Today’s TV review is AMC’s Hell on Wheels, a show that a couple of people asked me to review weeks ago on the day after its premiere. I would have been happy to oblige then (and welcome any requests for future shows) but I like to give a show a couple weeks to marinate. I feel that it takes three or four episodes for a serialized drama like Hell on Wheels to really get going or–as is sometimes the case–reveal that it really isn’t going anywhere. So now I’ve seen the first four episodes (I haven’t yet gotten around to watching last night’s ep, so apologies if it’s radically different from the others) and feel like I have a pretty good feel that Hell on Wheels is, unfortunately, not going any place special.
I had really high hopes for this Western series set during the building of America’s first transnational railroad. For starters, I’m a big fan of HBO’s criminally underrated and cancelled series “Deadwood” (perhaps the best series America ever let slip through the cracks) and was hoping to see another Western triumph for the small screen. Also, I think the building of America’s railroad, the connection of the Civil War divided East to the lawless West that ultimately tamed the wild West, is a great setting for a show.
However, the series fumbles its potential at every turn. It’s hero–a former Confederate soldier hellbent on getting revenge against the Union soldiers who murdered his wife–is the shallowest lead character the infinitely deep AMC network (home to Mad Men’s Don Draper and Breaking Bad’s Walter White) has ever come up with. He’s also whitewashed–the racial pun is intentional–as a former slave owner who freed all of his slaves before the war broke out because “it was the right thing to do,” but fought for the South because of “honor.” Uhhhh, right…not buying it.
And that wouldn’t matter so much if the show had a deep well of great supporting characters to draw from, but it also comes up short in this department. None of the characters on the show have any real depth and only a few are even lively. Plus, the narrative just isn’t going anywhere mostly as a real narrative hasn’t developed. There are various (minor) intrigues but not that are that fascinating. Mostly it feels like we’re looking at pretty scenery as characters that aren’t interesting wait to do something. Kind-of like all of AMC’s most recent shows (The Walking Dead, The Killing). Is this really the best AMC can replace the brutally cancelled Rubicon with?
Supporting Scene Stealers: There really aren’t any, but Colm Meaney comes closest as a scheming railroad baron.