AMC’s
great little Western Hell on Wheels became a pretty good performer for the
network and even had a ratings increase when being moved to Saturday nights
which at the time I had thought was a way to bury the series but their all day
Western programming paid off for the show.
The show got to complete five seasons compared to the three HBO cut
Deadwood off at but Hell on Wheels got better with every season.
I have always
thought the show winks at Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales a bit and I
am cool with that as that is my favorite movie any way. Anson Mount’s Cullen Bohannan shares a lot with
Wales as they are both former Rebel soldiers who survived the war but
unfortunately their families did not and that led to revenge. Revenge is the oldest
motivation known to mankind and that overcomes them until it is fulfilled. Both
Bohannan and Wales are born to be soldiers and dare I say get a knack for
killing but only to survive in a post-Civil War era where they are known as the
losers. That sounds like First Blood’s
John Rambo too.
Anyway Bohannan
finds a new war in building the railroad out West to expand the nation and he
runs into plenty of battles along the rail.
This was a great show and I think it ran just the right length of time
to tell its historical story and it did not over stay its welcome. As always I never spoil shows or movies but I
did want to explain the series had a rather ambiguous ending which most audiences
hate these days but I love it because I get to decide in my own mind what
ultimately happens to these characters and that is quite refreshing. This series is highly recommended so go get
the blu rays or DVDs or I guess stream it legally please if you want to watch. Now on to a new series, Stranger Things
perhaps?
No comments:
Post a Comment