Saving Grace

Grace Hanadarko (Holly Hunter) is an Oklahoma City police detective, a hopeless drunk, a slut, and a mess. She is given a chance to redeem herself by an angel named Earl (Leon Rippy). Police tech Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo) is her best friend.

She is haunted by many things that has happened in her life. She does a lot of wild and crazy stuff. And she solves a lot of crime. This is a police procedural wrapped in a redemption theme. It's about salvation. It gets dark. It's funny. There's a lot of things going on. And it's not like most other shows. Holly Hunter is at the heart of this show. She drives the show. I'm glad they gave it a full 3 seasons to finish up the series.

I first started watching "Saving Grace" because of Holly Hunter. She is one of my favorite actors, and I don't miss anything she's in.

The show caught me off guard with the rawness of the characters. I know nothing of Oklahoma, so I didn't notice the stereotypes. I appreciated the honesty of the characters. Flawed relationships, unhealthy relationships, work partners turning into bed partners. I think it happens more in law enforcement and medical facilities than most places. Watching the team interact is pretty much on point. I like that.

I also like seeing women over forty acting in a good series. I don't have to watch the twenty-somethings strut around reciting lines as if they were still first year drama students. Lorraine Toussaint and Lauren San Giacomo are wonderful in their supporting roles. I get to see three women who's work I admire and respect.

The subtle religious message is presented in a way that is inoffensive but definitely present. I find Earl to be like John Travolta's Michael, but not nearly as annoying. He's a flawed angel, but not in a way that makes you ask, "How can HE be an angle?!" All I can say is thank whatever deity is listening for giving Ms. Hunter the courage to push forward with this project, and the viewers who gave it a chance.

It's obvious Ms. Hunter wanted to do this role. She's listed as one of the producers, so she either moved things forward or she's saving the production some money by taking some of her salary as back-end. I can certainly understand her desire to play Grace. Few women these days get to play tough, problem ridden cops who are struggling for some form of redemption. I guess if no one wants to write material like this for the big screen, we'll be seeing more high-value actresses on the small screen. Ms. Hunter follows Kyra Sedgwick in her series, and Glenn Close in her role on the Shield and in her new series.

Many reviews have had problems with the religion in the series opener. I don't and I'm anything but a church-goer. I found that the angel, splendidly played by Leon Rippy, whom I enjoyed in Deadwood, isn't everyone's idea of an angel, but I guess angels and gods can appear in any guise that suits their purpose and I'm sure that the tobacco-chewing Earl is more appropriate for the purpose of saving Grace Hanadarko -- whose name in almost the name of a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma; her's just has an added "H".

Since I'm watching "The Closer before it, I'm all set to keep watching "Saving Grace" for the long haul.

Just recently over the last month I started to watch TNT's new cable drama series "Saving Grace", because I had read so much about it in the entertainment magazines and tabloids that it was racy and pushed the limits for cable and I agree, but it's highly enjoyable and I like it's theme and the acting is great from Holly Hunter. Holly Hunter the fine veteran actress that she is stars wonderfully as Grace a hard living, hard working, down on her luck, cigarette smoking, beer drinking, bed hopping, redneck Oklahoma City detective that does her best to solve crime and have fun while being sexy as ever. Now talk about a lot of adjectives to describe her character! Aside from the drama and characterization of her the shows theme is around an angel who appears to Grace he's named Earl played brilliant by Leon Rippy he's so caring and he often scolds Grace and he guides her in the right direction and Earl always makes Grace feel guilty about her sinful deeds. Yes the program pushes the envelope it's not "Highway to Heaven" the sex and loving making scenes are racy and raunchy showing plenty of skin really to much bump and grind for cable yet in today's modern age it passes. Also Holly Hunter flashes plenty of skin and she has been shown many times in scenes wearing sexy colored bras that makes it another reason to watch great sex appeal Holly is very sexy for a middle aged woman, and her characters accent has such a nice southern twang. Really one of the better new cable series another winner for TNT this is something an average person can relate to the drama of hard work and hard living with hope from an angel.

What a cast! Holly Hunter, Leon Rippy, Laura San Giacomo, Lorraine Roussaint, etc.! Each show gets successively better as the writing gets tighter. No dumbing down here which is much appreciated. I hope this show goes on forever - seriously! Every episode is a an enexpected treat. You may not want to face some of the rougher issues the show raises about life, conscience, fear, God, and human nature. It's made me think about may past incidents in my personal life and how I chose to deal with them or chose not to. The writing is snappy and funny at times and at other times very touching. The chemistry between the cast members is palpable and every single character is original and interesting. What a true joy to know as a viewer I'm being asked to think and consider what I'm watching and make up my own mind rather than be spoon fed someone else's definition of good and evil. This is the only show I make sure I never miss!