This is perhaps one of the greatest creations on tv. Semi historical with a grounding in real events and characters. The story of the transition of the mining camp of Deadwood into a full fledged town of the US starts with this season. Excellent acting, notably Ian McShane, with a host of well known faces, such as Brad Douriff. A slow burning drama come thriller with agripping plot and characters you believe in. Beautifuly shot and perfectly realised.

One of the best drama productions in the history of the medium. Dozens of fantastic actors, all at the top of their game; writers producing episode after episode of well crafted, complex and involving stories. This is a show for anyone who loves the english language; the writers obviously do, creating complex interplay between a large cast of characters, all of whom are fully drawn and human. Humanity, with all its achievements and flaws is at the centre of this story.

It's difficult to single out any one actor for special praise in such a Company; Ian McShane creates a truly memorable study in villainy, but with such amazing wit, charm and sympathy that he almost makes you forget just how evil he is; Brad Dourif is fantastic as the town's doctor and conscience; William Sanderson is worth the cost of the box set alone, as a scheming none too bright henchman; finally, Robin Weigert plays "Calamity" Jane Canary as a foul mouthed lost soul.

The characters swear like it's going out of fashion. The real historical characters used blasphemy to shock and offend the listener, but this doesn't work today. Apparently the writers originally tried period cursing, but everyone just sounded like Yosemite Sam. The modern profanity is used to elicit the same response from a 21st century audience.

Buy this DVD now if you like intelligent, grown up television that challenges as much as it entertains. If you're put off by the swearing then I'd suggest you never leave your house and type "Terry and June" in the box on the left of the screen.

This show, if it was around when i was about nine, would have been a godsend, as i like to swear and i like to hear swearing of the best calibre. But, the stories are also top notch as are the characters. Invest in this and you'll have a few days of pure television gold. If charlie brooker likes it, its good enough for you. Brooker is a TV critic for the Guardian, and the best in the world. type his name into google and trust his opinions. hes right.

Deadwood is a Western, set rather obviously in the town of Deadwood, where anything can happen (and generally does).

I personally believe Deadwood to be one the best television series ever made and the first series may well be my favourite simply because it blew me away and was so much better than I expected.

The acting is superb from almost everyone involved, especially from the likes of Ian McShane (Al Swearengen) and William Sanderson (E.B. Farnum). Timothy Olyphant (Seth Bullock) probably is not quite as strong on the acting front but all in all he does make a good and interesting protagonist.

The storyline is also brilliant, if maybe a little slow for some people's tastes (although not mine!). It kept me hooked from beginning to end and is amazing considering there are so many characters to keep track of (even more so in later series). The script is also sharp and finely polished and gives the programme a very varied feeling; being very dark at one point and then almost humourous at the next.

BE WARNED, if you have not already heard, that this programme is an '18' certificate for a reason. The swearing is constant and very strong. There is also a lot of violence and at times can be quite brutal (although some of the most brutal scenes are in later series).

Altogether this is a brilliant series and paves the way for two more just as good series after it. Must-see TV.

People seem to watch Deadwood and be driven away by the amount of swearing in the script. It's a shame really. If they sat through an entire episode, they would not be able to resist the series.
It is relentless. Completely and utterly relentless. Very rarely does it leave things to the viewers imagination.
BUT. This series has so much more to it than the swearwords. It is one of the most dramatic series' I have ever watched. This is a western show. If you are thinking, no, it does not mean it has cowboys and gun fights (well, it has some gun fights.)
The script is amazing. Some of the metaphors people use are genius, and the monologues are amazing, and well delivered by the actors.
The action when it takes place (almost every episode) is often shown very graphically, brutally and is very believable.
The series also isn't all action. It has some really emotional scenes in it, which I have no interest in ruining for you.

This is a program that will draw you in from the start, leave you quite often in awe, and scrambling through the menu to start the next episode.

You will know instantly, Deadwood is not a nice place to live. At all.
And the main thing I ask myself is:
'Is it bad that I like Al Swearingen?'

Ok admittedly i am a huge western fan so when i heard about this TV series i was without a doubt going to purchase it and what a good decision that was!! Now if you hate swearing i suggest you avoid this because even i was not expecting quite so much of the 4 letter words to come out of the actors/actresses mouths but thinking about it this just adds to the true to life feel of how the west no doubtedly was! The acting is top class i dont think there is a weak link but the actress who plays Calamity Jane steals every single scene she appears in(once again even the women swear a lot in this so be aware). Truly one of the best TV series i have seen in a while but probably not to everyone's liking!