I absolutely loved and devoured his books. PBS (she crosses herself) Mystery! actually did an excellent job of dramatizing two of his novels, with Adam Beach and Wes Studi as very believable Chee and Leaphorn. Both are wonderful actors. An aging Peter Fonda appeared in one of them. Tony Hillerman left the world a better place than he found it, and I am saddened to learn there will be no more books in the series.
I agree - the PBS videos did a great job with the characters and the general atmosphere, although it was impossible to get the complex plots into an hour and a half.