tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post680049673405420191..comments2024-03-28T02:21:05.851-07:00Comments on VINYL IS HEAVY: Variant and miraculous. Notes on Deadwood's first season.Ryland Walker Knighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-36199082224353809792007-07-05T12:26:00.000-07:002007-07-05T12:26:00.000-07:00I've seen seasons one and two, and waiting for the...I've seen seasons one and two, and waiting for the first disc of three on my queue--and I've recently been thinking of Deadwood in terms of these indelible characters. It's so rare that actors get to create something so brand new. Depp did it with Captain Jack Sparrow (of course by the beginning of the second movie it was no longer new)and these folks have done it with Deadwood.<BR/>I love, love Dourif's raging diagnoses and prescriptions, furiously trying to help in his acknowledged limited way. Dilahunt totally freaked me out with Wolcott--how do you supress your own identity enough to play a man with no emotional compass other than his singular need? And Al. Our Al. Ian McShane has taken us on a jolly ride, indeed. He has created someone entirely beyond our experience in TV and film, for that matter. These folks are written about quite eloquently on House Next Door. What I'm interested in is how the performances themselves add to that heady mix of script, direction, and history to move beyond archetype and beyond quirk to give us what we see.Machellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102615100389341608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-12107756927510431442007-07-04T15:00:00.000-07:002007-07-04T15:00:00.000-07:00Ah, you should be scared, very scared . . .Ah, you should be scared, very scared . . .Nomi Lubinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07662026175506202868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-58681004519275168982007-07-04T14:41:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:41:00.000-07:00I would agree, at bottom, the show is hopeful for ...I would agree, at bottom, the show is hopeful for all its characters' souls. Except the plain jerks. There's a certain brand of misconduct the show cannot abide. But more about that in another column, I think, once I'm at least done with Season Two. <BR/><BR/>(Wolcott is clearly a devil, thus far. And I'm even getting scared to actually meet Hearst, whether it's at the end of this season or at the opening of the next. But I'm looking forward to the entrance as well...)Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-15439952026171928422007-07-04T14:36:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:36:00.000-07:00"Dude is confused above all else, unsure what part..."Dude is confused above all else, unsure what part of himself to trust. Didn't Matt's essay about him talk about that"?<BR/><BR/>Yes, confused above all else I think is true. And, particularly at the point you're at in the series, he does not really know himself; he does not know his own needs. He has, I think, a deep need to do good, which combined with all his anger and fear, too often expresses itself in a kind of duty-motivated "good" that gets him bollixed (Bullocked) up. My point, though, is that at heart he is a good man.Nomi Lubinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07662026175506202868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-45047880373678396892007-07-04T14:04:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:04:00.000-07:00Deadweek: A mystery to himself; a portrait of Seth...<A HREF="http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2006/06/deadweek-mystery-to-himself-portrait.html" REL="nofollow"><I>Deadweek</I>: A mystery to himself; a portrait of Seth Bullock</A>Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-3742083786767534382007-07-04T14:03:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:03:00.000-07:00Maybe not psychopath but easily somebody who deser...Maybe not psychopath but easily somebody who deserves a wide berth. And dutiful attention. He's mostly unpredictable in his moods. But Emerson also knows his shit on this, too: "Our moods do not believe in one another." Bullock, like Al, is never one thing, even if he is crazy. He's also a loyal friend, and brother. But he also undercuts that all the time, too. Dude is confused above all else, unsure what part of himself to trust. Didn't Matt's essay about him talk about that?Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-76789150234364228042007-07-04T13:09:00.000-07:002007-07-04T13:09:00.000-07:00Seth a seething psychopath? Naw, not denying his ...Seth a seething psychopath? Naw, not denying his serious flaws, but a <I>psychopath</I>? That's a real misreading to me. <BR/><BR/>I hope as you continue to watch, that you'll have a different take on him.<BR/><BR/>The difference, as I see it, between The Sopranos and Deadwood as far as word view, is hope. In Deadwood people can rise above their baser natures; in The Sopranos they never quite can.Nomi Lubinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07662026175506202868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-14859760402830958692007-07-04T13:03:00.000-07:002007-07-04T13:03:00.000-07:00It's interesting. It seems almost universal that i...It's interesting. It seems almost universal that it wasn't until the fourth episode of Deadwood that people decided they liked it (including me)Edward Copelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12463676135131274426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-90911554036506200712007-07-04T12:22:00.000-07:002007-07-04T12:22:00.000-07:00I think I see it as radical individualism because ...I think I see it as radical individualism because each person is trying to define the camp (the West, America) on their own terms. It's almost selfish but I don't see it as such. In that each is an individual, each has different motives. But there is trust. The show is trying to present community as something different than simply banding together (safety in numbers): community is a trust where you have those you <I>can</I> rely on