Great TV Series - 1

‍A Facebook friend told me he was reading for escapism lately. I responded, “Nothing wrong with that. Plenty to escape from, if you ask me.”

‍My preferred escape route usually involves watching streaming services on TV. As I’m sure you know, there is a lot of great stuff to see. However, the best shows are scattered among the many channels (if that’s still a word we use). It has been said that when a movie is not enough and a full-on TV show is way too much, the miniseries is the perfect middle ground.

‍I say all that to say this: I recently watched Lonesome Dove (1989) again for the umpteenth time, and I’m inclined to say this is it, the best miniseries ever. But there are others to consider. So, why not consider them together? What is the greatest TV miniseries of all time? What do you think? I’d like to know.

‍While awaiting your response, here’s what I think.

Critics contend that more than three decades later, Lonesome Dove remains “a defining work of the Western genre.” Based on Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this epic follows two retired Texas Rangers (Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones) on a perilous cattle drive across the American frontier.

‍McMurtry went on to write a sequel, Streets of Laredo (1993), and two prequels, Dead Man's Walk (1995) and Comanche Moon (1997), all of which were also adapted as TV series. I’ve read all the books and watched all the miniseries. As usual, it’s fascinating to see the translation from page to screen. All the TV sequels were decent, with good actors I like. None was anywhere near as good as the original, though, in my opinion.

‍Why?

‍Robert Duvall as Gus McRae.

Along with Jones, Duvall runs the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in their small Texas border town. August McCrae “is widely considered the heart and soul of Lonesome Dove because he represents the joy of living in a brutal, unforgiving world.”

Need one add, such as ours?

‍While his partner Woodrow Call lives only to work, Gus works only to live, balancing his legendary toughness as a Texas Ranger with deep empathy, humor, and philosophical wisdom.

At a deep level, Lonesome Dove is a buddy story like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

(I’m a huge fan of both Paul Newman and Robert Redford, and I adore the movie they made from William Goldman’s novel. Goldman, by the way, also wrote The Princess Bride, which I also love. The book is better than the movie, but there are some amazing performances, like Mandy Patinkin’s. “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Need I say more?)

‍While Newman and Redford were still young and poster boyish in Butch, Duvall and Jones were much older in Lonesome and never were as handsome as the others to begin with. That’s the incredible thing about the movie. They are still just as winning and immortal.

When I really like something, I want to know everything I can about it. I’ve done this with Lonesome Dove. Some of what you find here was distilled from other sources.

With all that said, there is still much more to come. Stay tuned.