This is one of the best shows of the past 20 years. The acting and writing are so good it's like watching a great piece of art. I can't recall a show I've enjoyed more or felt more invested in the characters.

Many people who have not seen David Milch's under-appreciated HBO series "Deadwood" tend to assume that it is a revamp of the Western genre, perhaps similar to "3:10 to Yuma", or "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". This is not the case. If you watch it (which I highly recommend you do), you will not see horse chases, stick-up robberies, or standoffs in the middle of town square. You will not hear "varmint" or "goldarn" or "I'm lookin' for the man who shot my paw"; you'll only witness a bizarre blend of Shakespearean dialogue and 20th century slang and cussing (enough F words to make your grandmother faint). Milch did not set out to make a Western; he aimed to create a period drama through which he could voice his views about chaos and corruption's effects on society. In all, this was one of the best shows on television. The tragedy of Deadwood is its premature cancellation, and one of my greatest disappointments in the history of entertainment is that it will never get the proper conclusion it deserves. While frustrating, this is no reason not to watch the series.

Consistently amazing writing, acting and directing. The characters are extremely well developed. Not only is it the best show HBO has even made. It is quite possibly the best show ever. Certainly the best written.

The acting, the direction, the set design, the economical use of music and the plotting are all fantastic. What really makes this the best television series in history, however, is the engaging literary style that Milch and the other writers bring to the dialogue. All I can say about the cancellation is "what conceivable godly use is our suffering? What conceivable godly use was the screaming of all those characters? Did you need to hear their death-agonies to know your omnipotence, HBO?"

Shakespeare on Western steroids! Hard to fault. Story line tough, characters gritty. I would say though that it took 2 to 3 episodes to 'get it', to get a feel for the drama itself, but once into the series, compelling. Will not appeal to people who like their television clean and sanitised. You can almost smell the people! This was (yes gone now) daring television with good writing and acting.