I think I’m going to cry tonight. What an episode for Mother’s Day!
Episode 22: “Advances, None Miraculous”
When Doc Cochran [PHOTO LEFT] delivers a dire prognosis, the entire camp stands vigil. Swearengen enlists Star and Silas Adams [PHOTO RIGHT] 
to help improvise a con on the newly returned Commissioner Jarry. Andy Cramed, former Deadwood pariah, offers himself as the camp’s new minister.
With Martha regretting her move to Deadwood, Bullock searches his imagination for encouraging words at a critical time. Trixie [PHOTO BELOW, RIGHT] pressures Alma to accept Ellsworth’s [PHOTO BELOW, LEFT] proposal. 
Best lines from Episode 21:
Trixie [ABOVE RIGHT]: “You’re a worthy enough f–king candidate. Given all her f–king givens.”
Ellsworth [ABOVE LEFT]: “Warm endorsement.”
Farnum: “I’ve been prostrated by the agonies of the damned.”
Swearengen [PHOTO RIGHT]: “Judgment is upon us, then.”
Swearengen: “Our moment permits interest in one question only: Will we, of Deadwood, be more than just targets for ass-f–king?”
Swearengen: “You won’t miss him, he’s at Merrick’s and looks like the prize at the carnival.”
Farnum: “You seem uncowed by Mr. Blasanov’s apparatus. Are you initiate in its mysteries? “
Miss Isringhausen [PHOTO RIGHT]: “F–k off.”
Merrick [PHOTO LEFT]: “I like my f–king liquor.”
Swearengen: “Trait in you gave me early hope.”
Hostetler: “I can nut him, but the moon is wrong, and he’s gonna take it badly.”
General: “I ain’t gonna lose my chance at a hundred waiting on the f–kin moon.”
Swearengen: “Dan, don’t you agree that truth, if only a pinch, must season every falsehood, or else the palate f–king rebels?”
Tolliver: “If we take it outside, old man, expect a different outcome than the other day.”
Utter: “You best have five of your f–king cappers there with rifles at the ready.”
Joanie: “You want the bath?”
Jane [PHOTO LEFT]: “I may well get to that.”
Nuttall [PHOTO RIGHT]: “Knowledge is overrated, William. Diligence is what’s required and the service of a willing spirit!”
Dority: “Don’t guarantee what you will never do, Blasanov.”
_____________________________________________
About Martha Bullock:
Even as the stagecoach carries Martha and her son William to Deadwood and a reunion with her new husband, Seth Bullock is involved in a very passionate embrace with Alma Garret in her hotel room. By the time the stage actually pulls into town, Martha’s husband is in a life and death battle with Al Swearengen, who has humiliated Bullock publicly over his affair with the widow Garret. Although startled by the unexpected circumstances of her arrival, she appears to take it all in with supreme dignity.
About the actress, Anna Gunn: Anna Gunn was raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and studied at Northwestern University’s renowned theatre department. She built an impressive background on stage in Chicago, landing her first professional role before graduating as the female lead, Lucy Lockit, in “The Beggar’s Opera.” She received rave reviews starring in the world premiere of “Uncommon Ground” and Keith Reddin’s “Peacekeeper” at American Blues Theatre and the American premiere of “Hysteria” at the Mark Taper Forum, and starred as Isabella in “Measure for Measure” at the Ahmanson. Gunn made her Broadway debut in “The Rehearsal” at the Roundabout.
Gunn first worked with “Deadwood” creator David Milch on “NYPD Blue”, playing a junkie longing to escape New York to swim with the dolphins. She had a recurring role on “The Practice” as ADA Jean Ward. Credits include starring roles in TV movies, recurring roles on the “The Guardian” and “Murder One”, and guest-starring appearances on “ER”, “Seinfeld”, and “Judging Amy.” Gunn’s first appearance on HBO came on its hit series “Six Feet Under”, playing Madeleine the wealthy divorcee.
Gunn’s first major film role was in “Without Evidence” with Angelina Jolie, and she starred alongside Gary Oldman and Mary Steenburgen in the dark comedy, “Nobody’s Baby.” She was in another Indie movie, “Santa Fe,” with Lolita Davidovich and in “Enemy of the State” opposite Jon Voight.
Gunn currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and young daughter.
