Shakespeare in the West: Deadwood is in the meat of its season now and continues to blow me away. The addition of the character of George Hearst -- expertly portrayed by Gerald McRaney -- has moved everything into Shakespearean territory. Hearst is a malevolent force of chaos and destruction: irrational and inscrutable. The entire town has, for the moment, united in their joint interest in resisting the outsider. Sworn enemies are playing kissy face. Blood feuds are set aside. The common enemy becomes another step in the move to civilization. The greater evil causes the town to contemplate the moral aspect of the conflict and, thereby, examine their own moral scores with respect to each other. Remarkable. Deadwood will never be popular, but I am convinced that, in the fullness of time, it will be seriously appreciated as a work of dramatic art.

Sadly, we still are not going to get a fourth season, because HBO can't seem to come to its senses. David Milch (Deadwood's creator) has stated that he wanted one more season to complete his story, but all HBO has offered is two 2-hour movies instead. I haven't heard if he has accepted that or not. I am deeply pissed off at HBO for not letting Milch finish his story. In fact, with no more Deadwood, the (most likely) last season of The Wire coming up and The Sopranos winding up its run in early 2007, I think my days as an HBO subscriber are numbered. I've been watching HBO since back in the Larry Sanders days, but it may have outlived its utility. Rome is uninspiring, Entourage is lukewarm, what is left?

All the better, I suppose, since I give Comcast enough money as it is.