A commentary

bobbobwhite

As the story plot and characters in this series have been explained and dissected by others in detail, this post is mostly commentary about its intent and result.

Precisely how the dedicated director and writer interpreted the story on film made all the difference in its quality. As the actors were not the same as in earlier versions and stories in the Lonesome Dove series, a consistency in story intention and attitude had to be maintained for it to be successful through all the varied incarnations using different actors and tech people. And that is precisely what made this version work so well, as it was a serious, deadly and harsh story true to its original essence, and it had to be told that very same and true way and not devolve into what TV does so often with sequels....and that is to try to make it funny, different, "family entertainment", and as a result, vastly inferior. Those sequel story insults it did not do, and much thanks for that.

The somber, serious and often sad and lonely plains essence of Captain Call was as well executed here as in the original, along with the story's harsh cruelty of frontier criminality and justice juxtaposed with intense love, loyalty and human kindness. The director and the actors stuck closely to that serious intent and execution, and that is primarily what made this story version work so well, and it was a worthy successor to the original in all ways.

This was a quality TV production, in many ways the equal of most big studio films of the genre, and in many ways far superior(most especially in the great musical score). A true pleasure to watch again and again and a serious triumph of the real potential of TV programming when someone cares to do a story right and not just try to sell advertising for sponsors.

score 8/10

bobbobwhite 14 July 2010

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2279005/