Judging Amy: A lock on more than similar hairdos

USA TODAY - November 16, 1999

Judging Amy. Providence. Each is an hour-long drama centering on a curly-haired, thirtysomething woman who moves back home from the big city.

And each, after initial yawns from critics, has gone on to dominate its time period - Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for CBS' Judging Amy and Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT for NBC's Providence - and become a top 20 ratings fixture.

So is it fair to point out the considerable similarities between the two?

Those associated with the shows balk at the idea. "The comparison isn't bothersome," says Judging Amy executive producer Barbara Hall, but "I don't want people to dismiss the show and act like they know what it is before they watch it. That's my concern. After that, people can say whatever they want to."

Hall also complains that she detects a sexist double standard that says it's OK to lump shows "by and about women" together but not shows created by men. NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street "didn't get that, and they were both ensemble cop dramas with shaky cameras," she says. There's an attitude that shows by women "won't be edgy or significant."

When USA TODAY's Kevin V. Johnson watched the two shows, here are the resemblances he found.

	Judging Amy	Providence
Previous big-city location	New York	Los Angeles
New England hometown	Hartford, Conn.	Providence
What brings them home	Amy Gray (Amy Brenneman) and her husband, Michael (John Slattery), separate after their marriage loses its passion.	Sydney Hansen (Melina Kanakaredes) catches her live-in boyfriend, Jerry (Patrick Fabian), in the shower with another man.
Resulting occupational change	From corporate lawyer to juvenile court judge	From plastic surgeon to general practitioner in a family clinic
Whom they're living with now	Mother and daughter	Father, brother, sister and sister's daughter
Actor playing living parent	Emmy-winning actress Tyne Daly, best known for her long-running CBS drama Cagney & Lacey	Actor Mike Farrell, best known for his long-running CBS comedy MASH*
Recovery of a loved one	Brother Vincent (Dan Futterman) recovers from a gunshot wound suffered during a robbery (Nov. 9).	Old friend and current love interest Kyle Moran (Tom Verica) recovers from the amputation of his cancerous arm (Nov. 12).
Thanksgiving plot	Called away to handle an emergency in an adoption case, Amy barely returns in time for dinner (Nov. 23).	Called to L.A. to consult on a child's facial injury, Sydney barely returns in time for dinner (Nov. 26).
Other parent	Amy's father dies from heart problems before the show began.	Sydney's mother (Concetta Tomei) died in the first episode, but she keeps popping up in her daughter's dreams.
Lead actress's hair	usually curly, but sometimes straight, braided or worn up	Always curly, long and flowing
Connection to NYPD Blue	Brenneman played Detective Janice Licalsi, girlfriend of John Kelly (David Caruso). (Judging Amy will air opposite Blue when the ABC cop drama returns Jan. 11).	Kanakaredes had a recurring role as reporter Benita Alden, girlfriend of Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits, Caruso's replacement).