That's Life

A series with grit, charm, warmth and wit about another woman who defies convention to make her own way. And if Heather Paige Kent ("Stark Raving Mad"), who plays Lydia, doesn't steal your heart, it's time for a transplant. [29 Sept 2000]

One of the best-written and well-acted pilots of the fall, this spunky dramedy is full of small surprises. [29 Sept 2000, p.T034]

The show is tremendously likable. Credit for the fresh, off-kilter viewpoint goes to Diane Ruggiero, a former New Jersey waitress selected by CBS to create the autobiographical show. She gives her characters sharp dialogue, puts them in identifiable situations and depicts poignancy without going mushy. [1 Oct 2000, p.F1]

Heather Paige Kent is endearing as Lydia DeLucca, a 32-year-old Italian Catholic from New Jersey, who breaks off her engagement to pursue her dream of going to college. [5 Oct 2000, p.E-03]

The promising "That's Life" rarely seems recycled. [29 Sept 2000, p.1E]

Despite its "dj vu" premise, That's Life goes into this TV life with a fair number of promising moments. What's not to like, if the scripts can manage to come up to this solid cast, and Kent's considerable charisma? [29 Sept 2000, p.1]

The pilot is full of feel-good bounce, but it's more than froth. This is good American television drama. Lacking the clockwork precision of the contemporary American movie, it has nuance and allows for an emotional richness. Better, it does the audience a favour by introducing a sly sense of fun. [30 Sept 2000, p.10]

The soul of the show is 30-something daughter Lydia (Heather Paige Kent), who dumps her loutish, lay-about fiance and decides to go to college. Written by waitress-turned-screenwriter Diane Ruggiero and based on her own life. The supporting cast, which includes Paul Sorvino, Kevin Dillon, Debi Mazar and Ellen Burstyn, is a standout. [1 Oct 2000, p.6]

A promising newcomer that recalls the ethnic comedy and spirit of the movie "Moonstruck." [29 Sept 2000]

That's Life encapsulates what's most frustrating about network television: lots of obviously talented people working on a fundamentally weak and/or worn-out idea. The show and its cast struggle valiantly to have genuine moments shared by real people. [1 Oct 2000, p.7C]

She's a likable character in a potentially likable show, but that show needs to take a giant step back from the New Jersey Italian-American cliches that overwhelm the pilot. [29 Sept 2000, p.12E]

That's Life has a good message and great cast. But if it wants to last, it's going to have to lose the professor, settle on a single voice, and do it fast. [30 Sept 2000, p.1E]

If the show manages to settle on a consistent tone, much still rides on the slender shoulders of Ms. Kent. The first episode is staged as a long monologue, with the bartender-coed unloading her story on one of her regular customers. Ms. Kent is game but not always steady as she begins to negotiate the tough-but-tender course the show's producers and writers have set for Lydia. [30 Sept 2000, p.B17]

Although this comedy-drama's premise sounds like the godawful Fox show "Costello" from a few seasons back, it's mercifully better. [1 Oct 2000, p.TV-5]

A good cast that includes Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore) and Paul Sorvino (Law & Order) works hard to overcome a script filled with cliches. [7 Oct 2000, p.5E]

Littered with the Italian stereotypes that don't involve organized crime, it features Kent as a thirtysomething who throws over her idiot fiance (to the supposed shock and disappointment of her family and friends) and now looks to go to college. [6 Oct 2000, p.55]

When our 32-year-old heroine is back home with her ultra-conservative family, which seems stuck in the 1960s, That's Life drags; when the action shifts to the college campus she's dreamed of attending all her life, the show improves considerably. [7 Oct 2000, p.E1]