thing I can suggest is a 6:00 pm bedtime.  Also?  Lots and Lots of naps.

And lots & lots of Benadryl (for her allergies, of course!).

19 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Got it... sleep away camp!!

Off we go to grandma's house ...

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8 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

^ Good to know, because right now she seems more like a cartoon character.  But it is only the pilot, so I wasn't really expecting that to last.

Question (I can't remember names for anything right now), the wife of the city guy (played by Timothy Olyphant) - what is she putting in her drinks?  Some kind of drug? or just alcohol?

On my original watch of the show, I was annoyed by Jane for the first half season or so.   But she really, really grew on me.  Most of the time, she gives ZERO fucks.  

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Guys, I've tried watching this show a couple of times now (there's something wrong with me I know). I'm excited to watch it with y'all so that I'm forced to commit, but man, there are SO many characters. I'm so lost and I've seen this episode before! 

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Just now, egavasc said:

Guys, I've tried watching this show a couple of times now (there's something wrong with me I know). I'm excited to watch it with y'all so that I'm forced to commit, but man, there are SO many characters. I'm so lost and I've seen this episode before! 

This is a wonderful place for Q&A.  Ask away.  hee

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Oh once I can keep characters straight I should be okay. There's a lot of "Hey it's that guy"-ing. But everyone who I don't recognize from something else kinda all blurs together. Too many bearded dirty guys to keep track of! 

Plus I turned on the captions! 

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11 minutes ago, egavasc said:

Plus I turned on the captions! 

HA! That's my trick too!

I know what you mean - I think there are three or four of the supporting men that I have finally sorted out - Tom Nuttall, Charlie Utter, Ellsworth, and a handful of others that pop up after the pilot.

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Just watched. Great setup to the world and everything, but I don't necessarily feel like I really got everything – maybe because it's more just putting the characters in place so far and not necessarily explaining everything yet.

The guy who faked the Sioux attack – if he was a bandit or whatever, why did he even tell people about it? Why not just come into town and not tell anyone?

Why did Swearingen want Driscoll killed? And why do it just by having him stabbed in his own hotel, instead of even trying to fake it at all?

Anyway, I'd watch the second one right now if I could, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow probably.

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8 minutes ago, Dougal said:

Why did Swearingen want Driscoll killed? And why do it just by having him stabbed in his own hotel, instead of even trying to fake it at all?

All had Dan kill Driscoll to make sure we would no longer be a problem and tell anyone what had happened re:  the lame claim scam.  Driscoll was staying at Farnum's hotel and Farnum is loyal to Al.  Driscoll could be killed and disposed of without notice and then have everybody think he just left town.

8 minutes ago, Dougal said:

The guy who faked the Sioux attack – if he was a bandit or whatever, why did he even tell people about it? Why not just come into town and not tell anyone?

I'm not sure about this but here's my head cannon: 

He was already nervous and frightened by what they had done.  He runs up on Bullock and Hickok and panics.

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(edited)

Started my rewatch with episode 1 last night and I am just so delighted to be back in the company of these people. I remember when it originally aired being absolutely impressed with the depiction of the town of Deadwood - its crowded lawlessness, its mix of fascinating characters, and its filthiness. I felt as if I could almost smell that filthy mud in the main street, and recall thinking how foul all those unwashed miners would have smelled - especially their breath.

And Al Swearengen. What a character. What a portrayal by Ian McShane. In the first episode alone, he throws Trixie against a wall and puts his boot on her throat, has a dead john fed to Wu's pigs, swindles Garret to the tune of thousands of dollars, and has Dan kill Driscoll. And yet ... I adored him right from the beginning.

Edited by purist
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I have one question. When Sol and Clench are unloading their cart, Sol talks about something his father said. I think the final word was 'retail', but I didn't catch the rest. Can anyone fill me in?

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12 minutes ago, purist said:

I think the final word was 'retail', but I didn't catch the rest. Can anyone fill me in?

According the the script sites, yes, retail is the last word.

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9 minutes ago, purist said:

And the rest of it?

lol.

Sol:  (To Seth)  My father's last words there in Vienna... before he passed away, was"Sol, lose a can and buy the goddamned fool could slow it down and sell 'emat retail."

Seth:  I gotta put a book together of your old man's deathbed sayin's.

Sol:  That was Wild Bill Hickok just ridin' past us, Seth. I seen him in photographs

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"Sol, lose a can and buy the goddamned fool could slow it down and sell 'em at retail."

Thanks, CuriousParker. And yet, now that I see the quote in full, I still can't make head or tail of it! What the hell does it mean?

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"Sol, those who can't abide a goddamn fool get slowed down some at retail."  :)

In other words, keep the idiots happy and you'll live longer. 

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