Last updated: January 28, 2001. Posted to rec.arts.tv on January 7, 2001.
NOTES on the GRADING: Unlike my "Buffy" reviews, the 'Series Grades' shown here are *not* the average grade of each episode. The 'Series Grade' in these reviews are more a way for me to make a 'sense of the show' grade, both in how I feel the show is doing versus its own expectations and against the other shows I watch. If I were to do the 'Series Grades' based on the average of the episode grades, the average grade in many cases would likely be lower...
Essentially, the grades break down roughly this way:
For those shows which I've only seen the pilot, only the pilot is graded. For those show where I missed viewing the pilot, an "INCOMPLETE" Grade is given.
The shows are listed by day, Sunday shows first and Saturday shows last.
Before this season began, several of us had the 2000-2001 Season pegged as the worst Fall season in some time. Mercifully, it didn't end up turning out that way, as several new shows have caught my attention, at least, if not my outright devotion. However, it is a measure of this season's weakness that the total number of new shows that I am reviewing this year is only 11, while last Fall I reviewed significantly more than that (18 new shows total, last year).
The sitcom situation is getting especially bleak, as I only sat down to watch two new ones (additionally, I've caught some of "Nikki", but it's not like I gave it a second thought; and I caught "Hype!" once or twice, not that it's worth mentioning), and there's less than half a dozen returning sitcoms that I'd ever contemplate sitting down to watch. Of the two new ones, I like one ("Grosse Pointe") a lot, and the other one ("Yes Dear") OK.
The drama situation is, as usual, appreciably better, as I grew to like 5 new dramas to varying degrees (two others I'm lukewarm on, and one I'm sort of negative on), with two of these new dramas (e.g. "Gilmore Girls" and "C.S.I.") looking particularly hopeful, and two more (e.g. "Dark Angel" and the now cancelled "Titans") looking almost as good.
Here is a list of the New Show grades (reviews follow that):
The List of Graded New Shows (in order of Grades)
TV SERIES GRADE
----------- -----
C.S.I. B+
Gilmore Girls B+
Grosse Pointe B+
Dark Angel B
Titans B
That's Life B-
Andromeda C+
The Fugitive C+
Yes Dear C+
Ed C
The $treet C
| ANDROMEDA (Syn.): |
| Grade for Pilot: | C |
| Overall Grade for Season: | C+ |
There's not much to say about this show. Basically, I like it because, so far, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. And what it is is basically the Sci-Fi Saturday movie matinees of old on your TV screen. Neither the writing nor the performances (lead by ex-"Hercules" Kevin Sorbo, ex-"Forever Knight'er" Lisa Ryder, ex-"Ready or Not'er" Laura Bertram, and ex-AMC'er Keith Hamilton Cobb) are liable to bowl you over, but "Andromeda" is a pleasant diversion on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Taken in that spirit, this show ain't half bad. Still, it's getting harder and harder to like (or take seriously) Sorbo's Capt. Dylan Hunt; the guy's the *definition* of weasily "girlie man"! How did this guy ever get to be Capt. when he's such a goodie-goodie woos?! In any case, the writers (led by "Star Trek"-saga alum Robert Wolfe) seem to be developing some storyarcs beneath the surface and, if nothing else, I'm curious to see where they go with it. It's certainly not "good TV". But it'll do 'on a budget'. And that about says it all...
| GROSSE POINTE (WBN): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B+ |
"Sex Bomb. Sex Bomb. You're my Sex Bomb"... Oops! Sorry! But I just can't stop humming the theme to the new WB sitcom "Grosse Pointe". Cracks me up every time I hear it. It's almost too catchy for its own good! Anyway, on to the matter at hand...
