Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 13, 1993 TAG: 9311160257
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ED BARK DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In a telephone interview, Voight dutifully proclaims the original ``Dove'' ``a real masterwork.'' And Jones was ``brilliant'' as taciturn Texas Ranger Woodrow Call.
That said, CBS and Voight are tempting fate anyway in the six-hour ``Return to Lonesome Dove,'' scheduled to air Sunday and Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday (on WDBJ-Channel 7). The original eight-hour miniseries, based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, enthralled viewers and TV critics alike in February 1989.
Voight was one of the 96 million people who watched.
``You cared for each of the characters. You suffered what they suffered,'' he says. ``I certainly wouldn't continue it unless I felt there was a reason to.''
The principal reason, he says, is the dying Gus McRae's (Robert Duvall's) parting words to Woodrow in the original: ``Make good by your son. Give that boy your name, finally.''
The illegitimate son is Newt, played by Rick Schroder in the original and the sequel.
``We know that there's a job left for Woodrow to do,'' Voight says. ``And indeed we want him to fulfill those last wishes of Gus.''
Duvall's wish, stated in a previous interview, was that CBS let well enough alone. He wanted no part of a sequel or prequel, both of which he termed ``dumb ideas.'' Jones and Anjelica Huston, who played Gus' true love, Clara Allen, also declined offers to reprise their characters. But Voight felt both the urge to play Woodrow and the need to take care of unfinished business. He turned down the same role in original ``Dove,'' he says.
``At the time, I don't know what was in my head. I guess I was just busy doing other things. And then when I saw it done, I was just overwhelmed with what they accomplished . . . I think it ranks with `Red River' as one of the best westerns ever made. I hope our piece will retain that kind of quality, although it's a big order.''
It's gotten bigger, thanks
to Jones' bravura performance in the big-screen version of ``The Fugitive.'' He is now two or three times the star he was when ``Dove'' provided him with the challenge of measuring up to Duvall.
A 30-minute ``sneak preview'' of ``Return to Lonesome Dove'' finds Voight, 54, wearing the same garb and beard as the original Woodrow. He also emulates the chopped speech patterns Jones brought to the role.
``I'm probably the biggest fan in the world of Tommy Lee's,'' Voight says. ``I certainly had the perfect model before me to play Woodrow. And in my performance I did not wish to erase the imprint of Tommy Lee, but rather to evoke his performance in some way so viewers would be able to feel some comfort and familiarity. It was an interesting thing to do, and challenging, because I really love the way Tommy Lee did it.''
But Voight did not win an Oscar by being a mimic.
``I am a different instrument,'' he says, referring to his own interpretations of Woodrow. ``I don't want to cheat the audience of that, either.''
``Return to Lonesome Dove'' marks the second time he has played father to Schroder.
The 1979 film ``The Champ'' came on the heels of Voight's Oscar-winning performance as a paralyzed Vietnam veteran in ``Coming Home.''
Schroder - who was 8-year-old ``Ricky'' at the time of their first collaboration - is the only front-and-center returnee from the original ``Dove.'' Reprising their supporting roles are Tim Scott (Pea Eye) and Chris Cooper (July Johnson). Barbara Hershey has replaced Huston as Clara. New characters are played by Lou Gossett Jr., Oliver Reed, William Petersen and Nia Peeples. The central story line is Call's return odyssey from Texas where he has buried Gus to Montana, where a working ranch is in place. This time, Call and his hands are driving a herd of wild mustangs.
McMurtry, who has written an entirely different ``Dove'' sequel titled ``Streets of Laredo,'' was ``kind of an adviser'' for the second CBS production, Voight says. ``Kind of'' are the operative words.
Voight has ``never spoken to Larry.'' The teleplay, by John Wilder, is a major improvement over some of the previously rejected scripts, Voight says. ``I'm sure if Tommy Lee had seen this version - which was arrived at with my collaboration - also he would have come forth to do it. He was probably too busy after a certain point, but I think the early script he got bore no resemblance to what we did.''
``Return to Lonesome Dove'' includes an Indian massacre and a blaze that destroys Clara's prairie home. Woodrow also must escape from Indians who set him loose in his underwear and then try to hunt him down for sport.
``If I was going to do this, I said, `Look, it's a big task but it's better that it be tackled by people who loved the first one,''' Voight says. ``We were very respectful. There was a certain sense of passing on a legacy to us.''
In that respect, Voight recalls a phone call he made to Tim Scott, who had been reluctant to reprise Pea Eye.
``I told him, `You gotta do it,''' Voight says. ``And then at the end of the conversation, he said, `Well, I'm on board and you're the captain.' When he said that, I got a little scared. I felt I had to earn my stripes first.
``And in the end, I think I did.''
Memo: ***CORRECTION***