CBS aired Lonesome Dove in 1989, a four-hour miniseries adapted from Larry McMurtry’s 1985 novel of the same name. It stars Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones as Gus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, two retired Texas Rangers who steal over a thousand head of cattle from rustlers south of the border and drive the herd 3,000 miles north to the grasslands of Montana. The show runs one season, four episodes, first airing on February 5, 1989, and last airing on February 8, 1989. It is a drama and a Western.
Gus and Call
The heart of the show is the friendship between Gus McCrae and Woodrow F. Call. Gus is a lazy, loquacious rake with a fondness for alcohol, gambling, and whores. Call is a silent leader of men, a tireless worker who believes firmly in discipline, duty, and honor. They are foils for each other, and McMurtry describes Gus as an Epicurean while describing Call as a Stoic.
Call wants to be the first man to settle the Montana Territory. He sees the romance of a pristine country and wants to start the first cattle ranch north of the Yellowstone River. Gus is less enthusiastic, but he changes his mind when reminded that his love, Clara, lives on the Platte River near Ogallala, Nebraska, which would be on the route to Montana.
The Drive North
The drive itself takes up most of the miniseries. The Hat Creek outfit rustles thousands of cattle from across the border in Mexico and recruits local cowboys in preparation. The journey is long and dangerous, and the show spends episode after episode building the tension of the trip.
Jake Spoon, another former Ranger, arrives in Lonesome Dove after an absence of more than 10 years. He has been traveling widely across the United States and is on the run, having accidentally shot a dentist in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The dentist’s brother happens to be the town’s sheriff, July Johnson. Jake’s description of the Montana Territory inspires Call to steal the herd and drive it north.
Ironically, Jake Spoon soon decides not to go at all, having made himself comfortable with the town’s only prostitute, Lorena Wood. Lorena is smitten with him.
The Cast
The supporting cast is full of memorable characters. Diane Lane plays Lorena Wood Parker, the town’s only prostitute. Robert Urich plays Jake Spoon, the former Ranger on the run. D. B. Sweeney plays Dish Boggett, and Danny Glover plays Joshua Deets, the African-American former Ranger who serves as the chief scout. Ricky Schroder plays Newt Dobbs, a 17-year-old boy whose mother was a prostitute named Maggie and whose father is widely thought by the outfit to be Call, though Call has never acknowledged this.
Steve Buscemi plays Luke, and Anjelica Huston plays Clara Forsythe Allen. Glenne Headly plays Elmira Boot Johnson, and Frederic Forrest plays Blue Duck. Barry Corbin plays Roscoe Brown.
The Writing
The miniseries stays faithful to the novel’s tone. The themes of old age, death, unrequited love, and friendship are present in the source material. The dialogue is sharp, and the performances are uniformly strong. Duvall and Jones carry the weight of the show, but the ensemble around them gives it depth.
The pacing is deliberate, which suits the material. This is not a show that rushes. It lets the drive unfold naturally, letting the audience sit with the characters and their choices.
The Sequel
The novel Streets of Laredo was adapted into a TV series. Two prequels, Dead Man’s Walk (1995) and Comanche Moon (1997), were also adapted as TV series. The miniseries adaptation of Lonesome Dove was a critical and popular success, winning acclaim for its performances and its faithfulness to the source material.
Key Facts
- Title: Lonesome Dove
- Network: CBS
- Season: One season, four episodes
- First aired: February 5, 1989
- Last aired: February 8, 1989
- Genres: Drama, Western
- Based on: Larry McMurtry’s 1985 novel
Episode Order
| Episode | Order |
|---|---|
| 1 | First |
| 2 | Second |
| 3 | Third |
| 4 | Fourth |
Our View
Lonesome Dove is a masterclass in television storytelling. It takes a sprawling novel and condenses it into a focused narrative about two men and their last great adventure. The performances are superb, the writing is sharp, and the direction is confident.
It is a show that respects its audience. It trusts them to sit with silence, to wait for the payoff, to feel the weight of the characters’ decisions. That trust pays off.
We rate Lonesome Dove 9.8 out of 10.
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