Ostensibly a "sitcom"/"satire", "Grosse Pointe" is another one of those half-hour shows which I actually enjoy far more than I find amusing or laugh-out-loud funny. This actually isn't a new phenomenon for me: I felt similarly about last season's "sitcom" trifles: NBC's "M.Y.O.B." and The WB's "Brutally Normal", as well as FOX's 1-hour "Opposite Sex" (notice the trend there?...). And, like "M.Y.O.B.", "Grosse Pointe" actually excels at pretty vivid characterizations, particularly with GP show diva Hunter Fallow (Irene Malloy, playing a character none-too-subtly modeled after Shannen Doherty back in her "brat" days), who is starting to come across as this season's most fascinating new character. Indeed, the 'Hunter' character is probably GP's greatest draw. Hopefully, the show will take its time and slowly, but fully, develop the Hunter character, as (IMO) the show's fortunes rather depend on not allowing Hunter to degenerate into a one-note, one dimensional shrew. Almost as amusing are two of Hunter's GP "co-stars": perpetually neurotic and insecure Marcy (Lindsay Sloane, playing a character none-too-subtly modeled after Tori Spelling) and terminally vacuous Johnny (Al Santos, nearly perfectly cast as one of those arrogant, empty-headed (and nearly totally lacking in acting "talent") 'pretty boys' so common on 'soaps' of all stripes these days). Also amusing is the show-within-a-show's Executive Producer, Rob Fields (William Ragsdale), though his character is missing a little since his partner (played by Joely Fisher, who unwisely departed GP for FOX's now-cancelled "Normal Ohio) left the show. Now that Fisher is available again, hopefully GP can get her back.
GP started with an eye-opening and effective (if not particularly amusing) pilot illuminating exactly how TV shows really operate "back stage" (something even those of us obsessed with television don't know that much about!) when new GP castmember Courtney (Bonnie Sommerville, fine as a 'straight-man', but increasingly victim as the 'butt' of the show's jokes) arrives for her first day on the set. Subsequent episodes have continued to mine the behind-the-scenes angle for further interest and occasional amusement. Of the episodes that followed, the best one (in terms of actually being laugh-out-loud-funny) was undoubtedly the "Lewinski" episode, where Hunter, up for the headline part in 'Oliver Stone's "Lewinski"', attempts to gain weight to secure the part, and turns into a totally nice human being once she starts 'pigging out' on food and feeding her empty stomach! This episode, more than any other, successfully fused all the satiric elements together into a bang-up effort. Hopefully, given some time, GP will turn out more episodes like this one.
However, GP is only bringing in very marginal ratings so far this year, and is unlikely to see a second season. And the reason, I think, gets back to my original point about the show: when most viewers see the word "sitcom" they want something that is rolling-on-the-ground funny. And GP is just not that kind of show. It's certainly entertaining, sometimes fascinating and insightful, and occasionally funny, and is populated with well-scripted characters. But it's almost never "knee-slapping" funny. And to a 'mass audience' that, unfortunately, is a sin which no "sitcom" is allowed to commit.
Which is too bad, because while "Grosse Pointe" isn't often laugh-out-loud funny, it's a darn good little show. And it deserves more viewers than it's getting.
| YES DEAR (CBS): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | C+ |
Another new show I'm not going to say much about, "Yes Dear" pretty much makes it into this review for two reasons: 1) because this was the show that many had pegged as the season's first "casualty" before the season began, when instead it's actually been surprisingly successful (so far), and 2) because the reason it's been as successful as it has been is because it's not nearly as bad as it was initially rumored to be. Indeed, this is a show that can be mildly amusing on occasion (which is more than I can say about most of the sitcoms I stumble across).
And the reason for this, despite the pedigree of the four castmembers (who have all been (somewhat unfairly) pegged as TV "Three Strikers"), is that the show is actually based around a *concept* or two (e.g. first time parents, "Odd Couple"/complete opposite married couples, etc.). As a result, the premise of this show fits in nicely with the rest of CBS's Monday night lineup, where two of the three remaining shows (e.g. "King of Queens", "Everybody Loves Raymond") also mine couple/family issues for comedy. Contrast the relative (artistic) success of "Yes Dear", a *premise*-based sitcom, with a "star"-based sitcoms like "Bette" or "Geena Davis", and you'll start to understand why "Yes Dear" succeeded while the others have failed.
In other words, don't believe the hype!: This show isn't one of the worst of the season. It's actually amiably amusing (if not particularly fresh or inspirational). So, lay off the put-downs, OK?!
