 Judging Amy (CBS) The presence of Tyne Daly lends the show a great deal of respectability, and yet firmly stamps it as a "chick show." Folks talk about their emotions, and it's more cutesy than quirky and cutesy, and there's not much sexual innuendo … hm, for some reason I'm comparing this to Ally McBeal which on the surface is a chick show but at heart is a guy show … come on, the sexy, predatory Asian chick? All those short skirts? Not to be found in Judging Amy Land. I imagine the type of woman who'd watch Judging Amy is a bit too educated for, say, Charmed, a bit too young for Diagnosis Murder, and a bit too "feminine" for Nash Bridges (why am I picking such marginal shows?). Basically your average Starbucks-drinking, Pier-1-shopping, business suit-wearing career woman. Also known as "The Amy Brenneman Type." Which proves my theory that the people who star in television shows actually represent their audience. The exception being, of course, Antique Roadshow, which appeals to all ages, races, and creeds, and is not specifically intended for neo-Dandies perched atop their 18th-century Louis XVI settees. The premiere, as usual, is all set-up: Amy and daughter having just moved in, getting used to living with mom and sad-sack brother, heading in for a first day on the job. Although it starts off on a typically forced note – with Amy completely incompetent as a judge (don't they go to judge school?), Tyne Daly spouting motherly advice like a classic yenta, the daughter reassuring her mom with shit like "You're doing okay!" – by the end, Amy is starting to hit her stride, taking control of her job and her relationship with her mother (the conflict is that Daly plays a semi-retired social worker who knows the ins and outs of the local legal system, so Amy has to go to her mom for advice from time to time). Plus, she slowly gains the respect of her all-business court assistant, a good-looking black man who could very well be a future romantic interest if he would just "word up" already, or whatever it is the Colored people are saying these days. In fact, in going from a bumbling, sitcom-y single mom to a stronger, more self-assured person, Amy completely won me over. By the end I wanted to know what would happen next (not enough to watch the second show, of course). It doesn't hurt that Brenneman looks fetching in her judge's robe. The show fails completely, however, in the relationship between Amy and her daughter, a character straight out of Small Wonder or Full House. I simply don't believe that a little girl has her act together so much that she is able to dispense advice to her own mother with the patience and verbal skills of a Qui-Gonn Jin. It just doesn't ring true. Also, a young, eager, somewhat sinister federal judge is thrown in as the potential "bad guy," which is probably necessary for a weekly show, but seems useless in the pilot. Note to producers: kill off daughter and federal judge in ambiguous situation, later reveal they were planning a surprise party for Amy, all the more poignant. Much like Family Law, Judging Amy is no one's first choice, but it's not a bad choice per se … in fact I may find myself tuning in every once in awhile just to see how the old gal is doing. Hopefully, they'll eventually include the one scene in my Judging Amy Wish List: "Want to see Tyne Daly dancing through house in silk nightgown with bottle of brandy." Now THAT would be a classic TV moment.
Review by Crimedog © 1999 |