Tony Soprano has nothing on Al Swearengen.

Fact

Swearengen was one of the best characters in TV ever, and it's solely due to Ian McShane playing him. Nobody else would have done it as well.

And he wasn't even the first choice. Nor the second. Originally it was supposed to be Ed O'Neil. Then Powers Boothe. Neither were available, so they rolled with McShane.

Not a fair comparison. Swearengen’s lines were in iambic pentameter and Tony’s Soprano’s were in goomba. One is Shakespeare and the other is what you get when you shop for furniture off the back of a semi.

“Wu?!” “Who?!” “Wu?!” “WHO STOLE THE FUCKING DOPE?!”

The man himself.

The scenes of Al Swearengen dealing with kidney stones convinced me to stay well hydrated ever since.

Deadwood dialogue is unparalleled

I'm about to start Deadwood for the first time