BRAD DOURIF, as Doc Cochran: A veteran of both stage and film, Brad Dourif began his career in theater but received worldwide critical acclaim for his motion picture performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His performance was recognized with one of film community’s highest honor – the Academy Award® nomination in 1975. In addition to the Academy nomination, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored Brad with the 1977 Golden Globe Award® for Best Newcomer.
Born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Brad started acting in school productions and progressed to community theater, joining the Huntington Community Players, while attending Marshall University. At age 19, he relocated to New York City and worked with the Circle Repertory Company. During the early 1970s, Dourif appeared in a number of plays, off-Broadway and at 
Woodstock, New York, including The Ghost Sonata, The Doctor in Spite of Himself and ‘When You Comin’ Back, Red Rider? in which he was spotted by director Milos Forman who cast him in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. [PHOTO RIGHT: Dourif was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 1976 Academy Awards.]
A true character actor, Brad’s intensity has found him playing a diverse range of characters in films such as Eyes of Laura Mars, John Huston’s Wise Blood and Milos Forman’s Ragtime. Dourif also teamed up with director David Lynch for Dune and Blue Velvet. His broad skill set also served him well in horror films, notably as the voice of the evil doll Chucky in Child’s Play and its sequels.
Since his television debut in the PBS film The Mound Builders, Dourif has also made appearances in The X Files, Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager and Ponderosa. [PHOTO LEFT: Dourif arrives at 2004 Emmy Awards. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Deadwood.]
Dourif’s recent film work includes the role of Grima Wormtongue in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings.
Brad makes his home in Los Angeles.
If Brad Dourif doesn’t get an Emmy, there is no justice.
they robbed us of at least five minutes. But the first half hour was amazing.
‘Let’s lever the c*cksucker verticle’
The scene with the governess and Al was awesome.
‘I am a sinner who doesn’t expect forgiveness but I am not a government official.’
‘I’m going to operate on a whale’
Oh…the freaking ducks, the Sopranos is also obsessed with ducks.
I thought for sure that the General and ____ liveryman were going to get beaten or lynched. Glad they made a getaway.
Little William’s death was so poignant.
Need to watch it again. There was a bit too much daylight left for me to see what happened in the darkened rooms.
Only two more episodes. What will become of us then?
Entourage is entertaining and the new Lisa Kudrow comedy will be fun, no doubt. But I crave the meatier dramas. Looking forward to the one about Rome… doesn’t that start in September?
Do you think we’ve seen the last of Miss Isringhausen? Will more Pinkertons show up to get at Alma’s gold?
Do you still think the Russian will get it? it seems the information that he leaves lying about is too handy for him to get killed.
Ms. Ingrenhausen is probably best left to leave, unmolested. She may get waylaid by Injuns.
The Pinkerton’s may show up next season.
I feel like the Russian is too innocent and idealistic to survive.
Now Wu and Al are going to have a falling out. Over what?
Dope and women. What else. The price of bacon?
I think you covered the 3 things that account for all ‘falling outs’.
Another great post, Susan. Thanks.
You one of those frog-faced f–ks? Lemme get my pitchfork.
It’s layin’ on the floor right behind you. Take a step backwerds, and it’ll jump up and hit you in the ass. In yer state, howevah, a step backwerds might be cause for passin’ out.
because you are the one with all the cash.
Never a truer word has been spoke between dawn and dusk anywhere from the Badlands to Montana. Of course, niceness is just not somethin’ that the lady–and I use that term with great latitude–has ever showed herself much familiar with.
she’s just likes to get in character.
Did you think the sets were too dark? A couple of complaints about it, but I didn’t notice.
Lemme tell my friends — that’d be the sheriff ANDDDDD his deputy, you f–k, not to mention the General (altho might get difficult to find ‘im, just at the moment) — ’bout your big mouth, Denvah. And the money, you bum, belongs to another one uh my good friends, Mrs. Alma Garret to you!
And just what might you be tellin’ them, missy? That you’re searchin’ for a bottle that eluded you these many days, since it insists on scurrying from one hidey hole to another? Go on and testify. Confess yourself to your many and sundry friends. As one in camp has said, “Account for yourself.”
I am getting more than a little confused and irritated by all the possible story lines opening up at the last moment. The central action is dissipated by too many characters whose function is not clear.
