This post should be called "How Not to Build an Audience."
I watched the third season opener of Deadwood last night. Even with the introductory clips, it took me a while to get into the show again, and I was still unclear about what was going on for a few minutes after that. So I started wondering, what if someone who'd heard about the show but never watched decided to tune in for the first time? I think that person would be completely baffled, maybe so baffled that he'd turn off the TV set or lose interest and switch channels, never to watch again. It's not an easy show in the first place, and coming in now would be like picking up War and Peace and starting to read about 2/3 of the way into the book.
That being said, as a fan of the show I enjoyed the episode, and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out over the season. Since HBO has decided not to renew the series but to have a couple of two-hour movies next year instead, I'm hoping some of the story lines will be resolved over the coming weeks.
5 comments:
I started watching about five-eight minutes into the episode, but even by that time and expecting to be in the thick of it, it did seem pretty telescoped. I will miss that Yankee- Shakespearean dialog, unless somehow the surfer show makes an attempt at the same thing.
I felt like paraphrasing Calamity Jane through most of it: "Would you people please makes sense!"
I must say I did enjoy watching Bullock beat E. B. to a pulp though.
Several reviews I've read have said that it gets much easier to follow in subsequent episodes.
I hope it does get easier to follow, but that maybe too late to catch any new viewers.
My wife and I tried watching it again last night. She asked me if people really talked like that back then. She bailed after ten minute. The program kept my interest for about twenty-five minutes and then I recalled that the Heat Mavs game was on. That's it for me. Calamity said it all...
i'm a big Deadwood fan, but i thought the season opener was rather flat and disjointed.
the one part i did enjoy was when Jane suddenly asked why in the heck (or f, i suppose) everybody was whispering all the time. that seemed like a very human thing for someone who's soused all the time to say. cause i think excessive drinking hurts your hearing, among other things. but i'll watch it every week, fershur.
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