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TV clones the strong, single gals
Contra Costa Times - September 19, 1999
By CHUCK BARNEY
WHAT IS IT with these curly haired, New England-bred career women? If you believe what you see on television, at the slightest hint of turbulence in their lives, they drop everything and run home
to mama to begin the daunting task of finding themselves.
Last season, we saw that theme explored in "Providence," with lovely Melina Kanakaredes playing a woman compelled to flee the big city in favor of her Rhode Island roots.
Most critics took one look at the show, gagged, and then dismissed it as a piece of mush-minded sap. But the audience -- mainly women -- loved it, making "Providence" a huge, unlikely
hit for NBC.
And you know what that means in the derivative world of TV: Break out the clones.
Now along comes "Judging Amy" from CBS with Amy Brenneman filling the role of curly haired New England wannabe. Seems that her character, Amy Gray, was stuck in an fruitless marriage in
New York. Now she's packing up her 6-year-old daughter and heading back to Hartford, Conn.
Once there, she moves in with her overly opinionated mother (Tyne Daly), a former social worker, and offbeat brother (Dan Futterman), and starts a new career as a juvenile court judge.
Sounds a lot like "Providence" with a few different wrinkles -- the main one being that mom doesn't keel over and die in the first episode. (You obviously have to show a little more
respect to a "Cagney & Lacey" star.)
Like Kanakaredes, Brenneman is an "NYPD Blue" alum with a luminous screen presence. Daly's character, as you might expect, is a bit gruffed-mannered and has no shortage of advice on how
her daughter should live her life.
"Drink your juice before the vitamins escape," she tells Amy before she embarks on her first day as judge.
Together, they have that friction-blended-with-underlying-affection thing going that so many TV couples seem to possess. But in this case, it's not all that compelling. "Judging Amy" is
one of those shows that comes across as perfectly pleasant, yet all too forgettable.
Tonight's opener is marred by lackluster writing and a sluggish pace, and the first juvenile cases Amy take on are pretty much duds. My first reaction is to say "Judging Amy" will be
easy to ignore.
But hey, I'm a guy and obviously not part of the show's target audience. It just might be another "Providence" waiting to happen.
CBS entertainment chief Nancy Tellem, a former Danville resident, used to practice law. Maybe that's why her fall lineup includes three new shows that feature women attorneys. Then again, maybe
it's just a coincidence.
Either way, "Judging Amy" will be joined on the schedule by the sitcom "Work With Me" and the drama "Family Law," the latter of which premieres Monday (10 p.m.
Channel 5; 9 p.m. Channel 13).
Copyright © 1999 Contra Costa Times. All rights reserved.
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