Talk:List of Deadwood characters

Division of Major/Secondary Characters
Seems to me that the division into these two categories has mostly been made based on their status in the camp, not their prominence in the series. I, personally, would consider Swearengen's henchmen major characters rather than Hearst, Garret or Tolliver, because a lot of the action revolves around them, especially Dan Dority.

Also, if Hearst is a major character, shouldn't Wild-Bill be too? His part in the first season is at least as important as Hearst's in the third.

--62.142.197.179 19:42, 3 December 2007 (UTC)

I disagree. Hearst is the central villain in season three. Wild Bill was in three episodes.

--17:53, 24 January 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.102.57.38 (talk)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ep04 seth sol.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 05:27, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Ep10 calamity charlie.jpg
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Fair use rationale for Image:Ep18 alma.jpg
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Fair use rationale for Image:Ep18 trixie.jpg
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Fair use rationale for Image:Ep22 seth martha.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 13:04, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Editing of Swearengen
The entry for Al Swearengen needs a good prune job, it's just too long and bloated. It reads more like a breathless fan letter than a good entry. It's also filled with OR. SteveCoppock (talk) 17:42, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree, and have made my best attempt at cleaning it up. This former entry seemed to be more of a story recap rather than a description and analysis of the character. 01:53, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Remove the Fanwank
First removal: Speculation by "some fans" that Captain Turner killed Wolcott. There is nothing at all in the show or commentaries to suggest that. The fact that "some fans" might think that is hardly relevant. My friend and I might now speculate that Seth Bullock was Hindu, but that does not merit an edit of his blurb to read "some fans think Seth Bullock is Hindu." 76.102.57.38 (talk) 17:51, 24 January 2009 (UTC)


 * There's more "as speculated by some fans" going around the article, some of which I removed. 93.172.8.128 (talk) 21:32, 10 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Anyone who has seen the show knows that while Turner isn't seen doing the deed, that Wolcott was murdered on Hearst's orders, and that The Captain was his only enforcer at the time. 174.89.29.241 (talk) 07:38, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Clean Up Tense
This article needs more cleanup regarding tense (and general grammar). Some things are in past tense, others as if the events were still ongoing (e.g. "Seth and Al have formed an alliance" rather than "Seth and Al formed an alliance."). 76.102.57.38 (talk) 08:31, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Gay references to Merrick and Blazanov
The assertions that Merrick and Blazanov are gay is crap. Blazanov, at one point, states that he met a woman in Chicago. Merrick is clearly attracted to the schoolteacher who was hired, and was distressed that she left after seeing his wrecked office. 99.144.228.100 (talk) 05:49, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Umm, watch Season 2 and 3 more carefully. Whilst Merrick is clearly nervous around the schoolteacher it is clear it is because he is wary of her more than anything else. In season 1 Merrick turns down a free hooker from Al, in season 3 him and Blazanov live together and there are many hints at their true relationship, please get over your homophobia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.133.52.45 (talk) 21:17, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

You say "please get over your homophobia" - a clear violation of WP:AGF and a complete non sequitur besides. One's opinion about gay people in general has nothing, one way or the other, to do with one's opinion whether any individual, real or fictional, is gay. The OP cites evidence that neither man is gay. You disagree with the interpretation of that evidence. So far, so good - though I will say I find your interpretation far more, umm, interpretive, than the OP's.

In Blazanov's mention of having met a woman in Chicago - the smile with which it was given, its discreet brevity, and the say-no-more pause that followed - it seemed obvious to me the intercourse he alluded to was not just verbal. And the way Merrick approached the teacher, from the moment her stage arrived, it was obvious to me he had a major crush on her, partly a transferrence from a schoolboy crush he had on one of his own teachers (as he described), but also an attraction to her in particular; I detected no wariness toward her whatsoever.

As to turning down a free hooker, there are many reasons a heterosexual man would decline such an offer - distaste for the institition of prostitution in general, or a disinclination to being beholden to the maker of the offer, being two such possibilities. As to the fact that Merrick and Blazanov were roommates, that was far from uncommon then as now, and is no evidence at all of any sexual relationship. As to the "many hints at their true relationship" - well, several high-profile public homophobes have made careers pointing out such "hints" in mass culture, which are no more tenuous than the ones you cite. One might just as well accuse you of homocentrism/heterophobia for insisting on your interpretation that they *must* be gay - but that would also violate WP:AGF and be just as nonsensical to boot.

Now Langrishe, on the other hand ... --Davecampbell (talk) 00:08, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Nomenclature: "Whore" vs. "Sex worker"
I know that this edit is almost a year old and nobody has acted in that time, but I feel like 80.108.111.57's blanket replacement of "whore" with "prostitute" or "sex worker" got through on dubious grounds without any discussion. The proffered rationale, that the word "whore" is per se derogatory to women, is one that I'm not sure a consensus has coalesced around. I'm not personally in agreement, but I'd rather open it up for discussion than let a single editor make such a sweeping change. Here's my case: "whore," when used in the technical sense of "woman who receives money for sex" is a neutral, descriptive term no more inherently pejorative than what it's been replaced by. It can and often does have a mean-spirited connotation, but I don't think anyone is going to mistake the usage in this article for anything other than what is meant. It's also, of course, the show's own word and feels right in this context. I don't have much of a problem with "prostitute" either, but "sex worker" just smacks too much of PC whitewashing and besides is totally anachronistic and inconsistent with Deadwood's tone.

That's my piece. As I see it, there are four options: a) leave the article unchanged from its current, b) go with "prostitute" across the board, c) revert to the previous usage or d) let someone come through and make a case-by-case determination of the best usage. I'm obviously not in favor of (a) or (d) myself and I think (b) is a compromise most people can live with. The important thing is that we form a consensus instead of letting one person's norms of vocabulary and decorum dictate by fiat.

Since nobody has weighed in, I've taken the initiative of replacing each instance of "sex worker" with "prostitute." If anybody disagrees with that edit, let's talk about it here before getting into an edit war. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grifter84 (talk • contribs) 16:06, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 * UPDATE** 5/24/12

Hearst as major character?
How is it decided which list each character is placed into? Ought Hearst, who ends up being the series' primary antagonist, be considered more of a major character than Wild Bill, who dies four episodes in? Steel Mariner Talk  07:22, 7 February 2014 (UTC)