| TITANS (NBC): |
| Grade for Pilot: | C+ |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B |
You can't blame Garth Ancier for trying. (Er, well, I guess Scally can...) Anyway, what Ancier was attempting with "Titans" was to get Aaron Spelling to revive the big, juicy, saucy, campy nighttime soap opera genre for NBC. And the show may have been actually getting there, before it was unceremoniously yanked off the air by NBC in December. (Incidentally, Ancier himself was yanked soon after.) Yeah, sure, the pilot was pretty terrible. And, yeah, sure, outside of John Barrowman (and occasionally... OK, rarely! some of the other cast members) nobody could really "act" as the term is generally understood. But, as it was going along, "Titans" was actually managing to close in on that target of big, over-the-top campy soapdum. The dialogue in the form of verbal barbs, especially between Barrowman's Peter and Yasmine Bleeth's Heather or Victoria Principal's Gwen and Heather, was often pleasingly amusing and occasionally downright snappy. Further, a couple of the plots, notably Peter's attempts to win over Samantha Sanchez (Lourdes Benedicto) along with Peter's attempts not to get caught for his various schemes, and the sisterly rivalry between alcoholic spaz Jenny (Elizabeth Bogush) and prim Laurie (Josie Davis), were starting to generate interest. And I had soft spots for a few of the characters, notably Peter, Jenny and Laurie. Which is not to say that "Titans" was "quality" TV. But it was *entertaining* TV.
So I'll miss this silly mess. Call me a kook, but I like my camp 'campy'.
| DARK ANGEL (FOX): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B |
Now here is a show that started out with several strikes against it: 1) it's helmed by James Cameron who has a lot of people just gunning to see him fail (especially on TV, where Cameron has never tread before) and who has a lot of other people convinced that he doesn't know how to write i) dialogue, ii) a plot; 2) it's a Sci-Fi show on FOX which last had a truly successful Sci-Fi show with... hmmm, I'd say "The X-Files" (coming up on about 6 years ago now when TXF took off!); and 3) it's headlined by a stunning looking, and even more stunning stilted, "actress" by the name of Jessica Alba. Ah, Jessica Alba... I remember the good old days when Alba was virtually nothing more than a 13-year old walk-on on NICK's "The Secret World of Alex Mack". How far she's come... or not. In any case, I don't think many people thought with any real conviction that this show would see March of 2001.
And, yet, despite its obvious shortcomings, "Dark Angel" has actually managed to eke out some successes. It started with gangbuster ratings for its pilot (no doubt thanks to FOX's tireless promotion of dear, sweet little Jessica Alba during its numerous male-skewing sporting telecasts), and has actually managed to hold on to ratings which, while not Earth-shattering, are actually pretty solid for FOX.
Further, despite writing that rivals "Miami Vice" in the we're-just-here-to-further-the-atmospheric-visuals, "dialogue-lite" department, the writers have actually managed to pound out a fairly intriguing, continually evolving storyarc/background mystery for this show. And the acting, if not benefiting from Alba's obvious... 'assets' (which don't include acting beyond a breathtakingly stunning pout: Those lips! Those eyes! Oh isn't Max adorably cute when she pouts?! - So, who wants to slap her? I will!!!), has benefited from co-star Michael Weatherly's more understated empathy as Logan Cale, and from appropriate menace from 'baddie' John Savage as Col. Lydekker.
Not that it's 'all good'. Aside from the obvious deficiencies of Alba's developing craft, and the Shhhh!-we're-trying-to-film-a-cool-scene-here! lack of dialogue, DA has other problems in its other characters. While one supporting character (Jennifer Blanc's Kendra) is a virtually untouched enigma who has shown up for less than half of the episodes so far, the other supporting characters (e.g. the tiresome 'Jam Pony' crew, led by Valarie Rae Miller's Original Cindy) are annoyingly distracting and add nothing to the show. To quote Max, "Blah blah woof woof." But, aside from these problems, DA has been surprisingly engrossing.
In short, what could have been a disaster, both as a Sci-Fi vehicle, and as a ratings source for FOX, has actually turned out to be better than it ever should have been. Well, color me pleased, as I actually get kind of a kick out of "Dark Angel". If nothing else, aside from trying to figure out DA's 'mytharc', there's always fun in oogling/MIST'ing Alba's...
| ED (NBC): |
| Grade for Pilot: | C- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | C |
If there is a more "self-aware" new show on TV than "Ed", please point it out to me, because I have a hard time believing it. Despite the best efforts of "Ed's" two leads (Tom Cavanaugh and Julie Bowen, both of whom I like a great deal, especially Bowen), "Ed" has never convinced me that it's anything more than a gimmick/vanity project.
