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Commentary: TV's 'Lonesome Dove' prequel can't match the original miniseries

By Ollie Reed Jr.
Saturday, January 12, 2008

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"Comanche Moon," the CBS miniseries that makes its bow on Sunday, is the latest entry in the chasing "Lonesome Dove" phenomenon.

Every time I see another attempt to capitalize on the success of Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1985 novel, or on the remarkable 1989 TV miniseries adapted from it, I think of that cowboy song about ghost riders trying to catch the devil's herd "but they ain't caught 'em yet."

It's a noble effort, but a fool's errand.

McMurtry himself has tried. Since winning the Pulitzer for "Lonesome Dove," he has written three more novels in the saga — two prequels and a sequel to his masterpiece about aging former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive.

And since Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones turned in landmark performances as former rangers Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, respectively, in the Emmy-laden '89 miniseries, there have been no less than five more TV projects related to the original — three of them scripted by McMurtry.

But none of the subsequent books or TV programs, including "Comanche Moon," have been able to match the drama, pacing, personality and sheer genius of the originals.

However, when chasing the best, it's possible to stumble, fall short and still come up with some bright spots to show for your trouble.

That's the way it is for the "Comanche Moon" miniseries, which is set in Texas in 1858 and 1865 and is adapted from McMurtry's 1997 novel of the same title.

Scripted by McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Comanche Moon" is about events in the lives of McCrae (Steve Zahn) and Call (Karl Urban) before the experiences recounted in "Lonesome Dove."

The McCrae and Call of "Comanche Moon" are still on the young side but seasoned enough in the ways of fighting outlaws and Indians to earn promotion to Texas Ranger captains during the first episode of the miniseries.

McCrae is head over bootheels in love with and ardently pursuing Clara Forsythe (Linda Cardellini of TV's "ER'), the daughter of Austin storekeepers, while Call stubbornly resists committing himself to Maggie Tilton (Elizabeth Banks of TV's "Scrubs"), the tough but sweet-natured prostitute who is carrying his child.

In between the ebb and flow of the love tides, McCrae, Call and their ranger cohorts, pursue Comanche chief Buffalo Hump (Wes Studi) and his band, as well as a skilled Comanche horse thief (Jonathon Joss) and a vicious Mexican bandit (Sal Lopez).

What with both love and war, the boys keep pretty busy.

The second evening of the miniseries opens with Buffalo Hump leading his warpainted warriors in a vicious attack on the Texas capital of Austin.

This scene, the most action-packed in the production, was shot at the Bonanza Creek movie ranch south of Santa Fe.

"Comanche Moon" was, in fact, made entirely in New Mexico and Texas, and the pitiless badlands in the neighboring states do much to underscore the harsh, unforgiving and dangerous world that was frontier Texas.

"I won't send you out chasing phantoms in country this spare," ranger commander Inish Scull (Val Kilmer) tells his men in one scene.

Kilmer knows something of New Mexico's landscape, because he owns property near Pecos.

His over-the-top performance as Scull, a flamboyant and daring Boston aristocrat, is one of the highlights of "Comanche Moon." It's the sort of role than can be either simply ludicrous or mesmerizing, depending on the actor entrusted with it. Kilmer, who has played parts as varied as Batman, gunfighter Doc Holliday and rock legend Jim Morrison, is one of those actors capable of tilting the part toward the fascinating side of the scale.

But it is Zahn, whose movie credits include "Rescue Dawn" and "Sahara," who turns in the best job in "Comanche Moon." He flat-out nails the role of fun-loving, philosophical Gus McCrae, one of the great characters in the fiction of the American West.

It's a character that owes as much to Duvall's performance in the "Lonesome Dove" miniseries as it does to McMurtry's writing. Zahn's great accomplishment is re-creating Duvall's signature gestures and vocal cadence while making the McRae character seem like his own. His acting is natural and original, not mimicry.

Urban has an even greater challenge in playing Call, a brave man who understands his duty to Texas but also a wooden man who fails in his obligation to the woman who loves him.

Carving a sympathetic character out of an unfeeling block is a daunting assignment. Tommy Lee Jones managed it in "Lonesome Dove," but Urban doesn't quite measure up in "Comanche Moon." To be fair, that's not all Urban's fault. Jones had a better story to work with.

One thing I never quite got about "Lonesome Dove" was Gus McRae's undying affection for Clara, who came off as matronly and uninteresting as played by Anjelica Huston in the 1989 miniseries. Huston's Clara didn't seem like a good match for a man such as Gus, who savors the spice of life.

But Cardellini's portrayal of a younger, prettier, more spirited Clara makes it all clear. This Clara gives better than she takes in her exchanges with Gus. I fell in love with her myself.

Nobody does stoic and fierce better than Studi. Remember his cold-blooded work as Magua in "The Last of the Mohicans."

Studi's Buffalo Hump, however, is a more layered character than Magua. The Comanche chief is a man whose thirst for personal vengeance is tempered with a concern for the people he leads. Buffalo Hump would have banished Magua from his band, just as he does his renegade son, Blue Duck (Adam Beach), in "Comanche Moon."

So, "Comanche Moon" is uneven terrain, high points broken by flat expanses, much like the country it was made in.

Fans of "Lonesome Dove" will be entertained by references of things yet to come in the saga, but those unfamiliar with the original novel or miniseries may find themselves perplexed by what seems like loose ends or throwaway lines.

McMurtry created a rich set of characters in "Lonesome Dove." The problem with the later novels and TV shows is that these intriguing folks are caught up in plotlines that were original in the first novel and miniseries but have now been reduced to formula.

You can't break new ground if you stick to riding old trails.