"CHRISTY: THE COMPLETE SERIES"
DVD Review
by Rachel Buccicone
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Kellie Martin as CHRISTY Tyne Daly as ALICE Stewart Finlay-McLennan as DR.NEIL McNEIL Randall Batinkoff as REV. DAVID Not Rated Studio: 20th Century Fox Developed by Patricia Green Back to DVD Review Home |  |
I had only a vague recollection of “Christy” from its debut in 1994, and while vague, my memory was not a fond one. However, once I dove in to the DVD, I was surprised by the show’s merit.
“Christy” is the tale of a nineteen-year-old girl who leaves the comforts of her city life to teach at a mission in the backwoods of Tennessee. It is 1912, and Cutter Gap is barely a civilized community with treacherous landscape, rampant poverty, and family feuds galore.
Christy (Kellie Martin) has come to teach a 12-grade range of children in the newly-built church of the Reverend David Grantland (Randall Batinkoff). Christy lives in the mission with David and his sister as well as Alice Henderson (Tyne Daly) who quickly becomes Christy’s mentor.
Each episode usually deals with multiple conflicts in Cutter Gap, in all of which the hard-headed Christy gets herself involved. Christy cares deeply for the children of Cutter Gap and speaks frequently of the work she needs to do in her new rural home.
Christy’s “work”, however, doesn’t prevent her from attracting the young and eligible reverend. David voices his affections early on in the season and the couple are supposedly spotted kissing in the church. However, don’t think for a moment that Christy reciprocates David’s feelings. The equally stubborn Dr. McNeil (Stewart Finlay-McLennan) challenges and infuriates Christy as David does not. While she consistently denies any affection beyond friendship, it is apparent that Christy and Neil hide the same fondness.
The writing for “Christy” wasn’t bad early on (if you ignore the brilliant naming of Dr. Neil McNeil), but by the time you reach disc 3, the show heads downhill. Initially, the plot lines contained legitimate drama and downplayed the romance blossoming among the three leads, but when a character comes back from the dead and Christy’s love life hits center stage, things become too bizarre. Additionally, Alice’s vocabulary becomes overrun with “thee”, “thou” and “art” half way through, and for one episode only, Christy develops a back-wood accent.
The beautiful landscapes and antique fashions are the greatest asset “Christy” has to offer. The buildings and daily utensils are seemingly accurate period items, making this the only aspect I cannot criticize.
The acting is surprisingly good. Tyne Daly (“Judging Amy”) gives the best performance as the masculine Alice. I’ve never particularly cared for Kellie Martin (“Mystery Woman” [TV]) but I can tolerate her here. Randall Batinkoff (“Bordertown”) as David can be a bit melodramatic at times, but Stewart Finlay-McLennan (“National Treasure”) does very well as Dr. McNeil.
The DVD has utterly no bonus features. If you really loved the show, you must be content to have the entire series in one set.
While I was pleasantly surprised by “Christy” initially, the show became an downright disappointment halfway through. If you enjoyed the show when it was on the air over a decade ago, then by all means buy the set (if you can find it cheap); otherwise, you’ll need to be a history buff to venture down the path “Christy” leads.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Full Frame (1.33:1). English and Spanish Language Tracks. English and Spanish Subtitles.
