Christy

Producers Barney Rosenzweig and Ken Wales have graced their show with beautiful locations, poetic scripts and very good actors, particularly among the women. [3 Apr 1994]

This is an impressive production. The cast is generally quite good; Ms. Martin is extraordinary, making Christy's fresh-faced innocence utterly captivating on these beautiful and sometimes dangerous mountains.

Sentimental but not simplistic, warming the heart without turning the brain to mush, this series version of Catherine Marshall's enduring novel is a romance, to be sure, but braced with a rugged realism. [1 Apr 1994]

Even though it's riding the path already paved by the similar period drama, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," the two-hour premiere of "Christy" stands solidly on its own, representing exactly what we could use more of: hearty, dramatic television. [1 Apr 1994]

Christy could capture the Waltons and Little House on the Prairie crowds but should also have broader appeal, given the more complex setting and lack of sentimentality.

With its strong emphasis on family values, religious faith, personal growth and enrichment through education, "Christy" should please parents who seek quality programs with positive messages. [1 Apr 1994]

A sturdy family drama. [2 Apr 1994]

There is something highly appealing about this atmospheric CBS series.

A gloriously shameless exploration of good hearts and mean spirits, of Christian charity and heathen callousness amid the rigorously simple life of backwoods Tennessee in 1912. ... Television that will be too much for the super-cynical urban intellectual but a refreshing breeze for the rest of us. And if you have the slightest predisposition, it will make you cry. [3 Apr 1994]

Though "Christy" has predictable turns ... it's always involving and the characters are so appealing that you'll surely want to see them again. [3 Apr 1994]

It's romantic, sentimental, sometimes stereotyped and, in the end, a great showcase for the considerable talents of Martin. [2 Apr 1994]

Very early on, "Christy" runs into problems of simple logic. [3 Apr 1994]

What may bring even jaded viewers back to "Christy" is Tyne Daly's striking characterization of Alice Henderson, the kind but formidable Quaker who serves as the heroine's mentor. [3 Apr 1994]

With luck, producer Barney Rosenzweig will soon decide what he really wants out of his show's characters, especially Daly, who quips tartly and fills out stiffly starched shirts. And the heavy-handedness of the scripts will prove less amusing as episodes pass. [31 Mar 1994]

The intentions of the new CBS drama "Christy" are properly earnest, and the premise, locations and supporting cast all exude promise. But in the end, the execution is so ploddingly predictable and - in the case of the star - so shallow that the outcome is a disappointment. [1 Apr 1994]

It is earnest, well intentioned, based on a beloved book by Catherine Marshall, handsomely photographed, wholesome as a tea cozy, cute as a kitten and almost unspeakably humdrum. Part of the problem is the casting. ... Martin ... brings precisely nothing to the screen. She has a grand total of two expressions and always seems to be looking for a mirror in which to admire them. [2 Apr 1994]

A slow-going but fervently earnest series ... a little bit of "Little House on the Prairie," a little bit of "The Waltons." ... But the script is so full of mood and moralizing that it mostly plods. [31 Mar 1994]

Look, I'm all for more wholesome family fare in prime time, but sitting through the first two episodes of Christy was like being hooked up to an intravenous drip of Karo syrup. ... My principal objection to the TV series is that despite a good cast, picturesque locale and laudable intentions, it feels totally bogus, from the accents to the grime on the children's faces.