“I’m executin’ sentence now and he’s hangin’ under color of law.”
In the pilot of “Deadwood”, a variety of interesting characters feel a pull towards the settlement of Deadwood, an illegal gold rush camp in Indian territory that exists outside the confines of the United States. Drawn towards the allure of easy wealth, characters like Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen start to build a civilization from the piss-filled mud of the Dakota Territory atop a foundation of murdering, whoring and robbing.
David Milch’s “Deadwood” is a television series that examines the “lies agreed upon” that enable the creation of a functioning society from the disparate individual strands of humanity. The pilot episode, directed by Walter Hill, introduces several key themes, a handful of memorable characters, and some unusual cinematography that might not be around too much longer.
In this episode of “Something Pretty”, Wes and Clay discuss the pilot episode, “Deadwood” and how the show handles introducing so many unique voices. Plus! The guys chat about law and order, the genetics of clammy hands, and why you won’t catch us sippin’ at it.
Links:
Support “Something Pretty” on Patreon
Supplemental Reading:
The Deadwood Bible: A Lie Agreed Upon
Deadwood: Stories of the Black Hills
Reading Deadwood: A Western to Swear By
Theme Song:
Western ShowDown by HoliznaCC0 is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.