Customer Reviews

Judging Amy - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Judging Amy caught my eye all those years ago originally because of the presence of the great Tyne Daly, an actor with an awesome range more than capable of keeping us entranced week after week, as was proved in Cagney and Lacey, numerous films, and now of course as the social worker, and
widowed mother of three grown up off spring, one of whom is Amy,(played so realistically by Amy Brenneman)a childrens court judge and a chip off the old block.
Amy is a divorced mother with a daughter Lauren. She and Lauren move back into the the family home where she once again has to learn to negotiate with her bossy, self opinionated mother, the magnificent Maxine (Tyne Daly),her gentle younger brother Vincent (Dan Futterman) and reconnect with older brother Peter(Marcus Giamatti)who runs the family business,an insurance agency originally belonging to their late father, and his dippy high strung wife Gillian (Jessica Tuck).
The interesting saga about Amy and Maxine, in particular, is that they are both deeply caring human beings, whose working lives are dedicated to making the lives of others (mostly children in both cases) a more hopeful and positive experience than it otherwise would have been. And both are very good at what they do. Maxine is regarded with some awe by her co-workers in the Dept of Corrections, and Amy gradually developes into a fine Children's Court Judge.
Yet it is in their private lives that overall turmoil threatens to unravel them, because despite coming from a close-knit family environment all three of Maxine's children find that negotiating long term successful partnerships seems to be beyond them.
Judging Amy doesn't allow itself to become melodramatic, and there is never a likelihood of the viewer over dosing on sacharine. The scripts are strong, the acting first rate, the storyline never feels it's losing it's edge (an achievement of no mean feat over six series) and flawed though the characters may be, this only adds to the sense of reality and and understanding we feel as we share in their tials and tribulations.
Amy Brenneman deserves full marks for developing an idea she had to write a series about her mother,then produce and star in it.
The casting of Tyne Daly, was a crucial part of Judging Amy's success as a series, and the performances of Richard T Jones as Bruce Van Exel, Tim Omundson as Sean (Maxine's boss) and Jillian Armenante as Amy's court clerk Donna,were consistently outstanding.
Now bring on the DVD Boxed Set.

Rather than reading a series of mostly "rave" reviews, I would rather that the DVDs of this outstanding television drama be released. It simply was one of the best ... cast, performances, writing, courageous subject matter. Just release these! This series is a must for collectors and a not-to-be-missed performance by Tyne Daly.

(I foolishly bought DVDs of Judging Amy, out of desperation, from Canada...DO NOT DO THIS! They were poor quality and had a haze of red on all episodes AND it was expensive. When I tried to return them for poor quality no one answered the phones or responded to emails. I believe this is the "region two" listed here on Amazon.)

Daniel Futterman, Jillian Armenante and Richard Krenna also added to the diversity of personalities in this cast. Oh, and Richard Jones as Bruce...tv debut of Grey's Anatomy star, Sandra OH, and oh so many others. A socially sensitive show, looking at the juvenile court and foster care system from two viewpoints, Amy's hard edged one, and her mother Maxine's tender lioness one. And Maxine's supervisor, Shawn...can't remember his name. But I mourned the loss of each of their characters.

It was a beautiful run. Lots of failed romances, depression and miscommunication, but always a heart in this show. I long to get it on DVD...truly...ache for it.

Judging Amy is funny, moving, and poignant.
Amy's no-nonsense approach to the situations that arise in her court room (weather very serious, intense or comical) is a nice escape from the sad truth of the judicial system today. I can relate to Amy with some of the situations she's faced with in her personal life, the emotions that sometimes get in the way, and the inability to just let some things go.
The interaction between her employees and family is at times very amusing.

Tyne Daly's performance is excellent as Amy's mother. I love her sarcastic sense of humor, and the way she deals with some of the ridiculous situations she's faced with as a social worker. Sometimes bureaucracy forces her to take drastic measures in order to successfully do her job and save some of the lost souls who desperately need her help.

Also like the addition of Maxine's nephew, Kyle which brings a little medical drama to the show (since I'm also a fan of ER, House, Bones, CSI Las Vegas, Crossing Jordan...)

This was a great tv show. I would buy it immediately if it ever came out on dvd. I can't believe that they won't put it out there for the fans!

Judging Amy was a daily luxury. I'd tivo episodes I had seen easily twenty times before, and snuggle deeper into the couch to watch.
When TNT discontinued the series in rerun, I was honestly crushed.
This gives me hope.
Please, for the love of Pete, release the DVD's already.
What does this mean, anyway? Are they giving us a release date? WHAT'S THE DEAL?
-Brandy Canan

Is there anyone out there listening to the pleas of the Judging Amy fans? Believe me there are more than just these few posters who would love to see a boxed dvd set come out....I just loved this show for its honesty and unflinching portrayal of our not-so perfect juvenile system, from the eyes of a judge and social worker....Amy made so many choices that had me yelling at her on the tv screen to plug in and get a clue! And Maxine, what a wonderfully complex, now-you like her, now-you don't personality...what a shame it would be for the powers that be to ignore our requests for this series to become available for purchase....I'm crossing my fingers, waiting....

It's way past time to release this program on DVD. It was amazing. Far more intelligent than the programs on today. Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly were wonderful. What's the hold-up?

Judging Amy was, by far, one of the smartest, most genuine TV shows I have ever watched. I didn't watch it when it was part of CBS's regular lineup, I only started watching it when TNT aired it. I started watching it when I became a stay-at-home mom over 2 years ago - it was the perfect show to relish, laugh with and cry with as I began the amazing journey of motherhood. I literally cried when TNT stopped airing it. I'm waiting anxiously for the DVD release of this outstanding show!

Please release the Judging Amy TV Series! It was a great show and Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly were dynamic. I would love to own this series and would buy it in a heart-beat! Please release the DVD already!