Hell on Wheels: The Complete Second Season

A snippet of actual dialogue here—“No one's ever gutted a man for me before”—suggests the basic tone of AMC's how-the-West-was-won-and-it-wasn't-pleasant series. The title refers to a multi-ethnic traveling boomtown of immigrants, fortune-seekers, fanatics, freed slaves, and renegades, who follow the laying of the Union Pacific railway line to the Rockies shortly after the Civil War. In this second season, mildly Eastwood-esque vengeful anti-hero and ex-Confederate Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) goes from wanted outlaw to being hired by UP's overseer tycoon, Durant (Colm Meaney). Meanwhile, the railroad is threatened from within and without by bandits, Indian raids, labor unrest, and Durant's profligate corruption. Strong period detail, well-drawn characters, and a fatalistic sense of brooding menace have made this adult Western addictive viewing. The solid supporting cast includes Common, Tom Noonan, Virginia Madsen, and Ben Esler. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2012, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, a set tour with Mount, and a first season recap. Definitely tougher stuff than Lonesome Dove, this will be welcomed by fans of edgy frontier dramas such as Deadwood. Recommended. (C. Cassady)