Promised Land

I started watching Promised Land in September of 2001. I think it is a really great show and I wish they hadn't cancelled it. They should make videos of the whole season so that people who just started watching the show can see what they missed in earlier episodes. I think Promised Land teaches you about how you should get along with the people in your family and help he people who aren't in your family even if you don't like them or wish you didn't know them.

I think it's great to see that someone out there promoting strong values (a term I hesitate to use because it is so often abused for corrupt political intentions) understands that morals are about love and compassion rather than hate and judgmental, holier-than-thou attitudes. You don't win people over to strive for good things by creating negativity and it's nice to see that recognized. Additionally, I've worked as a background actress on this series and everybody on the set put a lot of heart into what they were doing. That's the way TV ought to work, because it's not just about communication. It's an art form too. PL did a nice job with that.

I rated it 7 because Seasons 1 and 2 were very good, very inspiring, but not the last Season. It's like as soon as they got to Denver, the writing immediately went South. Characters that we grew to enjoy either disappeared, were marginalized, or just became nasty. (Claire, especially, needed a good dose of crow pie on more than a few occasions. Dinah, too.) The show would devolve into another formulaic urban-kids transformation cliché that the '90s were famous for.

Although it has been off the air for 6 years now, Promised Land was one of those shows that comes along once or twice in a generation. Good cast, supporting cast(among them, Richard Thomas and Ossie Davis) and crew. The plot is believable with McRaney packing up his family and just saying "to hell with it all" after being subjected to so many disappointments and incidents since his return from Vietnam years earlier. I think a lot of Vietnam-era veterans, myself included, could really relate to McRaney's thought process in finally deciding on his course of action. Many of us did precisely the same thing in real life, after returning from that war and finding that America was not the same place we left. The show imparts not only values but a glimpse into what took place in one veterans life. In those two respects alone, I think it is one of the more poignant TV series of our time. Why this program only ran for 3 years is beyond me.

I only just discovered Promised Land in 2004, but I can't believe how long it took for me to find it, afterall I enjoyed Touched By An Angel very much and the crossovers with the Greene's were always quite powerful. But WOW! I never could have anticipated how dramatic Promised Land would be. I absolutely love Gerald McRaney...he is so talented playing Russell Greene, because this character is so warm and strong that he is such a great father figure..I admire McRaney incredibly for portraying such an caring and wise character. But Wendy Phillips is also extremely talented, I love the chemistry between Gerald and Wendy its so intense. The truth is everybody on this show were all great actors, Celeste Holm is one of those legendary, great actresses who always shines with maturity, Austin O'Brien and Sarah Schaub gave PL more depth and angst and Eddie Karr amazes me with his older-then-his-years humor. Promised Land is by far the very best..and I can't believe it got cancelled, it has great morals and values..it taught me a lot. I enjoy it much more then TBAA, because these people aren't angels..they are just going from place to place lending a hand and changing people's lives for the better. The acting is so much more deeper and spiritual. I hope I'll never forget this show or the people in it and the ones portraying them..it has truly entered my heart and I hope it will never truly leave. I'll take what I have learnt from it and take it with me for the rest of my life.