The hoopleheads win ... sort of

It seems like the fan outrage over the effective cancellation of "Deadwood" has helped HBO and David Milch come to an agreement about the future of the show. Although there will be no fourth season, as HBO promised this spring, there will be a couple two-hour episodes that will conclude the series.

Personally, I don't understand why four hours is preferable to the six-episode season 4 that HBO originally offered. But I am glad that Milch and the cast will have a chance to wrap up the show the way it should be. Of course, HBO still has to renegotiate contracts for all the actors, including Timothy Olyphant (Seth Bullock), Ian McShane (Al Swearengen), Molly Parker (Alma Garret), and Powers Booth (Cy Tolliver). So we'll keep an eye on how that goes.

There's was a rumor that the Gem Saloon set was trashed, confirmed by W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority) on the HBO-Deadwood board, but it was apparently saved at the last minute. That set should be going to the Smithsonian, as representative of the greatest drama on TV, instead of the dumpster.

And lots of fans are still planning on canceling HBO the day after the third season finale. I'm planning on doing this as well. I'll catch the series wrap-up on DVD.