Hell on Wheels

[plush]

The season finale is next Sunday. I've watched every single episode and am finally hooked. It started out a little slow but the last few episodes have been great in building up tension to finally grab my interest. It has been renewed for a second season so at least AMC is giving it some more room to grow. I have been waiting for a good Western to fill the void that Deadwood left and this show is doing a great job at that.

The show is set right after the end of the Civil War and centers around a former confederate soldier, Bohannon (played by Anson Mount) who is searching for the Yankee soldiers who murdered his wife and son. The search lands him at Hell on Wheels, a camp with paid workers, both black and white, hired to build the first Transcontinental Railroad in America. So it's right after slavery has been abolished and the show highlights plenty of the racial tensions of the time, both with the former slaves and the Natives whose land the Government is trying to take by force in order to build the railroad. Of course, with the camp like this there's prostitutes and missionaries , entertainers and opportunits and all sorts of other characters out in the hunt to make money.

I don't know any of the actors except Common who is very very good and very very sexy. So is Anson Mount, the lead actor. I can't stop staring at him.He is beautiful.One look at his imdb page tells me he's been very active albeit landing small parts here and there but I've never noticed him until now.

[Deleted]

As a devotee of Star Trek: TNG, I'm just getting a kick out of Miles O'Brien playing a villain in a not-too convincing American accent. They also seem to have the market cornered on creepy tall guys with Tom Noonan and whoever plays The Swede.

[kathy1977]

I love this show. Yes, it was slow to get started but I am so glad I stuck with it.

I really don't like Common's acting. I do think he is sexy though.

I am rooting for a Cullen/Lily pairing. It's predictable but they have such great chemistry.

Actually there are a couple of predictable things the show is doing that I really don't like. Making Cullen and Elam "friends" is one of them. I was liking that they had an unapologetic dislike for each other. I liked that Cullen was an unapologetic former slave owner. It made sense for the time period. It's not easy to hear some of the stuff coming out of the actors mouths but I want the show to keep things realistic.

[Deleted]

I liked them better when they didn't like each other too, it felt more realistic. Another predictable thing I'm not liking is the whole Noble Southerners vs. The Evil Yankees dynamic they've got going on. Seriously, there is not one positive character on this show from the North. As a native New Englander with deep roots in Massachusetts (where Durant was really from) I find that stereotype annoying. Yes, there were carpetbaggers and whatnot but we were not all like that.

[ikmccall]

I liked the episodes I did watch but forgot about the show around the holidays. Love the Irish brothers. I'll have to catch up on ONDEMAND.

[FiggyPudding]

I also thought it started very slowly and almost stopped watching. But I'm really liking it now. Colm Meaney reminds me of the character he played in Far and Away. A lot.

I don't find Anson Mount particularly attractive in real life, but he has a lot of charisma on the show. Plus his growling delivery is convincing without making me yell at the screen for him to stop the voice affectation.

I thought the pairing of Joseph and the preacher's daughter was another predictable element, but it should be interesting.

[captain]

My husband really likes this show. He started watching it because he wasn't tired after The Walking Dead. Then a couple of weeks ago I caught up during the weekend marathon.

I am surprised that they had Lily move out of Durant's place but appreciate that she got indignant when Bohanon made some comment on it. It's predictable, but I want them to hook up.

[Deleted]

Like others here, I almost gave up on this series after a couple of episodes. It was well acted and the photography was great but it didn't seem to be on track (heh!) to go anywhere. The Swede character kept me hanging in, though. He is just so BIZARRE. Reminds me of the original Nosferatu somehow. Later episodes picked up steam (heh!).

Has Bohannon gone walkabout, though? He has to stay in the general vicinity of Hell on Wheels, or the show will have to be renamed Somewhere In North Central U.S. And I really want Lily to get naked in Season II. Preferably with me.

[kateln]

It's streaming on Netflix, and so I've been watching. It started slow, but now I'm enjoying it. Can't wait for the second season to start.

The Swede character is really interesting, Duke is right--he does move like Nosferatu. I could picture him being a creature of the undead. The Reverend is interesting as well. I like that he seems to be very complicated, and when he took the Soldier's head off with his own sword, I believe I went "Holy Shit!" then "Ok, I'm hooked on this show..."

[bklynred]

I like this much more on second viewing. Which is good, as it gives me another cool show to watch throughout the summer.

kathy, I think Common's acting has improved over the hiatus. I thought he was pretty bad first season (and I've seen and liked his acting elsewhere... I just thought this was maybe beyond him).