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115 of 116 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best TV Drama of the 90's - Period, May 7, 2005
This review is from: Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (DVD)
LDTOL is one of the best TV shows ever. It's right up there with the 1st season of Michael Mann's Crime Story from the mid 80's. This is the show HBO's Deadwood wishes it could be.
Start with the opening credits. The editing and the theme music of the credits themselves are worth the price of admission and a good precursor to the overall quality of the show. To break it down further, the opening shot of the credits, Call on his horse coming into town, is a knock out image. If they'd put it on a poster I'd buy it.
The characters in the show are complex and richly drawn, a testament to the quality of the shows writing. The tension between Call and Moseby is the highlight but all of players in LDTOL mesh seamlessly to the greater good of the show.
And finally, the actors. To hell with Will and Grace, the Clay Moseby character is the one Eric McCormack was meant to play. (And hopefully, the one he'll be remembered for once the immediately forgetable W&G leaves the air.) Scott Bairstow as Call completely dominates every scene he is in. Tracy Scoggins and Kelly Rowan are smoking hot but their sensuality is relentlessly downplayed through the course of the series.
Finally, the one big quibble.
The set comes in a five disc package. Why the creators couldn't manage the simple task of placing these episodes in their chronological order, by air date, is beyond me. For the serious fan who wants to view them in their intended order this is the sequence to use. (Note: the number in parens is the actual episode number. For the last two numbers, 1st Number- the CD, 2nd Number- Episode No. on CD in their order on the set).
__1st_______2nd________3rd________4th_________5th
(1)_1-1___(5) 2-1____(9)_3-1____(13) 4-1____(18) 5-2
(2) 1-2___(6) 1-4___(10)_3-2____(14) 4-2____(19) 5-1
(3) 1-3___(7) 2-4___(11)_2-3____(15) 4-3____(20) 5-3
(4) 2-2___(8) 3-3___(12)_3-4____(16) 4-4____(21) 5-4
_____________________________(17) 4-5____(22) 5-5
Starting with the end of disk one thru disk three they completely shuffled the deck with the episode order. The long narrative arcs and the character developments are scrambled to the point of distraction.
IMO you don't need any extras (director's commentary, promos, whatever) for this series. The quality of the writing, the acting and the production values sell themselves. If the bozos who packaged this set could just get the order right they would really have something.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dont turn your back on Newt Call !!!, January 23, 2005
This review is from: Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (DVD)
Dont turn your back on Newt Call !!!
"Lonesome Dove: the Outlaw Years" is the complete second and final season of the Lonesome Dove tv seies. It has a remarkable change in style and pace, almost 180 degrees from season 1 - and thats is a good thing.
Shot entirely on location in scenic Alberta Canada uising a gray filter on the camera, the 2nd season takes on a darker more brooding more menacing feel. Chronologically 2 years after season 1 - once clean cut charachters now occupy both sides of the law to survive.
Once cute Newt Call (Scott Bairstow) is now a seasoned bounty hunter and the toughest man in the west who would rather shoot you than say hello. Charming Clay Mosby (Eric McCormack "Will and Grace") is now the brutal 'godfather' of Curtis Wells and will do anything to get his way. The sheriff, Austin Peale (Paul Johansson), would rather take a bribe instead of locking vile criminals up. The mayor, Josiah Peale (Paul Le Mat), is a drunk. The gunsmith, Mattie Shaw (Kelly Rowan "OC"), ironically, is also the undertaker. The blacksmith, Unbob Finch (Frank C. Turner), is a likeable half-wit his parents named after his older brother Bob and were too stupid to pick another name. The whorehouse is the largest building in town and the church sits vacant and in disrepair. The streets are mud like the real west not Hollywood. People wear the same dirty clothes episode after episode. Townsfolk are brutally murdered daily and those left alive drink themselves into a stupor to escape the pain.
Outlaw Years is one of my favorite TV series of all time !!!
Based on the best western if not the best mini series of all time.
If you liked the 1989 original miniseries at all you must see this just for the evolution of the character Newt Call.
But fans must beware... the episodes are out of order; characters die in one episode then are alive and well in the next. There are imperfections in picture and sound quality. And the biggest kicker - there are NO extras whatsoever.
So I give this program the highest rating imaginable for the story, but the dvd set is average only due to quality and complete and total lack of extras. Yes the set is cheap compared to complete seasons of other shows out these days but you get what you pay for here.
I have waited almost 10 years for this and wish the manufacturer would have spent more effort.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lonesome Dove: The Best Years!, February 18, 2005
This review is from: Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years (DVD)
Taking place two years after the end of "Lonesome Dove: The Series", LD:TOY brings the return of Newt Call (played beautifully by Scott Bairstow) to the town of Curtis Wells. Still living there is his now money-hungry brother-in-law Austin (played by Paul Johansson of One Tree Hill), his looney father-in-law Josiah (Paul Le Mat), and his rival; the evil Clay Mosby (played to perfection by Eric McCormack). The town is now run by Mosby and is nothing like the town Call left after the death of his wife.
Call is a fantastic anti-hero, Mosby's the guy you love to hate, and Austin gets on your bad side from episode 1. Together they make this show a must see.
But... and I hate to do this. The company that put the set together didn't do it the justice it deserved. They placed the episodes out of order, didn't add DVD liner notes, didn't add any extras, and did a terrible job on the package design. A photo of Newt Call from LD:TS and not from LD:TOY in the inner "pages" being my biggest complaint.
Despite the minor flaws with packaging, this was a great series that deserves to be in your DVD collection. And a must have for all Western fans.
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