DEADWOOD

I don't get HBO but I do have Direct TV so I am given peeks at different HBO series through DTV101. They don't offer first runs but reruns to perhaps lure viewers into ordering HBO. When I saw a western posted, I thought, cool, for I never really got over the Maverick, Gunsmoke and Rawhide days. I love a good western. Twas in for a shock though. This is not a good ole western.

This is a jaw dropping series that any seventh grade boy could write the dialog. All you need to know is how to spell the F word. Four letters with a few endings like "ing", "er" to give it a difficulty factor. Pretty easy writing.. Now there is other, more creative profanity, but have to admit, the F word rules.

I hope I am not a prude but maybe I am. Now if I whack myself hard enough on the shins, I can get pretty colorful if no one else is around. If I am whacked hard enough, you bet ole"F"comes out. However you won't hear it in my everyday language and certainly not around others. Guess that makes me a closet cusser. These characters use profanity like "Hello."

I know it goes back to my mother and her view on profanity. She always said that people who swear, have limited vocabularies. She reasoned that they don't have the proper tools to express themselves. The ultimate insult in our family was to be word ignorant.

I watched the first episode available to me with the fascination of watching a train wreck. It just went on and on and on. Ironically the worst offender, the man who uses that particular word as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all in the same sentence, happens to be named Swearington. It must not take him more than 15 minutes to memorize his lines for the whole show. If he gets hung up and forgets dialog, all he has to do is throw in a few more variations. Calamity Jane comes in second with the limited language skills. Really hate seeing a woman climb into a man's vocabulary.

One of the few characters who was not totally addicted to the F word, Wild Bill Hickok, got killed this week. The writers must have gotten tired of coming up with actual dialog and killed him off. Now I adored Lonesome Dove which could get a bit randy at times but that was a good story and sincere script writing. I just find it hard to believe that these writers are actually getting paid. No brain drain in that bunch.

Yes I watched it again. I told you it has train wreck appeal. I just had to be sure that the first segment I saw wasn't just a tease to rope in viewers. Surely they would finally settle down into a story. Wrong. Two times was enough. It is not just the profanity for it they substituted "Rats" as many times as the F word is used, I would be about as turned off. It would just make no sense and sound stupid.

While I am sure is meant to shock women, titillate young boys and those men who still think like young boys, it really gets pretty boring with the constant repetition. It is a shame for this could be a good series with decent writing. Still waiting for a good western I guess.

So I toss it out to you. Am I showing my age, a prudish nature, am just not "with it" for wanting a bit more out of my entertainment than shock value? What do you think?