the rabbits of the night

we just got through all 12 episodes of "deadwood" in around 2 weeks. it's my second time watching the first season, and i gotta say, it's fantastic. ian mcshane as al swearengen is just plain brilliant. every second that guy is on the screen, you just can't look away. the fact that the most genuine, kind-hearted thing the man does in 12 hours of television is smother a priest with a crippling illness.....it's remarkable. and you feel it too. he's self serving, maniacal, and sometimes just plain mean. and somehow, when he covers that preacher's face with a rag until he stops squirming, it's kind of touching. we're also halfway throught the first season of "six feet under" (god bless the hbo shows on dvd, and especially the people who bought them for my birthday or christmas). i haven't the time now to get into the list of reasons i'm in love with that show. but a big part of it is ruth fisher. that's one of the weirdest, most wonderful characters ever committed to film. really. great, great stuff. add those to "the sopranos", "band of brothers", "curb your enthusiasm", and you'll see why we decided to fork over a little extra cash for hbo. (next up: "carnivale", and "the wire")