Am sorry to say I don’t care as much about the main characters as I used to. Nobody seems to grow or change. Bullock is boring and both cowardly and noble. Swearingen is powerful and seemingly indestructible. Cy is a cypher. Alma is Hester Prynne, or will be. She and Martha are the only “respectable” women in Deadwood.Martha is courageous and unbelievably sacrificing. Trixie doesn’t know if she’s coming or going. All of them seem a sum of their traits, rather than like real people now. What happened? E.B. is still a weasel — have never figured out his role in the story.Keep hoping they’ll give him something bigger to do. He’s such a nifty character.
Last week’s episode was 50 minutes; this week’s is 44. The set interiors are so dark I can’t make out who’s on stage.
It appears that the producers or writers are getting impatient and want to stop. They seem to be throwing too much at the audience, without bothering to notice where everything lands.
Oh, well. Bitch, bitch, bitch, and rant. Sorry to be such a damp rag. It must be me, if the rest of you are still loving it. I’ll keep watching and hoping.
I’ll be catching the 11:00 mountain time show tonight, so maybe I’ll share your feelings, Jane.
My sense is that, over this past season, Al Swearingen has, perhaps not changed, but revealed parts of the character that were initially not visible. For a murderer, cheat, and general schemer, he’s shown himself remarkably moral on several occasions.
Bullock keeps his thoughts quiet, and there are times when it’d be good if we could get a better sense of what’s going on inside, but he’s trying to deal with an ethically impossible situation, and that may be why he seems both cowardly and noble. Bullock is morally compromised, and my guess is that his situation will just get worse, but he’s struggling to keep his head above the water. At some point, will conflicting ethical and emotional demands get so intense that he’ll no longer be able to handle it?
Alma may well turn out to be a Hester Prynne, though a Hester Prynee who owns a bank. The future of Deadwood may lie in her hands as much as Swearingen’s or Tolliver’s.
One of the reasons I like the show is that it always plays off econonmic realities (Amalgamation and Capital) against ethical demands. This may be the most violent and obscenity-laden show on TV, but in my view it’s most deeply and intelligently ethical show on TV.
Just a few thoughts.
I don’t think they’re throwing too much at us at all … I think they figure we can handle it.
I can handle and follow what they throw at me because I watch the episodes multiple times,including several with closed-captioning. However, I will agree there is a richness that has been lost in the main characters with the introduction of too many new “main” characters this season.
It’s almost like looking at a copy of a favorite photograph but it’s slightly out of focus and overexposed – the richness in personalities from last season have been washed out, the sharpness lost. It’s still one of the best things on TV and the only series I consistently watch, but I have been let down this season with what I consider to be meandering plotlines with little or no payoff thus far.
Unless they plan a two-hour blockbuster finale (although with the short-changing of late I’d be surprised if it exceeds 25 minutes) that makes me eat my words, this season hasn’t lived up to the potential of last season for me in terms of storylines (some intriguing, but still seemingly meandering) and character development. That, and I’m really pissed about the lack of screen time for Brad Dourif (Doc)this season.
I have to wonder if this was in response to people complaining last season that “nothing ever happens”. Actionwise, maybe not, but last season was thrilling to watch simply in the ways and means that characters and their stories unfolded. (Except Alma/Seth – never got into their story and considered them a distraction from more compelling characters and storylines.)
They had such potentially wonderful characters last season but nary a depth has been added to them. Silas, Andy (finally back and sadly neckless-so there’s hope), Jewel, Wu, Eddie, Johnny, Joanie (a bit more developed this season and a good thing). All these are secondary characters that I’ve wanted to know more about.
While Wolcott seems to be a fascinating character (I loved his repressed smile at the bike ride), IMHO, entirely too much of this season has been spent on him. I personally wish they spent more time developing Silas.
And WTF is up with Trixie’s “pissy all the time” change? I liked her when she was smart and somewhat mysterious with her motivations always up to question. The stomping PMS-like rampage show after show is starting to wear thin.
Ellsworth is one supporting character that has been given a bit of depth this season and it is much appreciated. (even if it points out that other characters have been shortchanged in that regards).
We have two shows to go. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised and maybe I won’t. But, I’ll give it another go next season while hoping they swing the focus back towards enriching the current characters by introducing new characters instead of focusing on new characters at the expense of the existing cast.
