I’m a sucker for a good western, and these days they are few and far between. Hollywood’s heyday of western film making is far behind us, so I am excited to see that television has brought us one worth watching. On Nov. 6, 2011, AMC debuted “Hell on Wheels,” a western that focuses on the towns that followed the building of the Transcontinental railroad. These towns were mostly tents that picked up and moved as the railroad progressed westward. They were rough and violent places where a man could spend his money on whiskey, whores or even a peep show or two. Assault, robbery and murder were common and law was nearly non-existent. The only thing that mattered was laying track.
“Hell on Wheels” follows a host of very interesting characters. The main protagonist is Cullen Bohannon, (played by Anson Mount) a former Confederate Officer who came home from the war only to find his wife and son murdered at the hands of some rogue Yankees. His is a flawed and haunted character as his mission in life is to exact revenge by hunting down those responsible for the murder of his family. Cullen Bohannon can be both admirable and detestable and makes a very good anti-hero.
Colm Meaney plays the railroad tycoon ‘Thomas “Doc” Durant’ too perfection, and is the driving force behind the Union Pacific’s run westward. Durant is a politically savvy, money hungry, stop at nothing miscreant who will step on anyone who gets in his way, even U.S. Senators. Common plays ‘Elam Ferguson,’ a former slave, who has come west hoping to find his own fortune. I had never heard of Common before “Hell on Wheels” aired and had no idea of his musical background. He does an incredible job bringing forth the frustration and naivety of being black and a former slave in 19th century America.
There is a host of other colorful characters that fill out “Hell on Wheels.” Not since “Lonesome Dove” has a western had such a plethora of deep characters. The Swede is an unforgettable personality played brilliantly by Christopher Heyerdahl. There’s also the preacher who rode with John Brown before the war. There’s the young Cheyenne warrior who has found Jesus but is still torn between the white man’s world and his own Native American culture. There’s Lily Bell, who survived an Indian attack, losing her husband, and is now trying to find her own place in the west. There’s the McGinnes brothers who have brought their little slide projector west in hopes of striking it rich. Recurring characters such as Chief Many Horses, played by the always brilliant Wes Studi, fill out the cast and keep the tracks moving westward.
The show is strikingly realistic in its setting and portrayal of 19th century life. It’s sometimes brutal and bloody telling of the westward movement after the end of the Civil War leaves one feeling admiration and pity for all in involved. The writers have left nothing out. The dirt and mud are everywhere. Racial bias permeates “Hell on Wheels,” as blacks, Indians and Irish feel the heat of ignorant discrimination. Revenge, violence and treachery are the order of the day and no one, it seems, can be trusted. To the last details, show creators Joe and Tony Gayton, have made the series as believable as if you were standing in the real thing.
The first season is nothing short of amazing. The fresh wounds of the Civil War are stark and painful as the season begins and runs like a psychosomatic under current leaving no one unaffected. Every character has their good moments and their own personal disasters. Death is a fact of life.
The cinematography is beautiful, and, though shot in Alberta, looks very much like the Nebraska plains it portrays. Fortunately, AMC has renewed the series and the show will return next winter. That’s a long wait for a western fan, but I guess some things are worth waiting for.