The Orange County Register
Show, page 38
TELEVISION
Sunday, April 3, 1994
Religious Ideals Motivate Gentle "Christy" On CBS
Review by PHIL KLOER Cox News Service
Television can move mountains, but when it comes to matters of faith, the medium turns into a mustard seed. Religion occasionally sneaks into the edges of prime time --- a born-again attorney on "L.A. Law," Joel Fleischman pondering his Jewish heritage on "Northern Exposure" --- but you can watch for weeks and not see anyone attending a worship service or pray- ing, except for shiny suited preachers praying that they be sent more money.
It's the last big taboo of the tube. That changes (appropriately) on Easter with "Christy," based on Catherine Marshall's popular 1967 novelization of her mother's early life. It's a small change, but a significant one, as it launches a CBS series in which the religious impulses of the lead character are pivotal. (After today's two-hour premiere, the series airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays.)
Kellie Martin, who grew up as Becca Thacher on "Life Goes On," moves gracefully and convincingly into young womanhood as Christy Huddleston, the fictional version of Marshall's mother, Leonora Wood. In 1912, at age 19, Leonora/Christy left a comfort- ably affluent life in Asheville, N.C., to teach in a Quaker school in rural Tennessee.
"God, when I came here, maybe I was partly running away from home for fun and adventure," Christy prays in Sunday's episode. "But now I think maybe you had something else in mind." God -- and the scriptwriter -- have a lot in mind for Christy in the first two hours. Her students, some of whom are older than she is, are malnourished and barefoot. Some of their families are involved in long-standing blood feuds. And she is beginning to feel early romantic stirrings for the handsome pastor, the Rev. Grantland (Randall Batinkoff) and/or the broody Dr. MacNeill (Stewart Finlay- McLennan).
Also appearing in what amount to be glorified cameos are Tyne Daly as Miss Alice, Christy's mentor and a robust woman who occasionally bends the Quaker pacifist philosophy, and Tess Harper as a local woman, Fairlight Spencer.
Despite the formidable presence of Daly and Harper, young Martin doesn't fade into the background. Hers is a believable beauty -- an inner radiance that seems to come from within rather than from the makeup brush. A mere 13 when she started on "Life Goes On," she turned 18 last fall when "Christy" was in production in the Great Smoky Mountains outside Townsend, Tenn., and seems to be making one of the more successful transitions from teen actor to young adult actor.
Although not a "Hallmark Hall Of Fame" production, "Christy" has so much of that familiar Hallmark patina --- gentle music, ravishing cinematography (that Smoky Mountain morning mist practically rolls out of the screen), noble people doing noble deeds out in the countryside -- that at times makes it seem a bit too much like a greeting card; the sentiment comes close to being pre-folded.
The only other series around today that remotely resembles "Christy" is "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," which was snorted at by TV insiders, then went on to become a surprise hit. If "Christy" can connect with the same audience, it may yet move that Nielson mountain.
"Christy" Channel: KCBS/2
When: 8 Tonight
Bottom Line: In a medium saturated with self-referential sarcasm, gross materialism, and general coarseness, a little sentiment is not to be sneered at.
PHOTO:
Captioned: KELLIE MARTIN: The former child actress debuts tonight as Christy.