Overstuffed with annoying, mugging-for-the-camera, awkwardly 'zany' town folks (backed up by writing with more of the same), "Ed" is clearly reaching, *hard*, to be one of these lovable quirky shows in the vein of "Northern Exposure" and "Providence" (from which co-lead Cavanaugh previously hailed). Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell EP Rob Burrnett and co. that neither of the aforementioned shows was as 'lovable' as they thought they were. In other words, these people annoy me. Which makes an even more striking contrast when you compare "Ed" to the vastly superior "Gilmore Girls", which is trying to hit many of the same We've-got-quirky-townsfolk! buttons, but does it in a much less cloying, and generally much more satisfying, way.
There are rare occasions when "Ed" actually 'rights' itself, and nearly becomes the 'above-average' show that a gaggle of TV critics keep insisting that it is. Generally, "Ed" starts working during one of two segments: 1) nearly any time Cavanaugh's Ed and Bowen's Carol share a scene (by themselves) and the show's sweetly romantic spirit takes over the screen, or 2) in some occasional instances when Ed is in the courtroom advocating whatever case has landed on his lap this week. Unfortunately, too many of the court cases are played for the same cloying 'quirks' as every other character in this show who's not named Ed or Carol.
In short, "Ed" is trying to hard to be something that, in all honesty, it shouldn't be trying to be. So, when somebody makes the oft-stated claim that "'Ed' is the Best New Show on TV this season!", don't believe them. And then go right on past 'em, and tune in "Gilmore Girls" or "C.S.I.". You won't regret it.
| THE $TREET (FOX): |
| Grade for Pilot: | INCOMPLETE |
| Overall Grade for Season: | C |
I missed the pilot to "The $treet", and, indeed, I only picked up the show when I could no longer stomach another second of "Felicity" (even totally muted!). And what I found was an occasionally effective show that was, more often than not, totally dragged down by its sophomoric (and usually moronic) preoccupation with the sex lives of its characters, and its often vastly ill-considered junkets into "comedy" (in the stylings of such silly shows as "Ally McBeal" and "Providence", no less).
Indeed, as is par for the course for this kind of show, "The $treet" was vastly more interesting on those rare occasions when, 1) it actually focused on the work lives of its characters (stock traders and brokers, all), or 2) it, in one of those exceedingly rare instances, went for romance over lust. (OK, so that last one probably only happened once or twice...)
"The $treet" was further hampered by the fact that most of its characters were dull or silly, with only three of them managing to be passably interesting: 1) scuzzy, proud broker Freddy Sacker (Rick Hoffman), 2) officious and imperious section manager Tom Divack (Giancarlo Esposito), and 3) cunning, duplicitous Bridget Deshiell (Brigette Wilson (Sampras), a late addition to the show but having obvious fun with the role). Meanwhile, despite their obvious stunning physical attributes, stars' Tom Everett Scott's and Jennifer Connolly's characters (Jack Kenderson and Catherine Miller, respectively) barely ever registered on screen. Which isn't good when you're the ostensible stars of the show.
In short, "The $treet" is one of those shows which probably had the right kind of general concept (as witness the fact that a second show, TNT's "Bull", actually mines some of the same stock trader territory), but was totally hampered by the execution. Sounds like all it needed was a new management team at the top. But I guess it's too late for a merger or buy-out to save this show, huh?...
| GILMORE GIRLS (WBN): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B+ |
I must admit that, before this season began, "Gilmore Girls" wasn't a show that I was exactly waiting in anticipation for. Afterall, The WB's last foray into 'family' show territory, "Safe Harbor", was pleasant enough but wasn't exactly long-lasting. And "Gilmore Girls" was given one of The WB's toughest timeslots. So I pretty much figured history would repeat itself.
And the pilot gave me no real reason to think otherwise. The pilot was basically solid, and did a pretty good job at sketching out the show's various characters, including the show's three leads: 32-year old, kooky mom Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham, enthusiastically (maybe *too* enthusiastically) bouncing off the walls); shy, sweet, innocent, 16-year old daughter Rory Gilmore (perfectly cast newcomer Alexis Bledel); and prim, exacting, judgmental grandma Emily Gilmore (again, perfectly cast Kelly Bishop). But the pilot was more officious than inspiring, and didn't really cause me to love the character of Lorelai anyway.
