AMC's "He11 on Wheels"

Watched season 1 but I have DISH and thus no more AMC   I change providers but have little choice. 

Season 2 is not as good as 1.

Still a decent show but the plot seems to be getting kinda stupid.

I also had Dish (), but since I love this show, along with "Breaking Bad" and "Walking Dead", I switched back to DirecTV.  Got a better DVR, and some extra channels I didn't have before in the process as well.

Other than the dropping of AMC, I had no other problems with Dish.

If you are a fan of this show, I'd highly recommend signing up for their newsletter and checking out their web site.  They've had some interesting short articles on the historical figures and situations portrayed in the show, along with interviews with the cast and crew.

Andy

They also have a short video on how they built the locomotive and train.  

Too bad the locomotives feature such ridiculous "weathering."

I guess that they are trying for a "look" rather than strict realism.  I try not to pay too much attention to the locomotives because they lack that "spark of life" that a real locomotive has.  It is kind of like looking at those Japanese robots that are built to look like and mimic real people - just something creepy about them - close to the real thing but still lacking in that special something.

Andy

I'm sure its been mentioned before, but a great book that details the true history of the UP and CP and all the crazy adventure that really took place during the creation of these roads is, Stephen Ambrose's "Nothing Like It In The World".

Great book.  A bit dry at times.  But very informative.  (for instance, did you know that the Union Pacific was named in honor of the Union side of the Civil War?)

- timbo

I hear you. I know they're going for that gritty "Old West" feel we're used to. But I think there's something to be said about showing maybe what the engines were really painted like.

I do think they did a pretty commendable job with the engines' constuction. Not bad for folks with little to no knowledge of period motive power.

Back in that period, didn't they also like keep their engines very clean (in addition to being brightly painted)?

Sitting still, the engines do look impressive.  It is when they are moving that they betray the illusion for me.  Maybe it has something to do with the sound effects and the smoke...

Andy

Yep--spotless. The engines were often permanently assigned to an engineer, and these men spared no expense making sure their steeds glistened in the sun (the engine wipers whose duty it was to polish the brightwork with oiled rags might have had other ideas).

thought season 1 was interesting. It's really evolved into a full time soap opera though. I guess that's kind of the lifespan of historical based shows.

I like the "soap opera" aspect.  Too many historical dramas tend to focus too much on the history, and too little on the people who lived that history, and when that happens, you wind up with a rather dry and stale, or just plain mechanical end product.

History is not just a collection of names, dates, events and places.  It was a real time that was lived by real people, and these people all had hopes and dreams, agendas or goals, virtues and shortcomings, successes and failures.  Delving into these aspects of character, and how the characters interact really makes a good drama.  The history aspect is just the stage and set for the play, and maintains its rightful place in the background on this show.

Andy

Great show as it really shows the West how it was.  Not an easy life as building a railroad required brawn and miles per day.  Fans of the Turner Thesis would appreciate it along with Dr Carroll and HE Bolton.

SOA is starting next as they are filming out in the SFV.

I'm enjoying the series, as it gives a good rendition of the issues involved in building the UP. In fact, I finally bought a copy of the Ambrose book, and I am reading it now. It interesting to read a couple of chapters, and then to view an episode or two of the series. By the way, the young woman's chin tatoo is based on that of Olive Oatman, whose story can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Oatman