Hell On Wheels Season 1 (2011)

"Choose Hate. It's so much simpler."

AMC's latest original drama takes place in 1865 after the American Civil War and during construction of the transcontinental railroad. We follow Cullen Bohannon, a former confederate soldier on a quest for vengeance against the soldiers who killed his family. He finds one working as a foreman working for the Union Pacific railroad based at the titular town Hell on Wheels, so he gets a job there managing an all black cut crew. He will face not just setbacks in his thirst for revenge, but also in his relationships with other characters including former slaves, Irish immigrants, prostitutes, the head of security and the head of the company, Thomas Durant.

So much is going on, it's hard to see how they could have fit it all in just 10 episodes. At times things feel rushed and the central revenge plot seems to get lost in the middle of the season, but the production isn't above just holding off on some plot threads if it would get in the way. This is good when they pick the more interesting ones, freed slaves dealing with latent racism, over the less interesting ones, pretty much everything about the Irish brothers. The feel of the show is less authentic western period drama than it is dramatized excuse to have gunfights in a western setting which is perfectly fine. It makes full use of its drama with bloody gun fights, backstabbing, scalping and racism against both freed slaves and native americans. It starts slow, but, to borrow a pun, it picks up steam later on.

Episodes to See:
Bread and Circuses - Good conflict between Bohannon and Elam.
Revelations - An episode focused on the 2nd main character Elam.

Buyer's Guide:
Available on DVD and Blu Ray box sets and on iTunes and Amazon.

3½ Turning to God doesn't make an alcoholic hate whiskey out of 5