Lonesome Dove

Assuming events in the Middle East allow, CBS plans to repeat one of television's greatest miniseries this weekend as "Lonesome Dove" starts Sunday night at 9 o'clock on Channel 11 (WBAL). It continues Jan. 22-24 from 9 to 11 p.m. each night.Based on a Larry McMurtry book, 1989's "Lonesome Dove" works on every level -- superb acting, compelling plot, great characters, excellent direction, stunning visuals.Robert Duvall hands in a can't-miss performance as the philosophical cowboy Gus McCrea who joins his taciturn friend Woodrow F. Call, played by Tommy Lee Jones, on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana that's an attempt to find the spirit of the frontier that had formed most of their shared life.

"Boone's Lick," by Larry McMurtry. Simon & Shuster. 287 pages. $24. Ma Cecil looks down at the big roan horse she's just shot out from under Sheriff Baldy Stone. "An elk," she says. "I thought it was a big fat elk, walking right up to my door." Then she pauses and adds, "I thought, no more mush, we're going to be eating elk." Ma's no fool. She knows antlers from stirrups. But Missouri farm life in 1866 is so tough even the sheriff's horse is fair game. And Mary Margaret Cecil is hungrier than anybody realizes.

There are two ways to ensure wall-to-wall enjoyment in prime time tonight. One is watching NBC's lineup of comedies and "L.A. Law," and the other -- even more recommended -- is watching the dramatic conclusion of CBS's "Return to Lonesome Dove."* "Mad About You" (8-8:30 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Tonight's episode has a special guest: Cyndi Lauper, who is NOT playing (( herself. Instead, she's playing the estranged wife of Paul's brother Ira, who appears much more interested in Paul. Paul Reiser stars.

Rick Schroder replacing Jimmy Smits?Had Steven Bochco lost his mind?More than a few people were wondering just that last month, when it was announced that the brooding, charismatic Jimmy Smits would be leaving Bochco's "NYPD Blue" next season. To fill his shoes, Bochco will be counting on former child star Rick Schroder, who will forever remain, in many people's minds, as that cute Ricky Stratton on NBC's "Silver Spoons" from 1982 to 1986.And that announcement was just the opening salvo in what promises to be a bombardment of cast changes this season in some of television's finest dramas.

There are scads of similarities between 1989's epic western miniseries "Lonesome Dove" and tonight's two-hour TV-movie "Ned Blessing" (9 o'clock on CBS, Channel 11).They both, just to pick one similarity at random, have horses in them. And they share an executive producer, Bill Whittliff.Mr. Whittliff took a different approach with this western outing. Instead of bagging stars like "Lonesome Dove's" Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, this time out he got Daniel Baldwin, who played the womanizing tavern regular "Cheesy" P. Chadwell in the 1990 CBS midseason replacement series "Sydney."

"Dead Man's Walk" is mythic in its approach to the Old West and epic in its scope. It includes some fine acting, wonderful writing and magnificent cinematography, enough violence to keep even the most testosterone-laden male happy and a handful of strong female characters to help balance the equation.But it's no "Lonesome Dove," and your fondness for it will probably be in direct proportion to your willingness to forgive it that transgression.The latest from the guaranteed-ratings-blockbuster pen of Larry McMurtry, "Dead Man's Walk" tells the early adventures of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, the two old cusses who took a herd of cattle to Montana in "Lonesome Dove" a few years back.

FiresMount Airy: Firefighters responded at 2: 55 p.m. Saturday to a barn fire in the 1800 block of Florence Road. Units were out two hours and 10 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 2: 08 p.m. Sunday to a woods fire in the 5100 block of Almeria Court. Units were out 50 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 7: 18 p.m. Sunday to a trash fire at Lonesome Dove and Sierra roads. Units were out one hour and 16 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 11: 17 p.m. Sunday to investigate smoke in a home at Lonesome Dove and Sierra roads.

HAVRE De GRACE -- ''Life's but a knife edge,'' observes the cattle baron Charles Goodnight near the end of Larry McMurtry's ''Streets of Laredo.'' ''Sooner of later, people slip and get cut.''They sure-enough do, in ordinary life as well as in cowboy novels like Mr. McMurtry's. But in ordinary life in the Clintonian era, such slips are invariably considered to be violations of certain vague rights, and thus provide prime opportunities for plaintiffs' lawyers to enrich themselves in the name of justice.

"Boone's Lick," by Larry McMurtry. Simon & Shuster. 287 pages. $24. Ma Cecil looks down at the big roan horse she's just shot out from under Sheriff Baldy Stone. "An elk," she says. "I thought it was a big fat elk, walking right up to my door." Then she pauses and adds, "I thought, no more mush, we're going to be eating elk." Ma's no fool. She knows antlers from stirrups. But Missouri farm life in 1866 is so tough even the sheriff's horse is fair game. And Mary Margaret Cecil is hungrier than anybody realizes.

Capt. Woodrow F. Call is back in Lonesome Dove, Texas, . . . sort of.The Waltons are up on Waltons Mountain again . . . in a manner of speaking.And the Cartrights are back at the mighty Ponderosa . . . more or less, mainly less.This November "sweeps" ratings period is going to be a month of many returns in TV land. Sunday -- the most important night of the TV week because viewership is highest -- is filled with them.This Sunday CBS starts "Return to Lonesome Dove." On Nov. 21, CBS airs "A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion."

