The new HBO series, Deadwood, has Wild Bill Hickock in it. A "fan" came up to him & said how much he dug what all he had seen him (Wild Bill) do-- blow a man's head off, shoot playing cards, etc. The "fan" then mentioned that he gouged out another man's eyes for saying Wild Bill faked some things. At this point, Wild Bill, tired of hearing the "fan," asked him to move on. The "fan" then flipped out, turned on Bill, & threatened him.
Geez, sound familiar?
I just finished watching that episode and thought the same thing when I saw that scene. Its almost like a mild version of how stalkers react when they are snubbed by a woman whom they love.
Good episode though, the episode of Sopranos that came on before it was really good too.
I would guess that they did exist. The show takes place in the late 1800's which wasn't THAT long ago if you really think about it. My great-grandfather was a contemporary of that time period so it isn't like it was ancient history.
The Sioux Falls Argus-Leader (local newspaper) had a story this weekend about the Deadwood city hall and chamber of comerece getting calls complaining about the language and the nudity. Like they have any control over it. I wonder if New Jersey's getting any calls about the Soprano's
Milch defended the language at that press conference, saying it's not only vital to the story, it is historically accurate.
A former instructor at Yale, Milch said he did thorough research on Deadwood and learned, as he said, it "just beggars the imagination" how resourceful people could be in stuffing obscenities into the most ordinary greetings.
"The short version is, that's the way they spoke," Milch said. "The one thing upon which everyone agrees was that the profanity and obscenity was astounding. It was overwhelming."
In lawless places like Deadwood, the profanity was not just habit, it was a version of self-defense, like apes baring their fangs to ward off a fight. "It was a way of announcing verbally what they were ready to do, as a way of not having to do it," Milch said.
I would think john might have some insight as to whether they swore like that as he's a bit of a history buff, isn't he? I thought the f word's been around for several hundred years, right? I think it's just a very uncommon thing to see in a western. Bonanza, it's not. I do like it though. Still love the Sopranos though, too. I get the feeling that Adriana's gonna get whacked this year too. ONLY because she's going to be starring with Matt LeBlanc in "Joey this fall. -rick
