Deadwood appreciation

Last night the final episode of Deadwood aired here in Finland. This post is slightly spoilerish, so if you intend to watch this wonderful show in the future (which you really should, if you haven't already), you may want to skip it.

Damn, that was one fine television show. It struck a wonderful balance between emotionally gripping drama and visceral, often suspenseful action, while providing more laugh-out-loud moments than most comedies. The visual aspect of the show was beautiful in all its ugliness. The acting was top notch with Ian McShane's performance as Al Swearengen of course being the star attraction. The language was a delight, veering wildly from flowery theatrical monologues to extremely crude but inventive insults. It even managed to be intellectually stimulating, showing modernity arriving in lawless camp in the form of a police force, a bank, a school, government, politics, and big business.

The only disappointment was the abrupt end. A fourth season would have clearly been in order - and possibly a fifth one, depending how quickly the central storyline of Swearengen versus a changing world was moved along. I studiously avoided spoilers while the show was still on, so I'm only now catching up on news about the making process. Based on the what I've read, I have to question the wisdom of canceling a show that was HBO's second-most popular and so very good besides.