Deadwood

Deadwood, as imagined and created by producer-writer David Milch, exists somewhere between history and fiction, somewhere between civilization and savagery, somewhere between nightmare and dream. Peopled with historical figures such as Wild Bill Hickock (until he draws his fateful “aces and eights” and is killed off in the fourth episode), Calamity Jane and others, this depiction of a frontier mining camp may come as close to physical accuracy as any cinematic version ever constructed. Clothes bear stains of dust, blood, and bad food. Mud clogs streets rutted with the constant traffic of humans, horses, and supply wagons. Somewhere in the Black Hills there’s gold that drives men and women into patterns of desire and violent action. But this camp and its people, this place at this time, also challenge every element of moral conviction. It is as if the end of the frontier and the making of the next America have come here to fight it out. Executive Producer Milch and Co-Executive Producer Gregg Fienberg rely on the talents of a cadre of producers and consulting producers: Scott Stephens, Davis Guggenheim, Jody Worth and Walter Hill. Directors Hill, Guggenheim, Alan Taylor, Ed Bianchi, Dan Minahan, Steve Shill, and Michael Engler bring Deadwood to life. The words, in all their profanity and elegance come from Milch, Malcolm MacRury, Jody Worth, Elizabeth Sarnoff, John Belluso, George Putnam, Bryan McDonald, Ricky Jay, and Ted Mann. For reinventing and reinvigorating a classic American genre, a Peabody Award goes to Deadwood.