DEADWOOD: Loved Action!Al what with the leap off the balcony to go to Alma's aid and, of course, stomping the everlovin' shit out of Hearst's lackey (or was he more of a toady?) before settling on a more permanent means of dealing with him. Plus a great one word command: "Wu". Heh.

Also, a recent TV Guide had a short interview with Robin Weigart, and a photo of her in non-Jane mode. Never would have recognized her in a million years. Apparently she enjoys poker in real life, and was talking about how poker-playing Deadwood fans in Vegas wouldn't recognize her, but after interacting with her would be all "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

She was also talking about looping dialogue for syndicated airings to come, and how awful it was having to replace profanity with things like, I kid you not, "cob-shucking". Which I may have to start using IRL because it made me laugh and laugh.

I finally watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory over the weekend (on HBO), and I have to say that I thought Willy Wonka was much, much better. Yes, CatCF was more faithful to the original book, but WW had a better sense of the utter bizarreness of Willy Wonka, the man, and the creepy otherworldliness of his factory. Also, I thought that the actors were all better in the original, except for Johnny Depp, who was on the same level as Gene Wilder, just different. But, I did like the idea of making Mike Teevee a computer hacker/gamer and Violet Beaureguard an ultracompetitor (with a really creepy lookalike mom).

I think, because I saw it as a kid and just adored it beyond all reason, Willy Wonka is always going to be the one for me. There was a gentleness to Gene Wilder that I thought was missing from Johnny Depp's take on the characters, and true to the book or not, Depp's Wonka squicked me.

Plus, they took away my songs! "I want it NOOOOOOOWWWWWW!"

I still haven't seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Hie me to Netflix, stat. I know I'm not watching Willie Wonka again any time soon. Last time I watched (as an adult) it creeped me out disproportionately. Especially the Oompa Loompas. On our walk back home we passed a group of little people, and that sealed the deal. It had that surreal acid-drop feeling.

To Oompa Loompa's in WWatCF (vs. CatCF) were creepy, but it was the boat ride in the S.S. Wonkatina that pushed the creep out to 11 (talk about bad acid experiences). That said, I love the movie, probably because I saw it in a theater as a kid, and really enjoyed things that creeped me out.

The only thing that got me was the boat ride through the tunnel -- creepy to the extreme. I liked the Oompa Loompas, actually, and for whatever reason, even though it was a bit acid-droppy, it didn't ping any weirdness for me.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, on the other hand, rang alarm bells all over the place, having to do with misplaced childhood desires and Michael Jackson and a kind of cruelness and purposeful ignorance that I really hated.

Aw. Inevitable tunnel freakout cross post.

Haven't seen Deadwood yet, so I'll check back tomorrow, Frank.

There was a gentleness to Gene Wilder that I thought was missing from Johnny Depp's take on the characters

I like Wilder's interactions with the kids. Not just "Speak louder next time," which Depp also did ("Mumbling!"), but his little asides about their various misdeeds (on Violet's nosepicking, "I know a worse one [habit]") and that wonderful little moment when he's barring the group's entrance into the chocolate waterfall room and he runs his hand through Mike's hair and then plucks a hair out of his head. Throughout the film, though, you can tell he's searching for that One Good Kid for his heir. In CatCF, Charlie initially wins simply because he's the last one left.

Haven't seen Deadwood yet

Good episode, and it was written by W. Earl Brown.