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TV review: '1923' will satisfy 'Yellowstone' fans, few others

Harrison Ford stars in "1923." Photo courtesy of Paramount+
1 of 5 | Harrison Ford stars in "1923." Photo courtesy of Paramount+

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- 1923, premiering Sunday on Paramount+, fits into the Yellowstone world just as the previous spinoff 1883 did. By the second spinoff, newbies are unlikely to jump in, and 1923 won't win over anyone who's not already invested in the Dutton saga.

40 years after the first Duttons settled in Montana, Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) manage the ranch in a volatile time. Locusts have eaten much of the grass cattle depend on to graze, causing tensions between other farms.

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So Jacob proposes a cattle drive to move everyone's stock to more fertile ground for the summer. This postpones nuptials and leaves the women behind to tend to the farm.

Fans of the present-day Dutton Ranch drama in Yellowstone and the old west journey of 1883 will find the best of both worlds in 1923. Creator Taylor Sheridan maintains the aesthetic that fans have bought into, and at this point he's not changing anything.

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The minutiae of farming and cattle driving are sound. Ford and co-stars Darren Mann and James Badge Dale acquit themselves nicely on horseback.

Some of the world-building feels lower rent. A town meeting escalates into a brawl between rival farmers so quickly that it feels more apiece with a Blazing Saddles style western spoof.

To his credit, Ford commits to the gravitas of the stakes between old west sheepherders. The land rights to the remaining grass make relevant drama, but the portrayal on the show is a bit overwrought.

An African hunting subplot fails to capture the production value of filming on location. Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) hunts big game but the scenes don't look any different than if they'd staged those scenes in the American Midwest on the cheap.

Spencer's flashbacks to World War I hold up better, with a convincing battle scene.

The introduction to non-Dutton characters is perhaps the show's strongest and most compelling. Native American student Teonna (Aminah Nieves) struggles in a religious school under a racist and authoritarian nun teacher (Jennifer Ehle).

Teonna lashes out in an outrageous way that sets up a juicy conflict for this subplot. The indigenous character is justified in rebelling against the religious establishment, though the establishment will retain the upper hand according to history.

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As the 1923 story begins, Cara keeps the peace between cowboys and their neglected fiancés and partners. Fortunately, a prologue confirms that Cara will become a woman of action herself soon enough.

1923 showcases the open plains of America with herds of cattle which are part and parcel of the Yellowstone universe. The new characters are off to a promising start coping with the impending challenges of the Great Depression and Prohibition for which the drama suggests they are ill-prepared.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001 and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

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