Ah, Deadwood. Not so much a television series as an opera without music, Deadwood is painted on a very broad canvas. Is it Swearengen's soliloquies to the severed head in a box? What about E. B. and his eloquent rants at fate or the bone deep brutality of Tolliver? Perhaps it's the earthy, pragmatic Trixie or Calamity Jane, who manages to be both world-weary and innocent. Maybe it's David Milch's Shakespearean language. Whatever it is, Deadwood ranks as one of the best and most unusual series in television history.<br /><br />If you are a fan of great character actors or just excellent acting in general, this is the series for you because Deadwood is all about the people. That may sound obvious, but Deadwood's brilliance comes entirely from its characters and what they have to say. You could set them on the moon and they would still fascinate.<br /><br />Noting a few of my favorites, Ian McShane has always been fabulous but what fun to see him as the foul-mouthed Al Swearengen. He dominates the town by sheer force of personality. Of course, Al is also very intelligent and frequently finds himself surrounded by idiots - a couple of said idiots wonderfully played by William Sanderson and W. Earl Brown. Powers Boothe, who excels at charismatic villains (anyone remember him as Jim Jones?) has fun with Cy Tolliver. A couple of (to me) unknowns who turn in great work are Robin Weigert as Jane and Paula Malcomson as Trixie. And then there's the Doc; Brad Dourif in a long overdue role. Garret Dillahunt, so creepy as Wolcott, needs to be careful he doesn't get type-cast – unless he really is that bent???? And John Hawkes and Gerald McRaney and Titus Welliver and . . . and . . . ! The whole cast is just wonderful.<br /><br />If you love acting and intelligent dialog and you can tolerate some of the foulest language you'll hear on television, rent the DVDs and watch this series. It is truly one of a kind.