Deadwood - The Complete Second Season (DVD, 2006, 6-Disc Set)

HBO delivers another stunning, evocative drama in DEADWOOD. The channel has an impressive reputation when it comes to producing edge-of-your-seat television (THE SOPRANOS, SIX FEET UNDER), and DEADWOOD follows neatly in that tradition. Set in 1876, the story unfolds just two weeks after the defeat of Custer at Little Big Horn. The grim and unsentimental series revolves around the outlaws, miscreants, and murderers in the frontier gold-rush town of Deadwood in the Dakota Territory. Seth Bullock, a former Montana sheriff, and his buddy Sol Star arrive in town to set up a hardware store; soon, they're crossing paths with such legendary Western figures as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Reaping the benefits of the lawless, merciless world is Al Swearengen, the saloon and brothel owner. Season Two kicks off with Bullock beginning his job as sheriff; it seems that civilization, in the form of a telegraph line and local commissioners, is coming to Deadwood after all, and Swearengen is none too pleased with the situation. Meanwhile, Bullock's estranged wife and son arrive in town, even as Bullock consummates his affections for Alma Garret in her hotel room. The brutal world of Deadwood continues in a second finely crafted season, and the plots and bodies keep piling up.