"Deadwood" premiers tonite on HBO

I don't get HBO. Is it a western?

Yeah, based on the gold rush era in California, it's going to be very raw from what I've seen on it so far.

Brings to mind Bret Harte. I wonder if they will draw upon his work in any way?

I thought I watched the premeire last week...

Darn straight, I missed the premier.

i like westerns but i don't have hbo. can i run a cable over to your house?

Sure, just don't count on me for the schedule.

Starting off hopefully as inspired by films like "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," "Lonesome Dove" and "The Unforgiven." Lots of nostalgic atmosphere and finally a believable Calamity Jane!

You're not implying that Doris Day was not the definitive Jane, are you?

That CJ was a looker.

Okay, I'm a sucker for the "Secret Love" number and that was a musical so why not Doris? Annie Oakley was not especially a looker either and Ethyl Merman was the perfect Oakley on Broadway -- I even liked Betty Hutton in the film, replacing, incidentally, Judy Garland!

It's just in general that film and TV do have a tendency to glamorize historic characters by casting those who are far more good looking that the real people. Even so, "Bonnie and Clyde" was so well done in other respects that one can give a pass to the two extraordinary faces who portrayed them.

The series has prompted me to revisit "McCabe and Mrs. Miller," I think Altman's best film.

I also liked the recent film "The Claim" which had an authenticity to it and had something substantial to portray about the Old West.

I must admit that the coarseness of the dialogue and actions of some of the characters appeals to me.

I've always liked mafia movies and westerns, it looks like Deadwood will keep my interest for a while.

I'm getting hooked -- the illusion that one is actually time traveling back to the real Old West is magnetic and could be addictive.

I'm going to have to give it a second look. Personally, the first episode bored me, but I did like the way it was filmed. It didn't grab me right away like The Sopranos or Six Feet Under.

Swearengen gets some competition in the next episode when the Bella Union gambling saloon opens, run by some slick operators from Chicago. That ought to add some spice to the stew. They're taking their time building the storylines much like "Carnivale" and last Sundays episode began to drive more deligently forward.

Wasn't expecting Wild Bill to get killed so soon.

Vaguely remembered his being murdered by being shot in the back in Deadwood. Perhaps it's on the HBO site but it wouldn't be much trouble to find out the history on the Web via Google.

Here it is:

http://americanhistory.about.com/library/prm/blwildbillplayedside.htm

The HBO series premier was the most successful in their history.