The Women of Deadwood

Names/Ages Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane), 35; Paula Malcomson (Trixie), 34; Kim Dickens (Joanie Stubbs), 39; Molly Parker (Alma Garret), 32; Anna Gunn (Martha Bullock), 36.

Mustworthiness Playing bankers, widows, whores, boozers, mothers, mourners (and any combination thereof), these women represent the struggling, buoyant, motherf---ing heart of HBO's often heartless town.

Life in Deadwood, Part 1: The Potty Mouth Ain't That Big a Deal ''I'm Irish. We split up words to put f---- in between them,'' says Malcomson, ''so it's no stretch for me.'' Adds Parker: ''I was in a salon the other day and a woman came up to me who was probably in her 60s and said, 'Oh, I love the show. Sometimes I find the language a little difficult. . .' And then she said, 'Oh, what the hell, it's a great motherf---ing show.'''

Life in Deadwood, Part 2: It's Damn Hot, and Then There's. . . ''The f---ing corset,'' Dickens notes. ''It's 110 degrees, and we're wearing velvet and corsets and wool, hats, and wigs. You drink a lot of water.''

On Their Must Lists Malcomson gets her inspiration from ''Dolly Parton and Irish whiskey.'' Gunn guns for Meryl Streep, whom Weigert also adores: ''She is the chief inspiration in my life, even though it's been said by a million other people. What can I do?''

Next Films for Dickens and Parker. For all, season 3 of Deadwood starts shooting in late summer.