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February 13, 2012

Home > 2007 > NovemberChristianity Today, November, 2007
Edgy Grace
Holly Hunter brings realism to new cop/angel drama.




TNT's new cop drama, Saving Grace (Mondays, 10/9c), is like watching Touched by an Angel in reverse. While Touched followed an angel helping a new lost person each week, Grace flips the script to follow one of those lost people, an Oklahoma City cop named Grace Anadarko (Academy Award winner Holly Hunter in a passionate performance). That said, she's not going to see the light within an hour.

Molested as a child by a Catholic priest and feeling guilty about her sister's death, an empty Grace searches for anything to fill the void. She's a sex addict, an alcoholic, and a haphazard risk taker.

When her drunk driving kills a man, she cries out to God. But her angel, Earl (Leon Rippy), doesn't offer a quick fix. Instead he offers life with God, but Grace is too attached to her pain and pleasures to lay down her life. That means a long, down-and-dirty journey—with Earl's prodding and the support of a devout friend and a priest brother. (It's a relief to see Christians depicted as fair and loving on Grace.)

Show creator Nancy Miller told TV Guide, "We're not going to run away from anything about this woman." So there's a lot of realism and truth, and an appropriate rating of MA (mature audiences). The sex scenes are frequent, with nudity only barely obscured or blurred. Drugs, swearing, and drinking are common. Grace is a ticking time bomb of bad decisions, and thus can be hard to watch.

But unlike many shows investigating the emptiness of life, Saving Grace pairs it with hope. The routine cop plots are backdrops for the show's intriguing portrayals of souls who need saving by a mysterious God.

That makes for a strange animal. There may be too much darkness for some Christians and too much God for some non-Christians. So does Grace have an audience? Its nine-episode first season debuted in July as 2007's most-watched premiere on ad-supported cable. But ratings dipped considerably over the short season and reviews were mixed. In the second season, Grace—like its lead—may have to choose: darkness or God?

Todd Hertz, associate editor, Ignite Your Faith.



Related Elsewhere:

Christian Movies Today reported on the City of Angels Film Festival, where Nancy Miller, creator of Saving Grace, said, "We're all sinners like Grace (Holly Hunter), wrestling with God and his angels."

TNT's site has a recap of the first season of Saving Grace online.





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Displaying 1–5 of 6 comments

RJ

November 07, 2007  3:11pm

M Stuart's response reminded me of why I have problems with "Christians". He was so uplifting in his word choice. "Redneck Angel", "nasty, vulgar, bimbo" was his words. Then he has the fortitude to reference "resemblance to scripture". I can discern his usual understand of the New Testament! Hey, Stu, Danced with the "B-Attitudes" lately? I saw discipleship in the old movie Pretty Woman!! I saw a characteristic of God when the rich young business man saw through the prostitute's veneer and viewed her true self. Sound familiar?! Check out Luke 7:36-50. Jesus was a friend of Sinners! Can we be less?

F Oliver

November 06, 2007  2:04pm

I,too, watched the first episode and knew I could not stomach any more. I feel that however redemptive the message will turn out to be, as a Christian, I refuse to watch filth. We know, as the gospel song says "If He has to reach 'way down, Jesus will pick you up". Thank God that He saves the chiefest of sinners, and no case is too difficult for God! But I do not want to witness these acts. Ephesians 5:11-12 tells us: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. I think an old-fashioned word is applicable in this case - disgraceful. CT should be on the side of some type of reproof or standard of righteousness in its reports, even if the secular film producers are not.

B Fleming

November 05, 2007  2:57pm

I watched the first episode, and I don't even remember if I watched all of it. The near-nudity and language really turned me off. I get that we're all sinners, but I don't need a gratuitous display of Grace's sin - there are other ways to get the point across and make it have just as strong of an impact. I was very disappointed by it and have no intention of watching the first or subsequent seasons. Maybe I didn't watch it long enough to agree with CT's take on it, but what I saw was enough for me, and I only gave this article one star because zero wasn't presented as an option.

Bob Maxwell

November 05, 2007  2:06pm

My wife and I watched the wntire first season and look forward to the start of the 2nd. Todd Hertz gave a good review of what happens and the issues involved. We have friends and family that lived the sins and addictions portrayed and have seen the struggle to even reach compliance and then the final battles before total surrender. We have seen the grace that transforms the life of those friends and family that have made their complete surrender of their life and will, daily. to God. In reality, it is the same walk that all of us have had to make as we broke the first commandment and spiraled away from The father, but were never let go by the Holy Spirit until we surrendered at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. Amazing grace. The right venue, say a college or single adult group, put together with food and socializing and this would be great discussion and bible study stimulation!

M Stuart

November 05, 2007  1:32pm

I can't believe that Christianity Today gave such a whitewash picture of this show. She was naked and gyrating on screen within the first few minutes. The show is vulgar, nasty, ignorant, and the redneck angel is bewildering. The Lord's name is taken in vain repeatedly. There is a reason that this show has lost viewership. It stinks. The people who like vulgarity and nudity don't even like it, and I am repulsed. I thought there might be some kind of thought-provoking meaning to this show, but it's just plain nasty. The plots are thinly veiled stories written around some Hollywood idea of God and bear little resemblance to scripture. The only thing I liked was the time the bimbo taunted the angel, and he briefly showed power. I took it off my TiVO.

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