That's Entertainment?

“Saving Grace” is a new program on TNT. Grace, played by Holly Hunter, is a hard-living police detective in Oklahoma City. She drinks too much, she swears, and she seems to have indiscriminate sex with every male in the show, except for her brother, the priest, and Earl.

Earl, her last-chance angel, is trying to convince Grace to change her life. Earl, played by Leon Rippy, is not one’s usual idea of an angel. He doesn’t portray many angelic qualities. He carries a soft drink bottle, which he uses to spit in. Apparently, he either dips snuff or chews tobacco.

Earl has another soul in his charge; Leon Cooley, played by Bokeem Woodbine, is an inmate on death row. He and Grace seem to be sharing dreams, if indeed they are dreams.

In the first episode, there was a sex scene that didn’t bother me too much until her partner says, “Grace, we can’t keep doing this.” She replies, “Hey, you’re the one who’s married, not me.” The nudity was restrained so it wasn’t that offensive, but her remark did bother me. The use of four letter words surprised me a bit. I wasn’t offended, but this show comes on at 10:00 pm when I suppose some children could be watching.

The thrust of the series is Grace’s path to redemption, but there is always a criminal investigation as a sub-plot. The sub-plots leave a bit to be desired. Now that three episodes have been aired, the language has been toned down a bit perhaps showing that Grace is changing. What if the show is renewed a few times? Will Grace become a nun?

I have to hand it to the director though. Through most of the show, Grace looks like nine miles of bad road. She has a hard, stringy look. She’s very, very thin, and her hair is long and disheveled with messy braids that are just all over the place. However, when Grace is interacting with children, her whole look changes. She looks softer somehow. A tender spot for her numerous nephews and nieces is her one “saving grace,” which the director shows with her softened image.

I can’t decide if I want to continue watching this show. It’s disturbing to me somehow. It is the same way I felt about “The Shield.” At first, I thought, “What an interesting program.” Then it made me uncomfortable seeing a whole squad of police officers who were corrupt and had few qualms about murdering one of their own. I stopped watching that one after the third episode.

On a Related Subject:

I see that there is yet another re-make of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The first re-make was in 1978 with Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams; the second was in 1993 starring I don’t know who. I just couldn’t watch it. The new one will be released August 17 starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Why do they keep re-making this classic? There will never be a better version than the 1956 film with Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. It’s one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.