Regardless of my opinion the show still contains flashes of brilliance (whereas as last season was a constant dazzling strobe) in the writing, and the acting is, with few exceptions, simply incredible.
I suppose you shouldn’t ask for more, but I do. Yep, I do. Their own damn fault. Last season was a drug to me with a reliable and consistent fix every week. This season has been hit and miss fixes, with slightly more misses than hits. But it’s still a drug I’m addicted to, even if the rushes I get from it aren’t quite as numerous or intense as the ones I got from “Deadwood” last season.
A lot to think about there.
I will always miss Wild Bill who had such a presence in the first few episodes.
But I like this season even better than the first. I can see your points about the lack of character development in some of the minor roles. I agree with your critique.
Other than last week, I think Doc has been pretty prominent this season. I’m really grateful to be rid of the preacher, whose illness gave me the creeps.
For me, Deadwood excels in creating an alternate moral universe, where good and evil are dramatically shifted…jarring at first…but we all settle in and get adjusted.
It’s Hobbesian focus is both a condemnation of our own frivolity and lack of moral seriousness, and a compliment to modernity, in that we have become more humane and compassionate and tolerant.
I find it fascinating.
There was no one like Wild Bill. The pathos of his being.
(Not that awards mean much but it was rather astonishing that he, a Carradine, didn’t get nominated just for his last name, not counting his extraordinarily moving performance.)
Trixie’s demeanor has been jarring to me also. It’s such a switch from last year and, best I can tell, without explanation.
And I’m tired of Jane. I got a huge kick out of her last year but this year it seems that they stick in her in a lot of scenes that aren’t consequential, just to please the viewers who like her. Not this week so much, but last week, I found her annoying.
But, aside from Trixie and Jane, I haven’t any complaints of significance.
I think the Seth/Alma story is huge and very powerful. The raw desire, the almost constant repression of that desire, the complications of that relationship on everything else in camp … central to the show.
I’d like to see more of Wu and the tall Chinaman. And those poor Chinese prostitutes 🙁
Seth’s character is truly fascinating in its contradictions, unstated passions and anxieties, and expressions of occasional cruel remarks — but made only at times when he is almost beyond control of his anxieties and contradictions. Oliphant is a very, very good actor…. it’s just that his character isn’t quite as over-the-top as Swearengen.
Mo’ later.
Blogging about Deadwood is a big relief from all the other topics.
Agree with you about Wild Bill. Carradine was robbed.
Agree with you about Jane this season. She’s good as a walk-on (What Doc has been relegated to, IMO) but not as a main character. Her best scene this season was with N-General and she’s had quite a few good lines. I wish they would use her a little less, though.
It was nice to see Jane with Doc (they play off each other so well) a couple of times this season. Jane and Charlie used to be good foils off of each other too, but like Trixie, it has gotten way too pissy and negative. I used to look forward to their scenes together. Not anymore. Oh great, Jane and Charlie. Time for the pointless yelling and insults to begin. Yawn.
Why is most everyone so off the charts pissed off this season? Was George Bush elected President back then too? Where is the motivation?
Seth/Alma. Seems you either love their story or you don’t. For me Timothy and Molly have no chemistry. I’m just not a big fan of Alma’s and never have been. She’s a tough character to like, but Molly Parker does an admirable job with such a complex character.
I love that they makes these characters so real that you end up hating characters you usually love and liking the characters you usually hate on occasion. Just like real life. <g>
Seth is such a polarizing character. I’ve seen many board fights over him. I agree that’s he’s fascinating and frustrating as hell, which is the reason why he is so polarizing. For a hero, he’s as flawed as they come, but not overly so. For those who don’t appreciate nuance in their television characters, he’s a little tough to take.
Me? I like nuance. I’ve loved Timothy since “Go”. Damn, that man can be sexy when the role calls for it. Don’t get to see that side too much in “Deadwood” though. 🙁 It’s a shame he gets knocked for playing repressed. Over the top is easy – restrained is hard. He holds his own just fine in a cast of acting giants.
