Should I Check This Out - Deadwood season 1

At around eight years old, I catch up on HBO's western, Deadwood, that proves while the western film genre may have been put to rest for good after The Lone Ranger, on the small screen it shines brightly.

When I first saw this being advertised on Sky 1, this looked liked your usual western with good guys versus bad guys. However, it doesn't take long before realising that the creators have thrown away the cliched iconography in favour of raw, good storytelling, where everyone looks dirty, the streets are covered in mud (or at least that's what I hope it is) and no one respects the 'pistols at dawn' approach. Instead it's more, shoot them when their back is turned to make life easy and then feed them to the pigs. Yeah, it's not pretty.

Like all great shows, this takes a little while to get used to, a slow-burner. One slight barrier is the colourful language, most of which comes from the appropriately named Al Swearengen, played to full force by the magnificent, Ian McShane. That said, once you've adjusted to the language, the dialogue is simply incredible, and rich with detail. All of which are boosted by the rest of the fantastic cast, that includes Timothy Olyphant, John Hawkes, Brad Dourif, Molly Parker, William Sanderson and Powers Boothe.

Being HBO, the show also looks great, capturing 1870s Deadwood in all its glory. If the western is dead in the cinema, it's well and truly alive on TV. What helps this show is that it doesn't try to be a western, it's a drama first and foremost. If the thought of watching a John Wayne/ John Ford film isn't your cup of tea, but enjoy great drama, there will be something here for you.

So far, watching the first season has been a joy and I will definitely be returning to season two sometime soon. Deadwood season one gets my full recommendation.