Picket Fences

The pilot premiere of Picket Fences is so deliciously, unpredictably enjoyable - save for one unpardonably sick scene - that it has to rate as the best new drama of the season...But the second episode, which is kicked into gear when a child discovers a body part in a jar alongside a highway, is so tastelessly remindful of the repulsive vision of "Twin Peaks" that the fear is the creators will push the series too far and kill it. [17 Sept 1992]

Although some may find this creation of David E. Kelley, the wizard behind "L.A. Law," too weird, I think it's wonderful. [18 Sept 1992, p.1]

The tone can be darkly comic, even nasty, also sweetly sentimental, even corny. Picket Fences is idiosyncratic, unpredictable and fun fun fun to watch. Our Town gone ga-ga. Put it this way: When in Rome ... sit back and enjoy. [18 Sept 1992, p.1D]

A rather bent sense of humor -- woven into a nice little whodunit -- is what lifts the flawed-but-engaging premiere of Picket Fences above the ordinary, raising expectations for the future. [18 Sept 1992, p.F1]

I'll cautiously recommend the series because I have faith in the talents of Kelley, Skerritt and Baker. [18 Sept 1992, p.63]

The show runs on the same alternating current of pathos and comedy as L.A. Law, but the drama is more ponderous and the humor a good deal more forced.

So many scenes work so wonderfully well in the first episode of Picket Fences. Trouble is, the show has nearly as many sappy, melodramatic scenes, the kind of cloddy clunkers that ultimately weigh down the entire affair. [13 Sept 1992, p.TV-16]

Often engaging, inventive, well acted and wickedly funny, Picket Fences keeps shooting itself in the foot with tastelessness disguised as daring. Irritating as it may frequently be, however, Picket Fences also seems the new fall drama most likely to become habit-forming. You may love it, you may hate it, but you're liable to be hooked. [18 Sept 1992, p.D1]

Creator Kelley delights in making fun of his characters, and he can't sustain the bizarre tone. [18 Sept 1992, p.5]

Unfortunately, Skerritt sleepwalks through most of the show, Baker allows her bemused mom role to settle into an assembly-line dog trot, and the Brock children take precocity to a new level of annoyance. [18 Sept 1992]

Picket Fences seems to have no reason for existence other than for a very smart writer to test just how smart he is. In this case, too smart by half. Unfortunately, "Picket Fences" may be just smart enough to divert people from the better dramatic series at 10, "I'll Fly Away." [18 Sept 1992, p.58]

Picket Fences clearly aims to be a kinder, gentler [Twin] Peaks, but the goosey, paradoxical mood for which it strives — heartwarming creepiness — is, at this point, more of a turnoff than a turn-on.

From the creator of "L.A.Law," Picket Fences has all the oddball characters and eccentric behavior that made "L.A. Law" the hit it has been. But in this setting, they ring a false note that's more grating than ingratiating. [18 Sept 1992, p.1]

It's never quite clear whether Mr. Kelley wants us to laugh or cry. Leaving us merely puzzled is not a solution. Jimmy and Jill can be patronizingly smug.