Luckily, like "C.S.I." (see below), "Gilmore Girls" built steadily from the pilot, improving with each passing episode. Indeed, the series really started to work for me once Rory started attending prestigious Chilton Academy (which is, apparently, a 'feeder' school for Rory's dream college, Harvard). A number of interesting characters attend Chilton (led by jealous, love-struck Lothario Tristin (Chad Murray) and hyper-competitive teen bitch-queen Paris (Liza Weil, great in the indie flick "Whatever")), and Rory's struggles at Chilton, and with the characters there, represent most of my favorite "Gilmore Girl" sequences. In addition, once the grandparent characters, Emily and Richard (veteran actor Edward Herrman, excellent as always), were fleshed out, the 'family' aspects of the show started working, with Emily and Rory providing a needed counterpoint for the 'showy' Lorelai character. Still, I'm of the opinion that "Gilmore Girls" greatest draw is unquestionably the character of Rory, one of TV's freshest 'teen' characters ever (and who, pleasingly, wears her innocence on her sleeve, rather the embracing the cynicism of many other TV teens).
Now, not all "Gilmore Girl" segments necessarily work. Like "Ed" (and about a million other shows right now), "Gilmore Girls" is trying hard for the 'quirky townsfolk' vibe. Some of them, notably cafe owner Luke (Scott Patterson) work and Lorelai's best friend Sookie (Melissa McCarthy), pretty much work. However, others are too cloying or just plain annoying. Further, so far, the hotel segments with Lorelai just don't stand-out. And Rory's boyfriend Dean (Jared Padalecki) is just too good to be true, especially in terms of some of the dialogue he's been given (e.g. see episode "Kiss and Tell"). Still, the 'quirky' townsfolk of GG are a lot less objectionable than, say, "Ed's" are.
All in all, "Gilmore Girls" is a show I'm starting to grow fond of. Still, as with "Grosse Pointe" and "C.S.I.", "Gilmore Girls" is a show that I'm fond of so far, but I'm not totally in love with. By this time last season, I was totally enamored with "Once & Again", "Roswell" and "Jack & Jill". This season, *no* show has grabbed me like that. Not even "Gilmore Girls".
Still, I'm giving this show time. Maybe it'll slowly grab me the same way that those other shows did. And, luckily, GG's ratings (unlike "Safe Harbor's") haven't been a disaster. So, at the least, GG should have a full season to totally win me over. Maybe it'll win you over too.
| THE FUGITIVE (CBS): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | C+ |
This is a show that I still feel, on balance, should never have been made. I'll say why right off the bat: the original "Fugitive" is a true TV *classic*, a show that spawned an entire new genre of TV programming, and which was powered by a nearly peerless lead performance (IMO, *no one* is ever going to top David Janssen!). Indeed, I'm one of the few people you'll come across who *despised* the Harrison Ford-led movie version of "The Fugitive" because I feel it did such a crummy job, by tearing out the heart and soul of the TV series and replacing it with a cynical, hackneyed "action"-driven "plot".
Having said all that, this show hasn't done as bad a job of reworking the original as I had originally feared. The pilot retreaded the movie by having an action-driven hour to start the series, but I at least felt some of the soul was restored while the chase was on. Subsequent to this, Tim Daly has at least partially sold me on his performance as Richard Kimble (even if I still feel he'll never touch Janssen's take), while Mykelti Williamson has done more with Lt. Gerard than Barry Morse ever did (though, that's probably mostly a function of the difference in TV writing between then and now).
The problem is still, however, that what was "fresh" in 1963 is now passˇ in 2001. The show attempts to overcome the limitations inherent in the "Fugitive-helps-the-little-people-week-in-and-week-out" genre by beefing up and supplementing the storyarc and the Gerard portions of the program. However, the problem here is that the credibility of the beefed-up storyarc will be harder and harder to maintain as time goes on if Kimble doesn't 1) catch the one-armed man, or 2) get caught himself. Further, the problem is, this tactic of beefing-up the other aspects of the show is only partially successful, and only serves to highlight the lack of interest generated in most of the episodes' "Kimble helps the little people" segments. In other words, more often than not, "The Fugitive" is *boring* when it's not dealing with the immediate plight of either Kimble or Gerard.
