What I've Been Doing

Yup...well, not writing short stories, that's for sure. And I feel kind of guily about not posting anything significant here for a while, so I thought I'd give you proof that I'm not being bone idle by posting you my course homework for my masters. This weeks homework was to re-write the ending of an episode of a series. I chose episode 15 of Deadwood. _____ The series I chose to work with is a 3 season, 36-episode television drama series produced by HBO called Deadwood. Deadwood chronicles the rise of a small mining camp in the Black Hills region of South Dakota during the time of the 1870's gold rush. At the time of its inception, the camp is not legally part of any state, but situated on Native American treaty territory. As the town grows, the prospect of it being taken into the "Union" presents one of the large story arcs in the series. The series also incorporates a great deal of American wild-west mythology, drawing in such icons of the West as Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok. Some, like Jane, are central characters in the series. The series might be considered a docudrama, in that many of the events and characters portrayed in the series are historically accurate. The series has been the focus of much controversy for its gritty portrayal of frontier life in a gold-rush town, its obscene language and its treatment of the camp's women who, with few exceptions, are prostitutes. The episodic structure is more filmic than most TV series. Very few story arcs are tied up in any single episode, and, with the series cancellation at the end of the third season, some arcs were never resolved. Despite some of the criticism levelled against it, "Deadwood is one of most acclaimed dramas on television. The series was nominated for 22 Emmys(r) and won 7 and earned a Golden Globe(r) Award in its first two seasons for Ian McShane." (About the Show, Deadwood Website, 2005) For the purposes of the exercise set in this week's module, I have chosen to write the ending of Episode 15, titled "New Money". To assist in tracking the various story arcs and plot line, I made an Excel spreadsheet outlining each of the 36 scenes in the episode, summarizing each of them. I have appended the spreadsheet to my post. My undying thanks go to the marvellous Cristi Brockway who, as a dedicated fan, has produced transcripts for each of the episodes in the series. New Money, Episode 15, Deadwood. Pre-Summary: It is understood by the audience that Al Swearingen, owner of the Gem Saloon and brothel and the most powerful force in the town, has had an extremely violent fistfight with the newly appointed Sheriff, Seth Bullock. Bullock has had a short-lived and passionate affair with the lately widowed and now extremely rich Alma Garret, and the cause of the fight lies there. In Swearingen's irritation at what he sees as Bullock's moral hypocrisy. Both have been injured, as has Seth's partner in his hardware store, Sol Star, and his recently appointed deputy and friend, Charlie Utter. Swearingen's business competitor, Sy Tolliver, the owner of the Bella Union, has reluctantly let his madam, Joanie, leave to start her own high-class brothel, the Chez Ami. A group of girls, and Joanie's partner in the new venture, Maddie, have just arrived in town. Sol Star, the only Jew in the town, has been having a strange and rather one-sided affair with one of Swearingen's whores, Trixie. She is torn between her loyalty to Swearingen, and her badly hidden affection for Star. Meanwhile, negotiations for the inclusion of the Black Hills territory into either the state of Dakota or of Montana, has been proceeding and legal wranglings at the state level have left the town insecure in their legal status and unsure of the legitimacy of their gold claims. In the previous episode, Bullock's wife (his brother's widow) and stepson arrive in town, putting an uncomfortable and sudden end to his relationship with Alma Garret. Summary: The episode opens with Swearingen dreadfully ill, not only due to his recent beating, but also because he's suffering from kidney stones. A stranger arrives in town and is revealed to be a representative for George Hearst. He enlists the help of Mayor and hotel-owner E.B. Farnum, and Cy Tolliver, to spread rumours that the gold-claims held by the townspeople will be ruled illegitimate, with an eye to plummeting the price of holdings so his employer can purchase claims cheaply. The newly arrived Maddie, Joanie's partner at the Chez Ami, recognizes the stranger as a Frances Wolcott. His reputation as a sexual sadist has given her the idea to lure him into a situation in which she can blackmail him for money, at the risk of a whore's life. Meanwhile, Seth Bullock attempts to play the good husband and father to his newly arrived wife and stepson. Their interrelationships are tenuous and uncomfortable as it is clear that Bullock has established a life and entanglements in the