'Amy's' Home Improvement

New York Post - January 16, 2001

By LINDA STASI

DESPITE what they tell you, you can go home again. At least on TV.

And judging by the ratings lately, it's practically against the law to grow up move away and not go back home - to nice lives by the way. The only acceptable exception to going home, of course, is to go to a remote island filled with strangers, bugs and tropical diseases.

But that's called reality TV, which is about as real as any other TV show.

On non-reality TV, the biggest hitters in the past couple of years have gone back home to "Providence," Stuckeyville ("Ed") and Hartford ("Judging Amy").

Conveniently, in TV land (which is near Stuckeyville), everyone who goes home has made a good decision. It's just hard to figure why they left in the first place. Why you yourself might keep going back every week - particularly to Providence and Hartford, at least - is perfectly understandable.

Take Hartford, hometown of "Judging Amy." Luckily, for Amy (Amy Brenneman), "Night Court's" Harry Anderson made it entirely believeable that someone much too young and hip to be a judge could be a judge - so that hurdle was already jumped.

The best plot on tonight's, "Judging Amy" is Amy's improbable "romance" with her daughter's karate instructor.

And I'm happy to report that the producers get it - the whole thing about the thrill of someone asking you out who really, really, really shouldn't ask you out. And the bigger thrill of going out with someone you know, for sure, you really, really, really shouldn't go out with.

So anyway, the karate instructor (quite a few years younger than Amy) boldly asks her out when she comes to pick her daughter up.

The fact that he looks like the illegitimate son of Warren Beatty or Rudolf Nuryev doesn't hurt. I mean, the karate kid's a looker, and of course he's smart.

But it's when he kisses her that the directors, writers, producers, actors (most of whom are Amy Brenneman) really get it.

If you've never been kissed on the street by someone who shouldn't be kissing you and someone you shouldn't be kissing then, well, my sincerest regrets. But if you have, you'll know why this scene is so good.

Too bad there's not more of it. I demand to know just what moves the karate instructor is going to put on Amy.

Interwoven is the ongoing story of Peter and Jillian's (Marcus Giamatti and Jessica Tuck) adoption of little Ned during "Adoption Day," where 200 children are adopted in one marathon day.

Too bad Ned's birth mother keeps showing up.

The only problem with the whole thing is the really, really annoying way they make Jillian whine about the baby's whining.

I hate whining. Especially when it's about whining.

"Judging Amy"
Tonight at 10 on WCBS/Ch. 2


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