This final installment of the Chimesfreedom analysis of the Lonesome Dove franchise concludes with our overall recommendations. Additionally, we rank the performances of the six actors who played the main character in the series.
In the previous posts, Chimesfreedom rated on a scale of 1-10 the various miniseries, listed here in chronological order: Dead Man’s Walk (7), Comanche Moon (5), Lonesome Dove (10), Return to Lonesome Dove (8), and Streets of Laredo (6). We also discussed the two seasons of the syndicated television series, starting with the first season, Lonesome Dove: The Series (4), and ending with Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (6), a hidden gem. See the previous posts for more details (links below).
Where should you start?
If you have already seen the original Lonesome Dove, you have a number of options. If you wish only to learn about events directly connected to the original, you might watch Comanche Moon and Return to Lonesome Dove, skipping the independent stories of Dead Man’s Walk and Streets of Laredo. You could start with Dead Man’s Walk and follow the characters chronologically. Or, if you are only interested in Larry McMurtry’s vision, you might watch all of them except Return to Lonesome Dove and the television series, which are the ones that do not follow his books.
For most people, though, you probably want to start with the superior original Lonesome Dove. If you like it, you may pursue the other series. And if you do not like Lonesome Dove, you probably will not like any of the other series and should go on to something else. Then, if you do like Lonesome Dove, what next? The next best series and the one that continues the great story the best, is Return to Lonesome Dove. So I recommend following the sequels before delving into the prequels.
Bonus Ranking of the Woodrow Calls
After watching all of the series together, one realizes that the entire franchise is about Woodrow F. Call. In each of the five miniseries and briefly in the television series, Woodrow is played by a different actor, leading to another question: How do you rank the six different Woodrows?
Chimesfreedom ranks them: (1) Tommy Lee Jones in Lonesome Dove; (2) John Voight in Return to Lonesome Dove; (3) Johnny Lee Miller in Dead Man’s Walk;(4) James Garner in Streets of Laredo; (5) Karl Urban in Comanche Moon; and (6) Lee Majors in one episode of Lonesome Dove: The Series. In fairness to Majors, he had much less to work with than the other Woodrows.
Thus ends the Chimesfreedom series on Lonesome Dove. If you missed the previous posts on the franchise, check out Part 1 — where we considered the original Lonesome Dove and the prequels, Part 2 — where we rated the sequels, and Part 3 — where we discussed the weekly television series. If you are not sick of reading about Lonesome Dove by this point, there are a number of fan pages where you may seek out more information, including this fan page.
Which is your favorite Lonesome Dove series? Leave a comment.
(Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)