And *this* is no doubt why the ratings for "The Fugitive" have been lackluster so far. I'll give the producers props: they could have done a heck of a lot worse with this. But the fact remains: the time of shows like "The Fugitive" has probably passed...
| C.S.I. (CBS): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B- |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B+ |
Before I start, I just want to take a second to ridicule the so-called "experts" in the television field (including so-called "TV critics"). For, if you might remember, before this season began, the so-called TV "experts" predicted a number of new shows would be 'hits', among them "Bette" and "The Fugitive" and "Ed". What one show did almost no one have pegged as a 'hit' show? Well, none other than the one new show that *did* end up becoming a 'hit': CBS's very own "C.S.I." Well, if the Einsteins in the TV biz had just taken a second to check into the rec.arts.tv newsgroup before the season started, they would have discovered what I already suspected at the time: that probably the most anticipated new show was, in fact, "C.S.I.", at least as far as the rec.arts.tv membership was concerned (and who, no doubt, correlate at least somewhat with the TV audience at large) Indeed, when this season started, what was the one new show that I, personally, was most looking forward to? Was it "Dark Angel"? Nope. "Gilmore Girls"? Nope, again. Was it "Grosse Pointe? No, it wasn't even "Grosse Pointe". The new show I was most anticipating was also none other than "C.S.I."! So much for so-called TV "experts". But on to the subject at hand...
Like "Gilmore Girls", "C.S.I." is a show that started with a decent enough pilot, and built from there. But, like "Gilmore Girls", "C.S.I." is a show that I like and respect more than I love. This show isn't generating the kind of strong feelings that last season's "Roswell", "Once & Again" and "Jack & Jill" mustered up in me.
Still, the show works best as what it is: a 'puzzle box' of a crime show. Each show starts with one, two or three crimes (sometimes murder, sometimes robbery, sometimes kidnapping), and then follows the team of two or three or five "Crime Scene Investigators" as they attempt to piece together what transpired when the crime took place. Often, the methods used by the team are as fascinating as the clues to the crimes themselves, taking allowance for the kind of "license" TV shows often take on these matters. (Side-rant: Don't get me started on the numerous inaccuracies the show has already made vis a vis the analytical method of "gas chromatography" (GC)!) Particularly memorable was the recent episode in which the entire "C.S.I." team investigated the death of the delirious passenger on the airplane, or the episode when the entire team (again) investigates the murder of four members of the same family, or the episode in which Grissom and Willows investigate the woman who died from a fall (or was it 'foul play'?!) from a boat into a pond.
In general, I like the cast of this show, especially William Peterson as "C.S.I." head Gil Grissom (sidenote: I'm guessing the character's name was taken from a slight twist of the famous astronaut's name?!). Also good, in roles where they aren't always likable, are Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows and Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown. And I always like George Eads (Nick Stokes) and Paul Guilfoyle (as Homicide Captain Jim Brass) in whatever I see them in. My one complaint is that I find Jorja Fox's Sara Sidel incredibly *annoying*, and wish that the "C.S.I." producers had stuck with Chandra West's Holly Gribbs (she was the rookie killed in the "C.S.I." pilot) who was significantly more palatable.
In any case, while "C.S.I." isn't a show I "love to death", it's certainly a show I like a lot and respect a lot. So, if you haven't already, and you like 'police procedurals', "C.S.I." is definitely a show worth taking your time to check out.
| THAT'S LIFE (CBS): |
| Grade for Pilot: | B |
| Overall Grade for Season: | B- |
I'm actually somewhat amazed that I like this show as much as I do. Headlined by Heather Paige Kent as Lydia DeLucca, "That's Life" is basically working-class "Providence". But that may actually be working to this show's advantage because, being working class-based, "That's Life" actually manages to avoid some of "Providence's" more cloying (and vaguely elitist) excesses. Not that this show avoids them all... Personally, I find Lydia's mother, played by Ellen Burstyn, grating and somewhat over-the-top. Similarly, outside of Lydia's father, Frank (played by the underappreciated Paul Sorvino - when this guy left "Law & Order" 10 years ago, so did I!), the male characters are almost wholly unsympathetic. However, it's among the male characters that "That's Life" finds its most interesting character in Peter Firth's Prof. Victor Leski. The best segments of this show involve either Firth and Kent, or Firth and pretty much anyone else. Rounding out the cast are Debi Mazar's Jackie (and this may be Mazur's least ostentatious role yet - and I mean that as a compliment) and Kristin Bauer's Candy, as Lydia's two best buds.
Anyway, for a "chick" show, "That's Life" may actually be the pick of the litter, being far less offensive to this male's tastes than the likes of "Providence", "Family Law" or "Judging Amy". Unfortunately, this show is stuck on Saturday nights, where it will surely die a slow death if it isn't moved by Spring. Here's one guy that hopes CBS smartens up, and finds "That's Life" a better home. It deserves at least that much...
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