Hell On Wheels - Season 1 [DVD]

American TV continues its run of quality series with this Western set in post Civil War America. There is a sense of the familiar in the way the episodes are put together, using the editing and music stylistic choices that have worked well in other quality TV series, but satisfyingly there is also a sense of something new, in the setting and the characters. The setting is a gritty - well no, lets make that muddy, settlement which houses the workers on the railroad, and moves from time to time to stay where the work is - hence the title. Into this town of ex slaves, immigrants, criminals and whores, comes an ex-Confederate soldier, on the trail of Union soldiers who murdered his wife. However the pleasure in the series isn't this slim character arc, but rather getting to know the range of characters who subvert the usual clichéd expectations in Western - yes, we get the hooker with a heart of gold - but her history is an unexpected one, and yes, we get the lone preacher trying to convert the wretched hive of scum and villainy - but his character is also not as we at first expect. Even Colm Meaney's magnificent railroad baron is a treat, as he defies expectations and manipulates (and occasionally is manipulated) those around him. The head of security is a fantastic creation - The Swede, and then there is Common, playing the ex slave, and Dominique McElligott as the Englishwoman who supplies the beauty against the range of beasts on display. They're all well drawn and well acted characters, which makes this an eminently watchable series.I had the same view as others as I watched this, that it was good to have a  Deadwood Ultimate Collection Seasons 1-3 [DVD ] substitute back on screen - but in fact it's kind of unfair to compare the two. The settings are quite different, though both maximise the drama by using a very distinct geographically bounded area to set their scene. They are both down and dirty and show humanity at more lows than highs, but I would suggest there is a hint more optimism here, even if we still have the violence and cursing and whoring. I am not an expert on the period, but the railroad crews are an interesting point of view to peek into this period of history and convinces as to its authenticity thanks in large part to its utterly committed cast. I for one am looking forward to the next series...

Good acting and a good story line with quite a few interesting sub plots going on.Hell on Wheels is the name of a camp in which a railroad construction squad live.The story is based around the building of an east west train line by mainly ex-cons and freed black slaves. Many with their own story to tell. The principal Character is played by Anson Mount an ex Confederate Army Officer looking for the Yankee's that raped and murdered his wife and child. (a bit like Eastwood's "The Outlaw Jose Wales" but with a twist)As expected there is also quite a bit of double dealing, backstabbing and treachery mixed in for good measure. In reality all the characters are baddies but some are much worse than others.The most loathsome of the bad baddies is a character called the Swede (he is actually a Norwegian and can't understand why he is called the Swede). The Swede is a strange looking skinny beanpole of a person with a manipulative masochistic and yet sadistic psychopathic character to boot. He has the perfect appearance for the arch-baddie and makes one feel a little uncomfortable whenever he appears, yet he invokes a little pathos at the same time.It is only towards the end of season two that the true motivation for his wickedness becomes apparent when he links up with the Indians. Like many bad baddies he appears very difficult to killAnother principal character is the drunken priest - this I found to be the weak point of the series as his story has been repeated in so many films before.This is an excellent series and I can't wait for season three to start

Well I happened upon this series by accident, while going through Itunes i saw it available on their but just one episode plus a trailer, watched the trailer and thought wow. so checked on Amazon and pre-ordered it. And finally it came. And is it any good? Hell yeah.... only dissapointing thing about this series is only ten episodes would have preferred 12 episodes but hey that's nothing to complain about. Not going to bore you with what it's about.set in the wild old west just after the civil war. A man is looking for his wives killers, and comes accross a railroad being built and basically gets a job... see doesnt really much justice :)I love westerns, but thankfully this series isn't just a point and shoot; no pointless deaths just for the fun of it. the stories strong and so is the acting.also like the whole racism issue that interwines through the series. With rapper/actor Common being the veiwpoint of the ex-slaves. which shows are they really free??????brought you by the samne people who brought us the walking dead (AMC)trust me buy it watch love it... It's as simple as that.... comes pretty much in a normal DVD case, three disc set, disc's one and two house four episodes each plus the third disc has episodes nine and ten plus special featureswhich are:'Recreating the past; the making of hell on wheels''Crashing a train from concept to camera''Inside hell on wheels Featurettes''Making of featurettes''behind the scenes footage''trailer'total running time for the series 412 Mins,plus English subtitles.havent watched the special features so can't tell you if they any good and inciteful or just fillers and boring.Enjoy