Last year marked the first time since Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves (1990) that a Western was at the center of a broad and often contentious debate. When HBO launched its series Deadwood, critics and Western fans engaged in heated arguments over its profanity and violence. This year we have not only Deadwood’s second season to contend with, but two other Westerns that have raised eyebrows: TNT’s summer miniseries Into the West, an ambitious project committed to giving a balanced v

November/December 2005