I received a fair amount of passionate -- and occasionally unsettling -- e-mail in the wake of the news that HBO's "Deadwood" wouldn't be returning next year for a full fourth season.

And I'm just a subscriber.

So you can imagine that HBO honcho Chris Albrecht might also have heard from a fan or two.

When I asked him what his e-mail had been like, he said, "My favorite was, 'May you never take an easy dump again.'"

There was, he acknowledged, quite an outpouring. That said, it was just a "fraction" of the response he received after canceling "Carnivale," he said.

And for those who still haven't moved past the news that "Deadwood" will conclude next season with two two-hour movies, here's Albrecht's version:

"Deadwood" creator David Milch pitched him another show, one he's pretty sure we're all going to be crazy about, and knowing "that there were at most 12 more 'Deadwoods,'" he suggested Milch do six and start the new show early.

At which point Milch suggested blowing off the fourth season altogether.

Albrecht suggested he take the weekend to think it over, but after Milch talked to a few of the actors, word leaked and the whole controversy was ignited.

In retrospect, "I think David Milch wishes he had that Friday afternoon back to think about it a little more," Albrecht said.