Deadwood

Old West lawlessness, legendary characters and corruption set in an actual South Dakota town just after the General Custer incident in the 1880's. Deadwood showed the lives of Wild Bill Hickok and Seth Bullock both arriving in Deadwood for a new start in life.

Interacting with corrupt townspeople, and crooked politicians as well as some of the decent and upstanding citizenry puts these men at opposite sides when it comes to law and moral right and wrong from the owner of the local watering hole,hotel and self proclaimed Boss of Deadwood.

The tense drama of life in the old West where the quicker draw decided the law is set using actual historical figures in a real setting. While not entirely historically accurate the series cam every close. Gritty and realistic characters struggle to build a new life in a lawless land where there is no one to count on but themselves to create that life.

The series ran for three seasons and starred Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane and Molly Parker and was critically acclaimed for it's dramatic portrayal of the real people behind the settling of the West.

The variety of characters and their motivations for staying in such a corrupt town are explored and interactions cause changes of heart and hardening of resolve in many characters.

While most Westerns show a single antagonist and a town that will pull together, this series had a wide variety of characters, both good and bad at heart which is a truer reflection on the hman condition than is to be found in most productions.