Before the Lonesome Dove mini series I'd always considered The Searchers to be the greatest western, although I know many disagree.
I've never seen Robert Duvall play a better role than Gus McCrae.
If I had any issue with the mini series, it was the casting of Robert Urich as Jake Spoon. In my opinion, Urich was miscast and did bring to life Jake Spoon from the novel.
Agree with Robert Urich being miscast. But his hanging was classic and showed exactly the creed of the Old West. “You ride with outlaws you die with outlaws”. No one wanted to hang him, especially Augustus, but it had to be done.