Lonesome Dove Mini-series Review

Lonesome Dove (1989)
Mini-series - 4 episodes

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Written by: William D. Wittliff (teleplay), Larry McMurtry (book)
Directed by: Simon Wincer
Starring: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane, Robert Urich, D.B. Sweeney, Ricky Schroder, Anjelica Huston, Chris Cooper,, William Sanderson, Steve Buscemi
Rated: TV-14
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Plot
Two former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.

Verdict
I can understand why this was so popular. While I was indifferent at first, this becomes more endearing with every episode. Part of it, this is a product of the time, a sprawling epic that was completely unique. The sheer size of this still impresses, and it has it's moments. Two ranchers make their way across the states, encountering plenty of hazards during the trip. It's a huge adventure with plenty of tragedy along the way. The length allows us to get to know the characters while the finite number of episodes ensure a satisfying conclusion.
Watch it.

Review
This mini-series aired on network television, and the audience was surprisingly large when Westerns and mini-series didn't typically draw a crowd. It did well commercially and critically, winning numerous awards because it's an epic story that eclipsed what else was on television. It was more of an innovation at the time, short form narratives are a lot more common now.

Part I establishes life in the town of Lonesome Dove. Former Ranger Call (Tommy Lee Jones) is inspired to drive cattle to Montana after stories from the recently returned Jake (Robert Ulrich). Call's livery partner Gus (Robert Duvall) is less enthused, but with idea of new prospects he grows acutely bored of Lonesome Dove. They steal cattle from Mexico and head West. Most Westerns start with a stranger riding into a small town to save the day, here the main characters steal cattle and abandon the town.

Tommy Lee Jones, Robert Duvall play Call, Gus

Part II picks up where the first episode ended. If you don't like snakes, you're going to see nightmare fuel. This episode shows us just how rough the wild west can be. There's abuse, theft, kidnapping, murder, and more. Gus finds Lorie (Diane Lane) abandoned by her boyfriend Jake who's left her to go gambling. Gus is worried about her safety and with good reason as she's later kidnapped by a bandit. Gus eventually rescues her, but there's plenty of killing in the process. At one point Gus is forced to kill his horse so he can use it as cover due to the flat topography and the gang of Comanchero after him.

I imagine part of what made this so engrossing is that it's a stark reminder of how dangerous the West is. While the genre used to romanticize heroes and cowboys, with this plenty of people meet untimely ends. Even the main characters can't be categorized as heroes. They stole the cattle they're driving after all. What underscores the story is how authentic this looks.

In part III, Jake falls in with the wrong crowd and meets an early end. That's the thing with this series. It doesn't matter whether you were good or bad. Anyone is at risk, though Jake is never someone you liked. He left his girlfriend behind to gamble, but he's also the reason Call and Gus left Lonesome Dove. The farther into this series, the more you wonder if they regret leaving. They meet plenty of tragedy, and the promise of Montana has to grow dim with each passing day. Nearly every episode seems to end with some kind of misfortune.

Part IV is the end, and that's clear as story lines begin veering to their conclusions. This is a series that gets better with each episode as we learn the characters and root for their plights. Gus and a rancher stray from the group and are attacked. Gus is in bad shape, and it's a bittersweet episode. You know it's the end and there's certainly heartache. Plenty of characters have died along the way, but this is also the end of an adventure with Call and Gus. Half way into this, I chalked the acclaim up to this being completely different to what else was on television. It was new and fresh. By the end, this series stands on its own. It's an example of a bygone era and the freedom, danger, potential, and tragedy that the West represents. It's this idea that there were no restrictions and you could make your own mark with enough determination.