'Deadwood' not dead yet

That huge sigh of relief you heard this week came from fans who learned that "Deadwood" isn't quite dead, after all.

For a while there, it looked as if HBO's blistering revisionist Western would ride off into the sunset after its 12-episode third season, which begins Sunday at 10 p.m. Depending on whom you listened to, responsibility fell to HBO, which became scared off by "Deadwood's" exorbitant production costs — or to gifted series creator David Milch, who gave off indications that he was ready to move on to another project.

For the small but fiercely loyal band of "Deadwood" devotees, this came as a sucker punch to the gut. After all, we had been led to believe the series would follow a four-season story arc.

At one point, HBO offered Milch a truncated six-episode fourth season, but he balked. Finally, Milch and HBO agreed to wrap up the series with a pair of two-hour "movies." It certainly isn't the optimum solution, but it's better than nothing.

More importantly, it allows the fans to chill out. Now, instead of launching rabid protests and digging our steely spurs into HBO bigwigs, we can savor Season 3 without the threat of a pall hanging over it.

And that's a very good thing, because, based on a review of five episodes, "Deadwood" still ranks as one of television's most captivating experiences, blessed as it is with jaw-droppingly good writing, high-caliber performances and ravishing production values.

This season, the series continues to play up the rough and profane realities of frontier life, but the dynamics are changing. The lawless era in Deadwood is slowly coming to an end as new residents flow in and the town's first true elections approach.

All of this makes it more critical than ever for people like sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and corrupt saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) to protect their hard-earned interests. However, the ominous arrival of wealthy mining magnate George Hearst (Gerald McRaney) is threatening to gum up the works.

In a bloody gold rush camp that revolves around violence, greed, booze, hookers and dope, the foul-mouthed Swearengen has always been the baddest bad guy. But from early on, it's clear that the interloper Hearst can match Swearengen in terms of ruthlessness and has the money and muscle to leave him in the Deadwood dust.