Tonight was the premiere of Holly Hunter’s new ongoing series, Saving Grace, and I admit, I had been looking forward to it for some time. Holly Hunter is one of my favorite actresses and she really can’t miss. Okay, there was Home for the Holidays or whatever, but everyone makes mistakes.
Anyway, Saving Grace is a bit racy for the station and bears a Mature Audiences warning at the start, but I’m really glad to see more shows like this on basic cable lately. Lili Taylor’s new State of Mind on Lifetime is much the same: they are both frank, both use strong language, and both have some pretty hot sex scenes - stuff that wouldn’t fly on network TV, but that’s what made cable... cable. I mean, you shouldn’t have to be on HBO to say the word, shit. Heck, even NYPD Blue did that.
But Saving Grace has far more going for it than just pushing the envelope of network cable TV. This really is a good show with a lot of promise, though it’s sure to be controversial due to its religious theme. But again, putting the controversial nature aside, Saving Grace has wit, charm, and a really good premise. And, of course, incredible acting; Holly Hunter and Laura San Giacomo alone are worth the price of admission, but everyone in the cast turns in stellar performances and you never get the feeling that anyone is underplaying their part in order to highlight the “stars” (something I really loathe in network TV and also something that happens far too much).
Saving Grace comes on Mondays after The Closer on TNT (the Charmed channel).
Anyway, Saving Grace is a bit racy for the station and bears a Mature Audiences warning at the start, but I’m really glad to see more shows like this on basic cable lately. Lili Taylor’s new State of Mind on Lifetime is much the same: they are both frank, both use strong language, and both have some pretty hot sex scenes - stuff that wouldn’t fly on network TV, but that’s what made cable... cable. I mean, you shouldn’t have to be on HBO to say the word, shit. Heck, even NYPD Blue did that.
But Saving Grace has far more going for it than just pushing the envelope of network cable TV. This really is a good show with a lot of promise, though it’s sure to be controversial due to its religious theme. But again, putting the controversial nature aside, Saving Grace has wit, charm, and a really good premise. And, of course, incredible acting; Holly Hunter and Laura San Giacomo alone are worth the price of admission, but everyone in the cast turns in stellar performances and you never get the feeling that anyone is underplaying their part in order to highlight the “stars” (something I really loathe in network TV and also something that happens far too much).
Saving Grace comes on Mondays after The Closer on TNT (the Charmed channel).
2 comments:
There was one criticism which I forgot to make:
The bad guy in the premiere was a young, troubled kid who listened to heavy metal music, drew "dark" things like skulls and snakes, and "went off his meds." Of course, as is de rigeur for these types of shows these days, he was a child molester.
The real truth is that most child molesters are far more "normal" than that; it just makes it easier to hate him and dehumanize pedophiles if you paint them out to be utter outcasts. And what better way than by making him a crazy, disturbed white guy who listens to heavy metal and refuses to take his meds? That way, we can all feel better about hating him.
Very cliched and dangerous, actually. But otherwise, an enjoyable show.
I just posted this a couple hours ago and FOX News just reported a massive child molestation ring sting in FL, where they nabbed nearly 25 would-be online predators simply by putting up a profile on MySpace, AOL, and similar sites and ISPs.
One was a former sheriff's deputy now working for Homeland Security, another was a volunteer firefighter, and another was a coach for one of the area youth teams. Now, out of all 25, I'm sure one or two might have listened to heavy metal, several of them may have been on medications for mental/emotional issues, but unfortunately for us all, not one happened to be Satan incarnate.
Ah, hate... so much easier when you can completely seperate yourself from the focus, isn't it?
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