A lament for ‘Judging Amy’ and loose ends left untied
By Jane Holahan
Updated Feb 19, 2007 15:40
I knew it was coming and I steeled myself for it. Judge Amy Gray and Bruce Van Exel, her intense legal clerk, will never admit their feelings for each other.
In the season — and series — finale, we were left with the two smiling at each other as if they were brother and sister. Puleeze!
All those hints the writers threw into the scripts, all those looks the characters gave each other, all those lost opportunities will never amount to anything.
And poor Maxine, who is Amy’s mother, will never find lasting happiness with former Cheech and Chong heartthrob Cheech Marin. But a romance between senior citizens? You just won’t see that on television.
So, what will draw the younger crowd to the network?
Apparently, Jennifer Love Hewitt talking to dead people.
“Ghost Whisperer” will feature Hewitt as a YOUNG woman who conveys messages from the dead to the living. No word on whether Haley Joel Osment is co-starring.
Never mind that it’s a total rip-off of NBC’s “Medium” and doomed to failure. It’s got a young person in it.
“Amy” was filled with old people.
No, it wasn’t the greatest show in the world. The writing wasn’t consistent enough, and the story lines got a little pat, but it was a solid series and the acting was good.
And on occasion it was terrific.
It explored social issues in the context of juvenile court, where Amy (Amy Brenneman) was a judge, and the department of children and services, where Maxine (the fearless Tyne Daly) was a veteran caseworker.
Brenneman, who helped create the series, based it on her mother, who was a judge in Connecticut, and the show had a sense of authenticity to it.
The Grays (we also got to know Amy’s two brothers) were a big, messy, dysfunctional family where everyone hated each other, but loved each other more.
I liked the Grays. I wanted to sit down at their big dining table in Hartford and join in the conversation.
“Amy” has been on the air since 1999 and maybe it’s run its course. Maybe it’s time to move on to another drama.
But “Ghost Whisperer”? Give me a break. I’m sick of mediums and mystics and ghosts. I like real life, where real people live and real social issues are explored.
I’m not saying “Judging Amy” was realistic, but at least it tried to reflect the real world. It had compassion for the poor, it took an interest in and cared about regular people. Not everyone looked like a fashion model. There were people actually older than 40 who had story lines and wrinkles on their faces. Can you imagine!
Maybe they’ll turn Jennifer Love Hewitt into a fascinating character. Maybe “Ghost Whisperer” will be well done and turn into a decent series.
But I’d rather find out what happens to Amy and Bruce, who are careening into their 40s, and Maxine and Cheech who are well into their 60s. Alas, it will never be.
———
Jane Holahan is a New Era staff writer. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
Talkback on LancasterOnline
Welcome to the new TalkBack on LancasterOnline. Please use the comment box below to share your opinion on this
article. If you would prefer to use the previous TalkBack forums instead, please use this link.
