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'Amy' robed in familiar formula
USA TODAY - September 17, 1999
By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
If stealing from bad TV were a crime, Judging Amy might end up in a real courtroom.
Even in a medium known for filching ideas, CBS' new drama Judging Amy is a preposterously obvious copy of NBC's Providence - last season's surprise hit about a curly-topped female doctor who
escapes the big city and a bad relationship for a hometown life of community service. Substitute Hartford for Providence, and lawyer for doctor, and you have Amy.
Luckily for viewers, the formula has been slightly improved in its second use. Amy has dropped Providence's sickeningly sweet fantasies and its phony ode-to-the-simple-life pieties. Amy (NYPD
Blue's Amy Brenneman, who makes a very sympathetic heroine) may have run away from New York, but she ran to a prestigious job - a family court judge - and there's nothing simple about family
court.
Best of all, Amy has Tyne Daly, and she alone is enough to earn the show a continuance.
Previewing this weekend before moving to its regular Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT slot, the show opens with Amy's chaotic first day on the job. Having left her husband, she and her daughter move in
with her mother, Maxine (Daly), who can't help interfering in her life. For an ally, Amy turns to her sweet, underachieving brother Vincent (Dan Futterman).
A corporate lawyer recruited to the bench by a law-school friend, Amy is more lost at work than she is at home. Her only hope of surviving is to gain the support of her initially distant court
officer (Richard T. Jones, who stars tonight in BET's Incognito).
The maternal meddling is laid on a little too thick, and Amy's daughter is a bit too worldly-wise - but otherwise, the family scenes are handled with a deft touch. The courtroom scenes are
considerably weaker, but they improve in the second episode as Amy starts to become more competent and comfortable at work.
Despite the familiarity of the setup, Amy's bench strength is its actors, starting with Jones and Futterman. Cast as almost total opposites (one is strong and silent; the other is chatty and
sensitive), they offer equally appealing and effective support to the show's star.
The real draw, though, is Daly - who was the best actress on TV back in the days when the medium had more room for strong women. One of those rare actresses who can command attention simply by
walking in the room, Daly seems to effortlessly imbue Maxine with a strong will and an incisive intelligence.
It's a shame Brenneman doesn't do the same for Amy - though to be fair, the script doesn't give her much help. If we must, we'll buy the idea that this newly appointed judge has no familiarity
with the terms used in family law. But my goodness, she doesn't even know how to use a gavel? Hasn't she ever watched a judge on TV?
Here's your sentence, Amy: Stop watching Providence and start watching The Practice. If you're going to steal, steal from the best.
Copyright © 1999 USA TODAY. All rights reserved.
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