Seth Bullock, a Montana Territory marshal, is planning to leave for Deadwood, a camp on Sioux land in the Dakota Territory, to open a hardware store there with his business partner, Sol Star. While watching over an inmate sentenced to death for stealing a horse, they are interrupted by a drunken posse. Rather than hand him over to the angry mob, Bullock takes the man outside, grants him his last words, and hangs him on the front porch.
Upon arrival in Deadwood, Star and Bullock rent a vacant lot from Dan Dority, who tells them that payment is due every morning to Al Swearengen, the proprietor of the Gem Saloon, a local brothel.
At the Gem, prostitute Trixie shoots a customer in the head after he becomes abusive. The customer survives for twenty minutes, but dies shortly after the arrival of Doc Cochran. Swearengen ruthlessly beats Trixie, furious at the possible effects on his business. Meanwhile, Cochran and Johnny Burns deliver the corpse to Mr. Wu, an associate of Swearengen's and leader of Deadwood's Chinese community, who feeds it to his pigs.
Wild Bill Hickok, a famous gunslinger, arrives in Deadwood, along with his companions Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane. As Hickok plays poker in the saloon, Utter negotiates a fee for Hickok's regular appearance.
Brom Garret, a wealthy aspiring prospector, arrives from New York City. Swearengen enlists E. B. Farnum and Tim Driscoll in a conspiracy to swindle Garret into paying $14,000 for a pinched-out gold claim. As Driscoll is heavily indebted to the Gem, Swearengen pockets the money. The conspiracy deepens as he has Dority stab Driscoll to death to ensure his silence.
News of a massacre arrives in Deadwood: an entire family, a disoriented man says, has been killed by Sioux on the road. When pressed, the man says he saw two dead children, but townspeople say the family had three children. Hickok puts together a party, including Bullock, to search for the missing child. Fearing a major disruption of business, Swearengen offers up free alcohol and discounted sex to those that stay behind with him. As they leave the saloon, Bullock confides to Hickok his suspicions about the story.
The search party finds a ransacked wagon, the mutilated family, and young Sofia Metz, wounded but alive, in a nearby bush. After leaving her with the doctor, Hickok and Bullock confront the man who brought the news, accusing him of staging the raid to line his own pockets. The man draws his gun, but is shot dead. As the violence outside comes to a conclusion, Swearengen goes to bed with a bruised Trixie.
Production
Development and casting
Creator David Milch pitched to HBO a series set in Ancient Rome, exploring the introduction of law and order to a civilization. When HBO executives Chris Albrecht and Carolyn Strauss suggested that he change his setting due to the network already having Rome in development, Milch transposed the themes to 1800s Deadwood.[1] In a later interview, Milch reflected, "It had seemed to me that the symbol of the cross as the organizing principle of behavior could be transliterated to the symbol of the badge, as a similar organizing principle."[2]
Milch wrote the role of Al Swearengen with Ed O'Neill in mind, having worked with him on the CBS series Big Apple, but executives were reluctant to build a series around an actor still associated with his lead role in Married... with Children. Powers Boothe was then cast in the role but was forced to withdraw due to illness, leading to the casting of Ian McShane. After Boothe recovered, he began playing Cy Tolliver on the series, a character introduced in the third episode of the first season.[3]
^Levine, Stuart (June 16, 2004). "Deadwood". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
^Sepinwall, Alan. The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever. Self published, 2012, p. 107.
^Sepinwall, Alan. The Revolution Was Televised: The Cops, Crooks, Slingers, and Slayers Who Changed TV Drama Forever. Self published, 2012, p. 107-108.
^"Deadwood". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 20, 2017.