I hear you on “Deadwood” blogging. Just bailed from the Kerry fight over at dKos. These three comments on “Deadwood” is the most I’ve written all week. I’m de-Kosing and backing off the politics for a short while. It’s been a little more than depressing lately, so I’m spending more time with nature and, of course, “Deadwood”. <g>
I agree about Wild Bill. I suppose because they weren’t assured of a second season they didn’t want to extend it out. I would have loved an entire season of Wild Bill – Carradine was an amazing standout in an amazing cast.
Can’t agree about Doc this season. Brad D. fanatic here, so I am very aware of the man when he’s on screen and especially when he’s not. 😉 He has had virtually no continuing storylines this year (Jewel’s boot, Sophia’s care, the plague, the preacher from last season come immediately to mind)and has been relegated to secondary character status with what are essentially walk-on scenes outside of the “action”. The main character focus seems to be on Tolliver this season with the secondary focus being Wolcott. I thought it was a huge mistake laying up Al for a couple of shows; while I love Powers Boothe, to me Tolliver simply isn’t as interesting or complex as Al. And McShane rocks the house!
If I were really anal, I’d time Doc’s appearances compared to last season but I stopped recording episodes about six in. 😉
The preacher storyline was an uncomfortable one but the payoff was magic. The branches of scenes in relation to his passing:
Doc with his prayer for a quick end to the preacher’s suffering.
Al with his compassion for the man. Using the mercy killing to educate Johnny Burns (got to love Al) in the ways of killing quietly. The aching juxtaposition of Al’s mercy killing of the preacher with his immediate overseeing and directing the cold-blooded killing of the idiot commissioner from Yankton. Magic.
Al telling the Doc the preacher had passed and dragging him back to The Gem so he wouldn’t be alone… The Doc’s dance with Jewel…
I could wax on (and off). I still get chills and thrills simply from the memories of the acting, writing, editing and direction of that last episode and others from the first season.
I’m a writer so it pains me to see so many missed opportunities this season. I can say, in all honesty, there was not many notable missed opportunities from last season. This season – for me no chills or thrills worth noting.
So far, there has been no open mouthed horror at the idea of a man wanting to kill a little girl who witnessed her family getting hacked up by his minions. I still recall tears welling up in Dan’s eyes as he wrestles with his conscience and proceeds to march over to Doc’s to do the deed, nonetheless. The raw emotions of the showdown with Doc and the solution to the problem was classic.
There has been no shock from witnessing a psycho saloon owner tormenting, then killing a thieving pair of siblings (the camera gives you the girl’s blurred view of the scene so you become her for a horrible and powerful moment) while his employees are forced to watch and participate. What a powerful and controversial episode that was.
No rolling camera moves where I’m just in awe of the artistry involved with following Caffeine-Al stalking through the camp, or a overwhelmed Joanie looking for a place for her new business. I was wowed at least once in every episode last season by the writing and especially the camera work and editing. This season just ain’t doing it. Maybe it’s just me.
When direction, writing, acting comes together it’s magic. “Deadwood” at its worst is more magical than most shows at their best.
But, and this is just my humble opinion, “Deadwood” is suffering from the sophomore jinx. I believe “Six Feet Under” also went through something similar during their second season. I fully expect “Deadwood” to pull out of it and get back some of the magic they had in the first season.
Meanwhile, I still call myself a fanatic – even if just a tad critical. We’re always the toughest critics on the things we love.
you make your case like a stallion.
What show even merits the effort at such a critique?
Deadwood leaves other shows in the dust.
But having shocked us into accepting the ethos of the wild west, we are now invited to settle down to the day-to-day grittiness of their internal politics. I still see this season as a triumph of art over commeercialism.
Warts and all.
We spend some time in the mountains in southern Colorado, not far from what used to be a fairly significant mining town called Rosita. These days, it’s not really a town, just a cluster of cabins and a restaurant in what used to be the post office. In its day, Rosita produced a good bit of ore.
Not much remains. There are the ruins of mines here and there, the tailing piles so heavy with minerals that nothing will ever grow on them, some rusting machinery here and there.
And the Rosita cemetery remains. I once walked through it a couple years before we bought a place there. I noticed how many graves were graves of children, two or three or four years old. The dates were turn of the century and a bit later. I later asked a local about it. She said, “It was smallpox.”
One thing that’s necessary to keep is the memory of the suffering that is history.
Deadwood keeps witness.
Oh, Jesus Christ, show me the secret grip that proves my regrets and let’s be about our f***ing business.