Deadwood (HBO)

WHAT HAPPENED NYPD Blue co-creator David Milch wanted to examine how people live when there is no law. The answer: they say c---sucker a lot (six times in the 2004 premiere). If they're Ian McShane's Al Swearengen, they also run a saloon/whorehouse and have men murdered and fed to hogs.
PUBLIC REACTION While historians (and stars of Gunsmoke and Bonanza) wondered if Milch's West had to be that wild, the only resonating rumblings of ''boycott'' were those heard last year when HBO sent the critically acclaimed series off into the sunset. — Mandi Bierly