but even those few can be wrong (for you, for the situation) so to prepare against that the community is about building individual relationships one can trust despite the lapses: communal-reliance isn't the main motive, it's the Emersonian self-reliance in relation to the community. At the end of Season One, at least, the relationships are all tainted but there's something kind of beautiful in that different kind of outwardly immoral non-reliance I'm arguing for. People serve certain needs for certain other people. This community privileges what unique individuals bring to it, without eclipsing their use in service of the community. Doc, for instance, serves the community but it's always on his terms. Al serves the community but it's always on his terms, in his joint. Bullock agrees to serve the community in the end but it's only after he's come to his own terms with the position and how he sees fit to enact the role.<BR/><BR/>I guess my resistance to mentioning Bullock is that he <I>is</I> a "seething psychopath" -- the angriest man ever with a righteous quick temper. That said, Olyphant is really good, always erect and, yes, clenched. And now, four episodes into Season Two, I can see he only complicates things for himself and for the camp. If it weren't for the flashes of tenderness with Sol, with Reverend Smith, with Hickok, with Charlie, with Alma, it would seem Bullock is inhuman in his severity. He built the store in, like, one night -- by himself! All <I>that</I> said, I still like Al and the Doc more.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-30618343258359537962007-07-04T06:39:00.000-07:002007-07-04T06:39:00.000-07:00For me, the real revelation is Timothy Olyphant wh...For me, the real revelation is Timothy Olyphant whose Seth Bullock is, essentially, a seething psychopath (in TWoP recaps, he is called Clench) who is compelled to take action because of Bill Hickok's death, because of Al, because of the widow Garrett, etc. The big difference between Deadwood and the Sopranos is that there is a progression, the story of the town moves forward, and people change. Former deadly enemies because casual allies in the face of a larger crisis.Anna Laperlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12595451374067190954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-78281704587706236462007-07-03T21:01:00.000-07:002007-07-03T21:01:00.000-07:00You wrote my feelings exactly 'bout the Doc. He's...You wrote my feelings exactly 'bout the Doc. He's the civil-war traumatized grave-robber who's created some of (for me) the most gruffly tender moments of the show. Thank you Brad.<BR/><BR/>I'm looking forward to more Deadwood Knights, and curious about where you see the show's "radical individualism." I see the all the characters as joined in intimate and crucial relationships: the Hickok-Utter-Calamity trio (especially Utter's need to take care of Bill - reaching ahead for the coffee pot Bill's hand was too shaky to grip, etc.), which after Hickok's death spins into Jane and the Doc's relationship, and Utter developing something with both Bullock and Joanie. Bullock and Star, obviously, and even Al's little dysfunctional domestic family crew. Notice how Al smacks anyone else around, Dority explains to them "he's got a lot on his mind." To say nothing of Al's reluctance to acknowledge his true desire for Trixie. The show is all about the impulses to moments of trust and connection that these characters are willing to take (even Bullock and Al), out here beyond the bounds of nation and law, but within the bounds of community building. Indeed, the one character who tried to act "alone" - Alma's late husband - ended up, well, late. On the rocks. These characters are differentiated, to be sure, but I don't see their individuality as what makes drives and makes them. It's their ability to deeply desire their relationships, and connect, as the hands of a body communicate and can't deny each other, according to Reverend Smith's eulogy of Hickok. And when Al smothered what remained of the Reverend's painful deterioration - didn't he even call him "brother"? - I was shocked by how subtly and superbly even despicable, pouty Al could answer the call of an ethical moment with a fellow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-83081736794061370462007-07-03T16:28:00.000-07:002007-07-03T16:28:00.000-07:00Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood... HBO will never do...Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood... HBO will never do better.<BR/><BR/>I think Al S. is a richer creation than Tony Soprano. And Seth Bullock is a great doppleganger.<BR/><BR/>If you like T.O. in Deadwood, be sure to catch his bad guy in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. Brilliant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-19593634106793099302007-07-03T04:57:00.000-07:002007-07-03T04:57:00.000-07:00I'll probably watch it when the DVD comes out.I'll probably watch it when the DVD comes out.Sean Gilmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124894627028920508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-17001872058018473362007-07-02T16:46:00.000-07:002007-07-02T16:46:00.000-07:00It's too bad you didn't watch the last season of _...It's too bad you didn't watch the last season of _Sopranos_ since it's probably the best one aside from the first. Especially the second half that just finished. That said, _Deadwood_ is a different beast. And I find it completely worth my time.Ryland Walker Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09233954424885027837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8347718.post-67302777762422153932007-07-02T02:30:00.000-07:002007-07-02T02:30:00.000-07:00Welcome to the Deadwood > Sopranos Club! Hell, I ...Welcome to the Deadwood > Sopranos Club! Hell, I was so bored with The Sopranos, I didn't even bother watching the last season.<BR/><BR/>I wish HBO DVDs weren't so ridiculously expensive. If there was ever a TV series I'd want to own, it's Deadwood.Sean Gilmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124894627028920508noreply@blogger.com