(S01E02) It's going to get harder and harder for Mitch and Bill to explain away the miraculous occurrences going on around them by way of their own neuroses now. Last week, Bill could chalk up Zippy the Wonder Bird's resurrection to his senility, and Mitch could decide that his levitating abilities came courtesy of a plumcot-sized brain tumor.

George Carlin's "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" routine famously landed him in jail. He was charged for obscenity in 1972 after performing the bit at Milwaukee's Summerfest. When it was broadcast the following year on a New York City radio station, the FCC got in on the act. The radio station challenged the fine, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Now, I intend on using every one of Carlin's "dirty words" after the jump so consider yourself warned. Be prepared to wash your computer's mouth out with soap. It may look like a saint, but it swears like sailor.

You know, it's been so long since I've seen the last episode of Deadwood that I'll have to go back and watch it again to prepare for the two movies that will end the western saga. I think the last scene showed Gerald McRaney on his way out of town, probably heading to Jericho, Kansas.

But there's no rush. According to this story at the Chicago Tribune, not only are the two movies not going to air until 2008 at the earliest, but (according to cast member W. Earl Brown), the stars of the show haven't even signed contracts to appear in the TV flicks. But creator David Milch said a couple of months that he is "committed" to finishing the movies.

HBO continues to prepare for a post Sopranos world. There has been a lot of talk about their upcoming shows lately, including adapting George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, David Milch's John From Cincinnati, and the untitled Kanye West project. We can now add two more to that list.

The network has picked up a one-hour comedy from producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason (Designing Women) called 12 Miles Of Bad Road. The show will star Lily Tomlin as the matriarch of a rich Texas family. Add in the family real estate business and a collection of relatives and hilarity will ensue, hopefully. The idea almost sounds like a Dallas spoof. With Tomlin on board, it will certainly be worth a look. Look for Gary Cole, Mary Kay Place, and Leslie Jordan to also appear.

Fresh off of Deadwood (does anyone else think that left the air too soon?), David Milch and the cast presented their new surfing drama John From Cincinnati to the TCA. Most surprising was the fact that there are some mystical elements to the show ... although they weren't really elaborated on at the panel. The clips offered up contained scenes of levitation and a bird seeming to come back to life, but seeing them out of context makes us unsure to label them just yet.

Milch did get a bit esoteric though, and said that the show takes place on "the edge of the coordinates of reality." It has a vague aura of Six Feet Under around it, even though the subjects are entirely different, and I tend to like shows that aren't laid out for you in black and white.

First it looked like there wasn't going to be a fourth season of Deadwood at all. Then David Milch said he was trying to raise the $60 million himself for another season. Now comes official word that Milch and HBO have reached a deal. After this third season, the show will wrapup with two two-hour movies.

Interestingly, HBO did offer Milch a fourth season. But it was for only 6 episodes, and Milch didn't want to do that. So they're going with the movies instead.

Here's an update to our earlier news that David Milch had confirmed that Deadwood was, indeed, dead: Milch himself is trying to raise the $60 million dollars he would need to continue the series! I guess that HBO hasn't given a definite "no" to another season of the western, so Milch is trying to save the show himself. Milch says:

"I'm doing what I can ... any financial participation could take the pressure off. HBO hasn't said no ... if I were a gambling guy, which I am, I'd say odds are less than even money."

Milch says the actors were shocked that HBO said no to another season too. Stay tuned ...

[via TV Tattle]

In news that might be kind of a shock for fans, it looks like the upcoming third season of Deadwood might be the last.

HBO is letting the cast "explore their options," which bascially means that they are free to consider other options.  In fact, creator/writer David Milch is exploring his own option, concentrating on a new surfer drama for HBO titled John From Cincinnati.

More on this as it develops ...

(thanks to Dave for the heads up)

Deadwood creator David Milch is not a big fan of the way the media now covers the news. During a luncheon at the Museum of TV & Radio in Beverly Hills, Milch compared the way TV news covers major events to TV "shows":

"Disaster works. Disaster sells ...but the media is putting us in a position where we're not permitted to have normal reactions ...[the war in Iraq was like] a three-week miniseries with a beginning, a middle, and end ...When the series was over, the President's approval ratings was 98% -- that was a good show. What's left is 'reruns' with people dying."

Another interesting revelation in the article: Deadwood was originally set in ancient Rome.