ABC (Sun., May 12, 9 p.m. ET)
B+
When Walter Brennan, Andy Devine and Dub Taylor passed from the scene, it seemed that the Golden Age of the Old Coot was over. What a pleasant surprise that Keith Carradine and Harry Dean Stanton have stepped in to scoop up the fallen torch. Wily as rattlesnakes, these crusty old varmints are the highlights of this absorbing adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel. Sagebrush mentors to a passel of callow youths on a doomed foray into Comanche territory, the feisty codgers are full of tall tales and handy tips, such as how to commit suicide in a jiffy when the torture-minded enemy is closing in. The saga does go a bit off the rails at the end when a leprous English opera singer pops in and scares the puzzled warlord Buffalo Hump into early retirement, but generally this miniseries (concluding Monday at 8 p.m. ET) more than holds its own.
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