Is anyone else watching the HBO show "Deadwood"?? It didn't seem all that interesting to me until one night I didn't have anything better to watch and HBO has a good track record so I checked it out -- it's a *great* show!! One of the things I like about it is also unfortunately one its drawbacks -- it's a dense story with a lot of characters and various storylines that can be hard for a newbie to pick up. It's similar to "The Wire" in that respect, but it's shaping up to be another show that seems more than worth it. It's also got an awesome villain who holds the thing together.
But the reason for this topic is that (while unable to sleep the other night) I noticed certain parallels between Deadwood and the Fourth World characters:
*Darkseid/ Swearengen -- this guy rules Deadwood with an iron fist, a hair trigger temper and machiavellian schemes. He's one of those guys that'll "kill ya soon as look atcha" and Ian McShane has created a character that really might go off and kill whoever he's talking to in any given scene. There's always an air of violence in any scene he's in. He also runs the saloon/brothel so while he doesn't have furies, he's got a stable of whores. He doesn't have firepits, but he's got a pigsty with carnivorous pigs where more than a few unlucky souls have ended up.
*Desaad/E.B. Farnum -- Every Darkseid needs a snivelling sychophant, and Swearengen has E.B. E.B. obeys out of fear and self preservation. He has no real loyalty and (as Desaad has done many times) has already betrayed his master at least once already (but managed to squirm out of it).
*Kalibak/Dan (I think it's Dan or Dave) -- the hirsute henchman who does the dirty work, the bloody work.
*Orion/Bullock -- Bullock is a man of two worlds. He's got a violent past that he's trying to get away from by becoming a business owner, but life in Deadwood won't allow him to lay down his guns. Fact is, he walks and talks like a brooding killer. He seems so ill-suited to be a businessman his efforts in that direction seem futile. While not Swearengen's son, he represents Bullock's violent nature and the world he doesn't want to be a part of.
*Lightray/Sol -- aside from the similarity in names ("sol" being the sun), Sol is Bullock's partner. He's much more the "people person" and has the business savy to ground Bullock in the new life he wants.
*High Father/Wild Bill -- Wild Bill, the legend, the myth, the hero. His presence strikes awe in most and he represents the other end of the moral compass to balance Swearengen. Bill and Bullock immediately strike up a rapor, but like High Father, Wild Bill is now one with the Source, leaving Bullock without a father figure.
*Metron/The Doctor -- the main thing they have in common is that they answer to a higher calling then simple good vs. evil. Metron serves his thirst for knowledge, the Doc serves his hypocratic oath. Neither hero nor villain, he walks in both worlds.
*Big Barda/ Calamity Jane -- this is a tad of a stretch, but they're both tough broads...
If you haven't checked out the show, maybe the New Gods comparison will be a helpful primer to familiarize you with the characters. It's worth catching!
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