I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while. While I was convalescing, I watched two series in their entirety: Deadwood and Rome. Both were excellent, Deadwood’s up first.
Deadwood is a historical drama set in the territory of Deadwood in 1876, right before its accession to the Union. You can look up the rest of the details by yourself, but the essence is this: the show is profanity laden, with the F-word occuring something like 1.5 times for every minute of showtime. The swearing adds to the assault on your senses. The sets are immaculate, which leaves the characters. Of all the different characters, Al Swearengen is probably my favourite. A bloodthirsty villian and the centrepiece of the show, Al has his softer moments. The plot arcs are satisfactory, with enough twists, some seeming a bit convoluted. However, most of it is based on fact, and truth is stranger than fiction, so we’ll accept that. The best moments of the show are when real-life historical figures stride the stage, like colossi. Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Sheriff Seth Bullock: these names resonate throughout the show. If you read a lot of Wild West comics as a kid, know that these renditions are some of the best you’ll ever see. There isn’t as much gratuitous violence as in other HBO shows like Oz, but what’s there is well crafted and shown with a minimum of fuss.
Rome, on the other hand, has no comic book predecessors to make its visual consumption more delicious, but it’s still a superlative delight. While I read all the Roman and Greek myths and loved them, I never really read anything beyond the obvious. Let’s face it, all I know of Caesar and Gaul is what I learned from Asterix and Co. The show follows Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, two fierce legionnaires as their lives intertwine. All the heavyweights are present, Caesar is patriarchal yet fierce, Cato is whiny and needling, Magnus Pompey is avuncular and ambitious, Mark Antony is swaggering and brash…the list goes on. You may like the younger Octavian, or maybe the older Augustus more, my bet is on the younger Octavian. The show displays all the vulgarities of the time: human slavery, bloody sacrifices, gladiatorial combat and all the overarching reasons for a dismally short lifespan. However, these do not detract but rather add to the quality of the show.
In summary, if you’re bored and want to watch some good TV, in the vein of Oz or The Sopranos, give these two series a shot. You won’t regret it.