FiresMount Airy: Firefighters responded at 2: 55 p.m. Saturday to a barn fire in the 1800 block of Florence Road. Units were out two hours and 10 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 2: 08 p.m. Sunday to a woods fire in the 5100 block of Almeria Court. Units were out 50 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 7: 18 p.m. Sunday to a trash fire at Lonesome Dove and Sierra roads. Units were out one hour and 16 minutes.Mount Airy: Firefighters responded at 11: 17 p.m. Sunday to investigate smoke in a home at Lonesome Dove and Sierra roads.

"Comanche Moon," by Larry McMurtry. Simon & Schuster. 752 pages. $28.50.Most of veteran writer Larry McMurtry's novels have been set in Texas and, in metaphorical terms, have been about Texas-sized subjects: betrayal, violence, redemption, friendship, courage, cruelty, power and sex.Whether in historical or contemporary settings, these novels are rich in Lone Star details and are strongly character-driven. McMurtry, whose career spans four decades, achieved breakthrough success in the early 1980s with "Lonesome Dove," a powerful and beautifully written book about 19th-century Texans.

If you've never seen "Lonesome Dove," watch it tonight on the Family Channel -- television doesn't get much better than this."Beverly Hills Family Robinson" (8 p.m.-10 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Dyan Cannon is a perfect homemaker who displays her skills on TV, Martin Mull her dentist husband, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan O'Donohue their spoiled kids. Wouldn't you know it, their lives get turned upside down when they're kidnapped by South Seas pirates and forced to survive on a deserted island.

Once the Olympics are over, are you prepared to deal with post-Olympics stress syndrome, the trauma of not being able to watch any more of the games of the 26th Olympiad? Probably not, so maybe you should try to ease yourself back into the mundane reality of everyday TV life by watching just one non-Olympics piece of programming tonight. Here are some suggestions."Nova" (8 p.m.-9 p.m., MPT, Channels 22 and 67) -- "Terror in the Mine Fields" visits Cambodia and looks at the danger of living in a country where 25 years of war have left millions of land mines buried underground.

"Dead Man's Walk" is mythic in its approach to the Old West and epic in its scope. It includes some fine acting, wonderful writing and magnificent cinematography, enough violence to keep even the most testosterone-laden male happy and a handful of strong female characters to help balance the equation.But it's no "Lonesome Dove," and your fondness for it will probably be in direct proportion to your willingness to forgive it that transgression.The latest from the guaranteed-ratings-blockbuster pen of Larry McMurtry, "Dead Man's Walk" tells the early adventures of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, the two old cusses who took a herd of cattle to Montana in "Lonesome Dove" a few years back.

HAVRE De GRACE -- ''Life's but a knife edge,'' observes the cattle baron Charles Goodnight near the end of Larry McMurtry's ''Streets of Laredo.'' ''Sooner of later, people slip and get cut.''They sure-enough do, in ordinary life as well as in cowboy novels like Mr. McMurtry's. But in ordinary life in the Clintonian era, such slips are invariably considered to be violations of certain vague rights, and thus provide prime opportunities for plaintiffs' lawyers to enrich themselves in the name of justice.

"Comanche Moon," by Larry McMurtry. Simon & Schuster. 752 pages. $28.50.Most of veteran writer Larry McMurtry's novels have been set in Texas and, in metaphorical terms, have been about Texas-sized subjects: betrayal, violence, redemption, friendship, courage, cruelty, power and sex.Whether in historical or contemporary settings, these novels are rich in Lone Star details and are strongly character-driven. McMurtry, whose career spans four decades, achieved breakthrough success in the early 1980s with "Lonesome Dove," a powerful and beautifully written book about 19th-century Texans.

Tonight's TV is dominated by specials and special events: a fabulous three-hour "Frontline" on Lee Harvey Oswald, Part 2 of "Return to Lonesome Dove" and a two-hour nostalgia special geared to the 1970s.* "A 70's Celebration: The Beat is Back" (8-10 p.m., WMAR, Channel 2) -- Here's the difference between the '60s, the era when baby boomers came of age, and the '70s, the "Disco Duck" decade celebrated in this slick variety special from Ken Ehrlich Productions: In the '60s, a sentence beginning "Where were you when you first heard . . ."

The late-night ratings race should be an easy win for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" tonight. English actor Hugh Grant is scheduled to make his first televised appearance since his arrest last month with a Los Angeles prostitute.* "The Nanny" (8 p.m.-8:30 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Grace (Madeline Zima) invites the president for a visit but gets brother Roger Clinton instead, in this repeat. Meanwhile Fran (Fran Drescher) tries to help Maxwell (Charles Shaughnessy) land the rights to a play.

"The Late Child," by Larry McMurtry. 461 pages. New York: Simon and Schuster. $25Back in 1985, I sat down with Larry McMurtry's newest book "Lonesome Dove." I was a fan from Page One. Spellbound. His novel of men - and it was mostly about men - struggling against the wilderness was great at Page 100 and better at Page 200, 300 and on. But the last 60 pages turned me sour. Mr. McMurtry apparently ran out of steam and decided to resolve his tangled narrative by killing off all the characters I came to admire.