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'Judging Amy' has potential
Spokesman Review - September 18, 1999
By Faye Zuckerman/New York Times Syndicate
NBC's "Providence" and CBS's "Judging Amy" (debuting Sunday at 8 with another episode airing Tuesday at 10) have much in common. Both examine the issues of adult children
moving back home after many years, and the leads have frizzy hair.
"Amy" features Amy Brenneman as a lawyer who recently separated from her husband. She and her tiny daughter have returned to Hartford, Conn., to live with her mom (Tyne Daly).
The series becomes greatly different from "Providence" when you factor in the heads of each TV family.
Unlike Mike Farrell, as the always-understanding dad on "Providence," Amy's mom is critical, judgmental and hurls insults like they're going out of style.
If she has anything good to say, it comes in the form of a backhanded compliment. When her daughter Amy takes over a family-court judgeship, their relationship goes on trial.
In the premiere episode, Mom sneaks cigarettes when she's not confronting Amy about her clothes, child-rearing and professional conduct on the bench. Brenneman plays her character as insecure,
leaving us wondering if she should even be a family-court judge.
With its strong female role models, "Amy" has potential to supply memorable messages about a single mother navigating the treacherous work world alone.
Copyright © 1999 Spokesman Review. All rights reserved.
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