2008 Winter TV Preview: Comanche Moon

Comanche Moon - 6-Hour Mini-Series

Premieres: Sunday, January 13; Tuesday, January 15; and Wednesday, January 16, at 9:00 p.m. EST

Network: CBS

Creator(s): Larry McMurtry, Adam Shulman

Starring:: Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Karl Urban, Elizabeth Banks, Graham Greene, Rachel Griffiths, David Midthunder

Website: CBS.com

This six-hour mini-series is the prequel to Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Lonesome Dove, which was the basis for the Emmy Award-winning mini-series that aired in 1989.

It follows Texas Rangers Augustus "Gus" McCrae (Steve Zahn) and Woodrow F. Call (Karl Urban), now in their middle years, as they continue to deal with the struggles of adult life. Gus is paired with great love, Clara Forsythe (Linda Cardellini), and Woodrow with Maggie Tilton (Elizabeth Banks), the young prostitute who loves him and bears him a son, Newt (Joseph Castanon).

Val Kilmer plays Captain Inish Scull, a Yankee aristocrat and hero of the recently ended Mexican War, and Rachel Griffiths plays Inez Scull, the Captain's sexy wife who doesn't hesitate to fill her time with other men when he's away from home.

McCrae and Call enlist with a Ranger troop in pursuit of three outlaws: Buffalo Hump (Wes Studi), the great Comanche war chief; Kicking Wolf (Jonathon Joss), the celebrated Comanche horse thief; and Ahumado (Sal Lopez), a deadly Mexican bandit king with a penchant for torture.

Assisting the Rangers is renowned tracker Famous Shoes (David Midthunder), and comrades-in-arms, Deets (Keith Robinson), Jake Spoon (Ryan Merriman) and Pea Eye Parker (Troy Baker). The ultimate goal: protect an advancing western frontier against the defiant Comanches who are determined to defend their territory and their way of life.

Dusty trails, sweaty horses, renegade frontier guys, sun-dried Indians… I could use a good western to sink my teeth into, and this just might fill the bill. The powerhouse cast alone is enough to have me tuning in, but with writers and exec-producers Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana – they worked together on Brokeback Mountain – it’s sure to be a knockout. Looking forward to it.

For the full 2008 Winter TV Premiere Schedule: CLICK HERE