SEE WHAT DEVELOPS IN 'DEADWOOD'.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

DAVID MILCH has never been one to sacrifice audacity at the altar of his brilliance. When ``NYPD Blue'' - which he created with Steven Bochco - premiered, all anyone would discuss was the brief scenes of partial nudity - that it was compelling and grittily realistic was almost an afterthought until people actually watched it.

Similarly, when his HBO Western ``Deadwood'' debuted last year, the fact that the show boasted more profanity and prostitutes than a gangsta rap convention overshadowed Milch's ingenious depiction of the creation of a society. Even the galvanizing central villain, Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), sees that it's in his best interest to bring some measure of civilized behavior and success to the townful of dupes filling his coffers.

But ``inspired social commentary!'' doesn't bring 'em under the circus tent nearly as efficiently as ``lots of filthy talk!'' (or a Web site that includes a running body count for the series) does. In the end, though, those who stuck around discovered that ``Deadwood'' offers a lot of pessimistic yet gripping observations on how we've chosen to manufacture social order. Season one was recently released on DVD; like a lot of HBO series, it works better while viewing larger chunks than on a single-episode basis.

As season two begins, government outsiders are threatening to horn in on the riches the gold strikes have brought to the town.

After a season-long flirtation, upright (by Deadwood standards) Sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and wealthy widow Alma Garret (Molly Parker) have finally trysted. Swearengen recruited Bullock to maintain some semblance of order in town, even though the latter sees through the former's cynical objectives, which include helping himself to Garret's gold.

Bullock and Swearengen's dysfunctional symbiosis is one of the most fascinating relationships currently on any television series, and it doesn't take long for things to reach a violent head tonight. Just, inconveniently enough, as Bullock's late brother's widow and son arrive in town (Bullock agreed to take them in before getting involved with Alma), so plenty of messy confrontations are played out tonight.

Meanwhile, in future episodes, another brothel will open up in town with a madame (Alice Krige) who may be potentially more ruthless than the men in charge of the others, and the deceptively canny Garret will pursue greater ambitions.

Oh, and Swearengen falls gravely ill and must be treated with a primitive catheter up his urethra to treat kidney stones. Surprisingly, those scenes represents the longest he has gone on the series without cursing; of course, he's too busy emitting the guttural screams of the damned. Here is further evidence of Milch's capacity for audacity as much or more than genius storytelling, but they're inarguably visceral, wrenching moments.

We wish Al well - ``Deadwood's'' not the same when he's not trampling over everyone in sight, then offering philosophical nuggets justifying his behavior. If it weren't for all those sociopathic moments, we'd swear Swearengen had the soul, if not exactly the verbal gifts, of a poet.

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

DEADWOOD - Three and one half stars

What: Second-season premiere of the provocative Western about the denizens of a rabidly greedy community.

Where: HBO.

When: 10 tonight; 9 p.m. Tuesday, 11 p.m. Wednesday, 10 p.m. Friday.

In a nutshell: The nasty business of building a society is evisceratingly portrayed, with Ian McShane's central performance most memorable.