Deadwood!

I finally started Deadwood this week, and while I feel almost guilty for waiting this long to see it, it feels so right to be watching it right now that I almost don't mind. What's amazing about the show is that, as written by David Milch, one can never listen to the copious amounts of dialogue without actually listening to it. Often with poor or amateur writing one can faze in and out of a conversation on screen and still get the gist of what's going on. With Deadwood, though, almost everything that's said is arranged in such a way as to really challenge the viewer to keep steady focus. Yet it never sounds pretentious; it's all about the arrangement and choice of words. These sentences have been thought out, but as recited by the actors, never sound as if there is any sort of elitism at play. It's the combination of a kind of natural feeing and sophistication that makes the show such a joy to watch. Ian McShane is so good at the head of the cast that I wonder why he's done nothing of interest since Deadwood ended. He is such a memorable actor. I can't wait to finish this.