Deadwood – No F’N Baloney.
Yep. Another Deadwood Post. So shoot me and feed my dead ass to Mr. Wu’s pigs. Topdawg and LeeAnn are also Deadwood fans, and I am a Topdawg and LeeAnn fan, so If you have not yet come around to being a Deadwood regular, the three of us will just toowalk amongst ourselves.
As Topdawg mentioned in her comments, much of the show is based, to one degree or another, on fact. For instance, the “good guy” in the program is Seth Bullock (played by Timothy Olyphant), who came to town with his partner Sol Star to establish a hardware store. Well, it turns out that there really was a Seth Bullock, and he really did come to Deadwood with Sol Starr, and they did establish the hardware store pictured above.
The real Seth Bullock ultimately became the Sheriff of Deadwood, eventually brining order to the place. After the hardware store burned down, he founded and built the Bullock Hotel, which, after several renovations, still operates today.** He also became good friends with Teddy Roosevelt, which most certainly will be fodder for future episodes.
As noted above, Bullock’s partner, Sol Star, is also based in fact. Sol Star ultimately served as Mayor of Deadwood for fourteen years, once hosting William Jennings Bryant during a presidential campaign visit. Following the vote that actually incorporated Deadwood a real town, Star was one of the first town councilmen elected. He also served as Postmaster and Clerk of the Courts, once real courts actually replaced the local saloon (or theater — see below) as the place for dispensing justice.
Oh, and Wild Bill Hickok actually was plugged by Jack McCall in Deadwood. Perhaps paving the way for OJ, McCall was acquitted despite a ton of evidence against him, including eight eyewitnesses to the shooting. Because the “trial” (actually held in a local theater, not in the saloon as was depicted on the show) was later determined to lack any legal authority, McCall was re-captured and tried in Yankton, South Dakota, where he was convicted of Hickok’s murder and ultimately hanged. (No double jeopardy defense for ol’ Jack.) He was buried with the noose still around his neck.
Finally (at least for now), Calamity Jane really was in Deadwood, and she really did help to nurse the victims of a smallpox epidemic that hit the town. After leaving Deadwood, she married, gave birth to a daughter, and toured with Wild West shows. Following her death in 1903, she was buried in Deadwood, next to Wild Bill.
**There have been numerous alleged paranormal events reported at the Bullock Hotel, many of which are attributed to the ghost of Seth Bullock who is thought to still wander about the place.
[/end Deadwood blather]
Hey, that’s not “blather”! I may be in the minority, but I love reading about this stuff. I’m about ready to pack up and go visit S.D., so obsess- er I mean fascinated am I with all this stuff. I love the old photos. Jane mostly wore dresses, did you read that?
David Milch apparently taught at Yale. No wonder the guy can write. NYPD Blue, Hill Street, etc. Yep.
Oh, and you being a musician and all (I dabble, piano mostly, and elec guitar), what do you think about the show’s music? I like it a LOT. I’ve had time to re-listen (thanks, HBO on Demand). It’s not just the main theme, which I love, but the stuff they’re using within episodes. I’m sure they’ll release a CD at some point and I will part with 17.99 faster than you can say “hammered shit.”
Great post.
Comment by topdawg — May 7, 2004 @ 9:08 am
Guess I’ll have to wait til they start releasing the DVD’s – we aren’t paying for HBO right now, so I can’t watch it. If my husband snags a job, we might upgrade our cable service, but until then I’ll have to read what you all say about it.
Comment by Teresa — May 7, 2004 @ 5:04 pm
I’ve been to Deadwood a few times. Seen all the graves. A great road trip destination.
South Dakota’s a beautiful place in the summer. Take a week. Check out all the sights. Sing “Rocky Raccoon” at the Black Hills KOA. Climb around in the Wind Caves. Find out where the hell is Wall Drug. Custer Battlefield. Rushmore. Badlands. There’s a Hell’s Angels convention in Sturgis that you may or may not want to plan around, though. And bring skeeter repellent.
Then take another week and hang out in Montana. Thank me later.
Comment by Jack Bog — May 8, 2004 @ 4:32 am
Jack,
That sounds like a great itinerary, and I could cap off the trip with a couple three or four beers with Craig.
Perhaps Topdawg and I could run a bus trip, or maybe a van trip, assuming that we could not fill up a bus with Deadwood addicts.
Comment by Jim - Parkway Rest Stop — May 8, 2004 @ 1:53 pm
Oooh! Can I come with you guys? I love this show.
Comment by Kate — May 8, 2004 @ 6:16 pm
Kate –
For sure. Now the proposed bus trip has moved up to a motorcycle with a sidecar. VW Beetle anyone?
Comment by Jim - Parkway Rest Stop — May 8, 2004 @ 8:56 pm
I bet Deadwood’s tourist industry is eating this up. I just gotta go one of these days. Always wanted to see Montana too.
Comment by topdawg — May 9, 2004 @ 10:53 am
It’s a great place, Topdawg. I was out there in the late nineties as part of a mountaineering trip. The emptiness’ll give you the creeps.
The show is amazing – “Don’t feed me to the pigs, just in case the’ is the restoration of the flesh,” has become a popular line with us defense attorneys – and compelling, a rare thing for someone like me, who falls asleep, usually, to television.
Comment by TPB, Esq. — May 13, 2004 @ 11:52 am
my grandma was a bullock from north dakota she did not sweat the pigs but she was scared shitless of the indians and wolves.I would love to visit DEADWOOD and surrounding areas where my ansestors lived a miserable life before they moved to michigan to keep from starving to death.and I will be interrested in this blather until my dying day.and when they got to michigan the only thing they feared was them dam ford cars.
Comment by chris florey — May 25, 2004 @ 11:17 pm