Judging Amy

I don't watch a lot of TV, but Judging Amy is something I cancel appointments to watch. And while I watch it, I expect total silence, no interruptions and preferably noone in the room.

It's my time to completely switch of from reality and live someone else's life for a while. I beleive it's the similar experience to watching daytime soaps.

For those of you who have never seen it, here is a brief synopsis. Amy Gray (Amy Brenneman) is a juvenile court judge who lives with her tweenie daughter and widowed mother (Tyne Daly). She has issues which she tries to battle through like wanting control, inablity to commit, and being secretly in love with her court clerk, Bruce (Richard T Jones). In fact, it's such a secret, she doesn't know it herself.

Add to this amazingly simple plot several layers of dysfunctional family members, gender confused friends and of course the bizarre court cases she hears, and you what you have a is a wonderful meander through the daily life of what it means to be human.

The thing I find most amusing about Amy is that she is a self-professed atheist and she tries to get through all her issues on her own strength. Her control freak persona will not allow her to look to God, but you can see the times where her resolve weakens and she hopes, or even prays, for Divine assistance.

Her mother, Maxine Gray, is a social worker, who works for the Department of Family and Children (DCF). Her job provides me with a large dose of social commentary and ideas on how to get around bureaucracy.

I love this show for many reasons. For one, Ricahrd T Jones is serious eye candy. Second, nothing in the series expects you to suspend your disbelief too high. I can see the things Amy goes through happen to me, if I was a single parent, living with my mom and deadbeat brother. And finally, the writing for this show is so good, it's actually tragic, funny, witty and clever, all at once.

And the actors are so good, they actually make you care about the characters - every last one of them. Heck, I almost wish they would do "Where are they now?" episodes, so I can find out what happened to some of the kids that came through that courtroom.

The sixth season of Judging Amy is showing at 9 pm every weeknight on StarWorld. It may be the last season. So catch a few episodes while you can.