MovieChat Forums > Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) Discussion > Tales Of The Plains?

Tales Of The Plains?

posted 18 years ago by tdf5g
5 replies | jump to latest

I have found a movie titled "Tales of the Plains" available from my library.
Does anyone know anything about this? I don't believe McMurtry wrote this. Was it ever a novel? I cannot find it listed on IMDB.

Here's the summary shown for the movie from the library:

Tales of the plains [videorecording]
Bairstow, Scott.
Title: Tales of the plains [videorecording] / produced by Jana Veverka ; teleplay by Stephen Zito [and] Tom Towler ; directed by Sidney J. Furie ; produced in asociation with CTV Television Networks, Ltd.
Portion of title: Lonesome Dove tales of the plains
Publication info: [United States] : Hallmark Home Entertainment : Distributed by Family Home Entertainment, Artisan Home Entertainment, [2001]
ISBN: 1574928821
Physical descrip: 1 videocassette (ca. 128 min.) : sd., col., stereo ; 1/2 in.
Series Title: (Lonesome Dove collection [videorecording])
General Note: Based, in part, on characters created by Larry McMurtry from his novel "Lonesome Dove."
General Note: At head of title: Lonesome Dove.
Credits: Music, Terry Frewer ; editors, Paul Mortimer, David Leach ; director of photography, Ron Stannett.
Performer: Scott Bairstow, Eric McCormack, Christianne Hirt ; guest stars: Diahann Carroll, Robert Culp, Graham Greene, Dennis Weaver, Billy Dee Williams ; with: Paul Johansson and Paul Le Mat.
Date/place captured: Videocassette release of a c1994 production.
Summary: An inexperienced boy in the original Lonesome Dove story, Newt Dobbs (Bairstow) is a man by the time his real father, the legendary Texas Ranger Woodrow Call, gives hime his best horse and his last name. Newt sets out to seek his fortune in the Montana Territory and encounters a series of events that change his life.
Technical details: VHS.
Language: Closed captioned.

Thanks for any info.

[–] star7h 18 years ago

I think it's the pilot episode for Lonesome Dove the Series. The series was supposed to take up where Lonesome Dove left off, following the character of Newt, but it wasn't based on any Larry McMurtry book.

[–] tdf5g 18 years ago

Thanks for the reply, haven't watched it yet, just picked it up.

[–] tdf5g 18 years ago

I think your're right about this being related to the TV series, though I've never seen the TV show. This movie seems very TVish. Not nearly as well produced as the mini-series'.

[–] JoeinFla 16 years ago

Like you, I first heard of this from my library. I was searching for the availability of "Streets of Laredo" and was considering looking at the unoriginal (non-McMurtry) "Return to Lonesome Dove" when I came across the above. I don't remember any such series, though I don't watch a lot of commercial TV. I doubt that I'll look at this, though, since it's so far from L.M.'s epic, I doubt it will have any of the power or even flavor of L.M.'s work.

[–] emp1966 10 years ago

I saw the Tales of The Plains tape listed on Amazon for years and thought "what is this? Billy Dee Williams never did a Lonesome Dove miniseries?" Then after I bought the now out of print copy of the full hour long series (both seasons on 10 discs in 1 box) I found out it was the first 3 episodes of Season 1 (Billy Dee guest stars in them). I also learned that Season 1 was unofficially known as "Tales of The Plains" (see the book old Newt reads from in the beginning of each episode) just like season 2 was "The Outlaw Years".