Deadwood (2004)

Elections loom large, and George Hearst (Gerald McRaney) exerts brutal influence in order to get what he wants -- "the color".

Not as satisfying as the first two seasons, in part because of the historical transformations that the writers were bound to show. Deadwood was growing and would continue to grow; new people, some of whom would become important figures later on, were entering the town, and had to be introduced early to avoid complications in season four, five or six. As those seasons will never be made, the third trails loose ends like an old shawl: Tom Nuttall (Leon Rippy) has a fire engine still in a box in his saloon; Jack Langrishe (Brian Cox) talks and talks about setting up a theatre but has yet to put on a show.

Worse, Hearst brings with him money, influence, and Pinkerton mercenaries: not just a big fish in a small pond, but a shark. Swearengen (Ian McShane), Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and the rest are effectively impotent. Realistic it might be, but Westerns are where we go to see injustice fought. There's no John Wayne here, though, so we just get to watch the pioneering West bleed out and die. Big money takes what it wants.

Still, the great performances, brilliant writing and extremely realistic sets keep Deadwood as a whole up there with the greatest Westerns ever made.

As we progress further into "peak TV" I wondered if memory had been too kind to Deadwood. Does it still hold up, 15 years on?

And how.