Reuters reports that the upcoming third season of HBO's "Deadwood" (which debuts June 11th) looks to be its last. The network has opted not to renew the cast's options on the series, which releases them to pursue other projects. "Deadwood" creator David Milch is shifting his attention to his new surfing (!) drama he's developing for HBO (well, "Big Wednesday"s John Milius did write for the network's "Rome"...)Gandolfini's rung the death knell for "The Sopranos" on more than one occassion, and yet here we are in the midst of a sixth run, with another mini-season to come our way early next year, so let's not board up the Gem Saloon just yet. All I know is--IMHO, "Deadwood" is "The Sopranos" dirt-encrusted equal in every department, and my current vote for the best damn dramatic thing ever aired on the ol' idiot box, with the possible exception of the original "The Prisoner"--and I'm gonna miss the profane poetry of Al Swearengen's philosophical musings, the anachronistic (but never gimmicky) music cues, and the show's masterful turns from absurdist comedy to gut-wrenching tragedy. All of this in the form of a western--long considered a moribund genre.
While you're fuming, check out this hombre's homemade Al Swearengen statue here. Where the @#**%!!! can I get one of these?