camp. Trixie, Star's lover, asks to be given lessons in accounts, but her offer to pay "in cunt" for the lessons is rebuffed and she is left humiliated by the rejection of the only currency she possesses. She is torn between the prospect of a "legitimate" life, and the comfort of what she knows as a whore at the Gem. In a less than sober conversation with Calamity Jane, we are informed that the nefarious Swearingen is a complex character who has plotted to take the life of Alma's ward, Sophia but, at the same time, has taken the cripple, Jewel, under his wing to keep her from the horrors of orphanage life. The doctor is finally allowed to attend Swearingen and makes his employees aware of the gravity of his illness. The ending of the episode as written: There is no real resolution of any of the story arcs at the end of this episode. Swearingen has been seen by the doctor, and his immediate peril of drowning in his own waste has been avoided, but the kidney stones are still there and removing them with surgery will probably kill him. The rumour mill has begun to turn and the uncertainty of the towns gold-claims have begun to run through the population. Joanie has had her first close encounter with the sinister Mr. W. and Maddie's plan to entrap him in a scandal is in the works. Trixie remains undecided as to which side of the fence to walk on: as an clerk in Star & Bullock's hardware store, or as head whore at the Gem. Alma Garret is left to watch wistfully as Bullock attempts to play husband and father, with Ellsworth, her mine manager, as awkward but supportive companion. My version, by necessity a single tie up of a single story arc, begins at scene 34, with Wolcott in Jeanie's room. SCENE 34 – INTERIOR: JEANIE'S ROOM AT THE CHEZ AMI BROTHEL WOLCOTT:     (sitting down on a chair at the side of Jeanie's bed) Who am I. JEANIE:     You, sir, are Mister W. (she walks over to him and straddles his knees, unbuttoning his shirt). Your boss struck bigger than anyone in the Comstock and Mexico.  So you bein' here puts a shine to this camp's prospects.. Ain't that right? WOLCOTT:     (Visibly uncomfortable at her proximity) That is indeed the case. Don't don't JEANIE:     Shush now, honey. Every man, no matter how high'n' mighty, needs a little fun now and then (she continues unbuttoning his shirt, gazing into his eyes seductively.) WOLCOTT:     Don't don't look at me. Look away! JEANIE:     (covering her confusion) Alrighty, then. How's about I just pay attention to other business. (She slips her hand down into his trousers). WOLCOTT:     No stop it. Get off me, you whore. JEANIE:      (ignoring his protestations, she continues with her ministrations) Name callin' ain't gonna work with me, Mr. W. I know what I am, and I can tell you like me just fine. WOLCOTT:     (almost catatonic, reaches surreptitiously into his jacket pocket and pulls out a straight-edged razor, thumbing it open. Suddenly calmed, his voice is cold). Where did you learn your craft, Miss Jeanie, at your daddy's knee? JEANIE:      (Sensing a change, his turn towards viciousness, she looks down and sees the razor. She redoubles her efforts to distract him while reaching behind to pull the gun, tucked into the back her skirt's waistband out) It seems to me you ain't too particular 'bout where I learned it. WOLCOTT:     (visibly aroused, glassy eyed, he grabs her hair, pulling her head back and raises the razor) You're all the same venomous and two-faced bitches (he stops dead as he hears the cocking of her pistol, looks down to where it's pressed against his chest, and then lowers the razor, slashing at her neck.) JEANIE:     (fires the gun at his chest and then realizes that she herself has been cut) Oh, fuck oh God MADDIE:     (rushes into the room and surveys the scene) Joanie, you stupid, stupid cunt. What have you done? JEANIE:      (stands back shakily, clutching at the bleeding cut on her throat. Wolcott's body slumps sideways in the chair) I wasn't I wasn't gonna let another girl die not by his hand or any other. I seen too much of that. (she stumbles to the bed, trying to staunch her bleeding with a sheet). Get the fucking Doc, before you lose a partner, Maddie. MADDIE:     (Glares at her angrily) He was our ticket out of here, don't you see? (Tears spring to her eyes, frustrated and furious) I'd have wrung that bastard like a wet rag for every penny he had. We could've had a good life, you and me. JEANIE:     I ain't gonna have any if you don't fetch the Doc. (Maddie turns to leave the room) And get Cy Tollliver, too. This is gonna change everything.   References Wallington, A. (2003) Seven Steps to A Successful Spec Script, The Pilot Project Website. http://www.pilotproject.tv/7_steps_spec_script.html (Accessed May 8, 2007) HBO's Deadwood Website (2007) http://www.hbo.com/deadwood (Accessed May 11, 2007) Brockway, C (2005) Deadwood Episode 15 Transcript http://members.aol.com/chatarama/previously/Ep15.htm  (Accessed May 11, 2007)