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By
WAYNE KLEIN
With the third season of
"Deadwood" being the last let's hope that
creator/writer/producer/director David Milch can
tie up all the loose ends to the series that he
set up during season two. The second season of
"Deadwood" starts with a tussle--Sheriff Seth
Bollock (Timothy Olyphant) takes on Al Swearengen
(Ian McShane) in a nasty, bloody fight when
Swearengen insults Alma Garret (Molly Parker) in
front of the residents of the town. Bollock's
affair with Garret takes an unexpected turn when
Bollock's wife (also the widow of his brother)and
step son(also his nephew) arrive in town
unrepentantly. Cy Tolliver (Powers Boothe) and Al
increasingly come into conflict over their rival
whorehouse business and a sociopath, ruthless
mining agent (Garret Dillahunt) who works for
George Hearst changes the life of whorehouse
owners Maddie (Alice Krige) and Joanie (Kim
Dickens) when he begins frequenting their
business.
All of this happens in just the first episode of
season two! Things will get worse before they get
better for most of the residents of Deadwood as
prospectors continue to pour into the mineral rich
town.
Once again dominated by marvelous, stunning
performances particularly from McShane, Olyphant,
Boothe, Robin Weigert (as Calamity Jane) and Paula
Malcomson (Trixie) the second season of "Deadwood"
lacks the shock value of the first but the
plotting, direction and writing are equally as
good with sharper character development for the
main characters. There isn't a weak link in this
stunning cast (I mentioned the above members of
the cast only because they had more than one stand
out episode) and "Deadwood" is what "The Sopranos"
used to be--cutting edge TV without regrets. David
Milch's combination of drama and history is
stunning looking with its rich production design
and authentic characterizations.
A truly stunning transfer "Deadwood" is easily a
DVD reference standard with deep, rich blacks
almost nonexistent digital artifacts and rich,
deep colors that capture the authentic rustic look
of the show. The 5.1 soundtrack makes excellent
use of the surround channels and dialogue is
crystal clear. Part of the quality is due to the
fact there are never more than 3 episodes per disc
allowing plenty of bit space for the visual and
audio elements but that also contributes to the
cost of the set as well. You're getting and paying
for quality with these sets. There are chapter
placements after the opening titles of each
episode which is a big plus for those fans who
want to skip ahead.
We get a number of commentary tracks from the
actors and writer/producer David Milch and
director-producer Greg Feinberg. Among the best
commentary tracks is the one on "A Lie Agreed Upon
Part I" with actors Ian McShane and timothy
Olyphant. The two clearly enjoy each other's
company and have an infectious blast discussing
the making of the episode. Actresses Molly Parker
and Anna Gunn provide a second commentary track on
the same episode and while it isn't as fun as
McShane and Olyphant it is full of insight about
the show and the episode. The other highlight are
the two commentary tracks on "The Whores Can Come"
which features Olymphant paired with Gunn and
McShane with Malcomson. It generates much of the
same fun and informative atmosphere that dominates
the commentaries on the opening episode. There are
7 other commentary tracks each quite good but none
can really compare to these two. Even
producer/writer David Milch's commentary lacks the
firepower and fun atmosphere of these two
commentary tracks with his being amount the least
involving of the 9 included here.
The last disc like the first set has the
featurettes. "The Real Deadwood 1977-Historical
Featurette" is a companion piece to the first
season featurette on the history of the town. We
get a nice mix of historians, Milch and other
production staff discussing the real vs. fictional
world. "Making of Episode 12: Boy-the-Earth
Talks-To" is a three part documentary about the
making of the 12th episode of the season.
"Trusting the Process with David Milch" allows us
into the creative process as we watch Milch at
work crafting the one of the episodes. "Mr. Wu
Proves Out" details the subplot involving Wu and
Swearengen and their complex relationship. "The
Wedding Celebration" details the intricate
planning that goes into the a wedding that is a
highlight of the season finale. We also get a
photo gallery of the characters and real Deadwood.
There's also some HBO previews at the beginning of
the first disc.
While the shock and uniqueness that highlighted
the first season are gone the second season
carries on with a series of brilliantly written
and performed episodes. The characters are richer
during the second season and the plot twists as
convoluted as can be imagined making season two
equally as good if not better than the first
season of the show. The extras are generous given
that this is a cable show being brought to DVD and
the packaging/transfer is deluxe as well. Highly
recommended. |
