spencer-w-hensley "Lonesome Dove", which originally debuted on television in 1989, although a television miniseries, remains the finest Western to ever hit the medium in my opinion. Despite a really long running time of six hours, the miniseries had fantastic acting, great writing, beautiful cinematography and scenery, and some of the most likable characters you could imagine in a Western film. It was deservedly a huge success with audiences and critics, and many miniseries which followed tried to imitate its success and all of them failed. Due to it's popularity a sequel was almost obvious, but this sequel seems like it was a very rushed production, and seems to forget about everything that made the original so exceptional, especially the exclusion of Larry McMurtry and Tommy Lee Jones. That's right Jones does not return as Call here. He instead decided to star in "The Fugitive" the same year, a smart decision as that film won him an Oscar, and he is replaced by John Voight this time around. (Voight was also offered Jones role in The Fugitive, but when he found out Jones declined to reprise his role here he quickly accepted, turning the other part down, the actors basically switched roles.) The story picks up where the original ended, and after that it's a basic, and basically boring retread of the original. If you want to see a few familiar faces from the original miniseries rest assured a few do return. Ricky Schroder is back as Newt, though his character here is more irritating and uninteresting, whereas he was likable with Gus and Woodrow in the original. Chris Cooper returns as July, and his role should have really been an un-credited cameo, as he is given very little to do over a six-hour period. William Sanderson and Barry Tubb also reprise their roles from the original. Replacements or substitutes for the original's characters are Barbara Hershey, replacing Anjelica Huston as Clara. Though she does give it her best, Huston nailed the part to perfection the first time around, and the chemistry between her and the original cast could not be beat. Hershey and Voight are OK together, but she seems more like she is doing a poor imitation of Huston rather than putting a fresh, new spin on the character and it just doesn't work. Oscar-winner Lou Gossett Jr. goes along for the ride, I guess as a substitute for Danny Glover's Deets in the original. Gossett never seemed to find anything worthy of his talent after winning the Oscar for "An Officer and a Gentleman", and that is also evident here. It's a sad waste of his fine talent, and even though he tries, he cannot compare with Glover from the original. Voight does OK as Woodrow but Tommy Lee perfected the role, giving a miraculous performance. Voight pales in comparison, despite good effort. Reese Witherspoon also gives one of her earliest performances here, and her character is so bland an underdeveloped she is essentially wasted. The cinematography and scenery is OK here, but nowhere near as good as the first, which is what made it, I think the finest Western of our time. The story lags and never really gains any momentum, whereas the original in spite of being six-hours never made me wonder when it was going to end because I loved every single minute of it. This is really an unofficial sequel because at the time, Larry McMurtry was writing a novel sequel to the original entitled "Streets of Laredo", which would also be adapted as a miniseries two years later. By not having his involvement this sequel suffers tremendously, and totally contradicts the entire Lonesome Dove series in general, as according to McMurtry none of these events ever really happened in accordance to the time-line of his book series. Overall despite good efforts from the cast, some fine cinematography and scenery, this miniseries is way too slow, and suffers in comparison with its fine predecessor. Of course I am sure they knew it would be nowhere near as good as the first when they made it, but the end result could have been much better than this.

lee1888 If your a true Dove fan, this is a must see movie. Out of all the sequel this is the best one and stays true to the characters. McMurtry destroyed Gus and Call with Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon. He made Gus and Call into bubbling idiots.Barbara Hershey was magnificent as Clara Allen and in my opinion stole the character away from Houston who I thought was miscast in the first place. Jon Voight was also a great choice for Call.It was great to get Schroder and Cooper back to play there original parts. And Lou Gossett and William Peterson were just perfect as replacements characters for Gus and Deets.This is a very well written story of what awaits call after his historic cattle drive to Montana.

dgroesbeck I had my reservations about watching The Return to Lonesome Dove after seeing and enjoying the original so much. Without Tommy Lee Jones reprising his role as Woodrow Call or Anjelica Huston as Clara, I figured it just wouldn't seem authentic enough. Upon viewing 'return' I can honestly say it's a worthy successor. The actors really make the show with Jon Voight, Rick Schroder, and Oliver Reed all preforming at their very best. I admit the story might not be quite as engrossing as the first, but 'return' definitely has it's share of excitement and captures the romance of the old west in a way that few other films have. Anyone who still has reservations can rest assured that The Return to Lonesome Dove succeeds in capturing the 'feel' of the original and will not disappoint. Do yourself a favor and check it out, Ol' Gus would be proud!

rupert_rawr Tommy Lee Jones was the best Woodroe and no one can play Woodroe F. Call better than he. Not only was he the first and best, he was the only person that could portray his grief and confusion. It was a bad let-down and I'm surprised I even made myself watch it. I can even begin how how pitiful they made Woodroe. I understand he would be old by that time, but everyone knows that he would NEVER let that pull him down. The first movie was the best and the only one that I'll ever watch. I hope to God that no more directors plan on continuing or remaking the wonderful classic without Tommy or Duval. Without them, the movies are pointless wastes of time and money for everyone, including the director. IF YOU PLAN ON MAKING ANOTHER LONESOME DOVE MOVIE OF ANY KIND, take mine and billions of others, don't waste time. Continuing the movies is just grinding the first one into the ground. Thanks.