Quality Television Returns

jmh2350

Unlike the superficial and dumbed down Terminator T.V. special that aired on Fox the same night, Comanche Moon is a return to excellence in T.V. production and writing. This prequel to the original Lonesome Dove mini-series is as brilliant to watch and, in some ways more vibrant than the original -- and it moves more quickly. Now, devotees of the original might not at first "buy" Steve Zahn and Karl Urban as the young Gus and Woodrow (respectively), but the quality of the writing and production bear watching further, and before long we are in love with the characters, because their personalities retain the same qualities originally personified by Duvall and Jones. Unfortunately, in the first episode of this new series we do not get to see much of the Joshua Deets character, originally portrayed by Danny Glover, but one scene of the young Deets comforting a victim of a Comanche rape was exquisite. The addition of some rich new characters boosted this drama remarkably, most notably Rachel Griffiths as the outrageously pompous and scandalous wife of the Captain of the Texas Rangers; Val Kilmer as the Texas Rangers Captain who knows his outrageous wife all too well and is himself a bit off the beam while nonetheless heroic; and Sal Lopez as a thoroughly detestable Mexican bandito gang leader (with Jake Busey as a toady). Unless you do not like westerns whatsoever and unequivocally, there is nothing that should keep you from watching this finely written, acted and lavishly filmed production -- and a tip o' the hat to CBS for bringing this to us.

score 8/10

jmh2350 13 January 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1799726/