TVSquad

I didn't watch the first season of Saving Grace, but over the weekend, I had an opportunity to screen the second season premiere, titled 'Have a Seat, Earl.' The show is gritty and heartbreaking, and it's shooting to the top of my Must-Watch List.

First of all, let's get this out of the way: I want Holly Hunter's body. The girl just turned 50 in March, and her body is as fit and toned as a 20-year-old triathlete. Only better, because she's got all the wisdom of a 50-year-old soul.

OK, on to the story. I won't give a blow-by-blow of the episode, which premieres July 14, 10/9c on TNT, but I will talk about key plot-points, so if you're averse to spoilers, you'd best quit reading here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

If you're not familiar with the show, it follows the life of Grace Hanadarko (played by Hunter), a wild-haired, ultra-intense police detective in Oklahoma City. She hunts down criminals with a vengeance and doles out a special brand of justice for anyone who hurts women or children.

All of this translates into a no-holds-barred approach to crime-solving. In short, Grace tosses the rule book out like yesterday's trash and will do whatever it takes to bring in the bad guys, even if it means holding them hostage in her apartment for three days.

On the other hand, Grace's personal life is an out-of-control train wreck speeding down the track. She drinks like a carp, has sex like a prostitute, and feels horribly guilty over the death of her sister in the Oklahoma City bombing. She's not averse to bedding down co-workers either, including partner and current flame Hamilton "Ham" Dewey (Kenneth Johnson), fellow cop Butch Ada (Bailey Chase), and medical examiner Henry Silver (Mark L. Taylor from Boston Legal).

Other people in Grace's life: her best friend and criminalist colleague Rhetta Rodriguez (Laura San Giacomo); long-standing friend Captain Kate Perry (Lorraine Toussaint); and Detective Bobby Stillwater (Gregory Cruz), a Native American who loves his family and has that strong, quiet Native American thing going.

There's another person in Grace's life -- or rather, another being. That would be Earl (Leon Rippy, who played Tom Nuttall on Deadwood). Earl is a grizzled, rough gem of an angel -- yes, the kind with wings, and sometimes we even see them. Earl has been given the thankless task of taming Grace's wild ways, and needless to say, it's a challenge. But Earl has his own folksy way of getting through to Grace, and sometimes it involves dreams.

Last season, Earl led Grace to Father Patrick Murphy (Rene Auberjonois), a priest who sexually abused scores of children back in the day, including Grace. In this episode, she's both gleeful and tortured over the fact that she's got Father Murphy tied up in her apartment. She taunts him with a gun, places a raw steak strategically on his lap for her dog to grab, and dreams of murdering him. Instead, she takes him into the station and hands him over.

When the priest turns up with a bullet in his head, the department starts checking alibis of everyone who has a history with Murphy, including Grace.

Holly Hunter is so intense as Grace Hanadarko that you wonder if she manages to relax when she's not working. This episode starts off with a bang -- literally. While having lunch with Rhetta, Grace sees a crime in progress and takes off after the guy. A couple of bystanders get shot, and a canine officer ends up in the hospital (which tears Grace up more than the wounded humans). Turns out the guy was on the FBI list, and after he dies during the pursuit, Grace is a hero -- well, after she passes her sobriety test, that is. An old foe told the cops she'd seen Grace drinking earlier that day.

At any rate, Grace's life is all very complex, and I'm really glad the series made it to season two. She's like Lindsay Boxer from Women's Murder Club, only times 100. And since Women's Murder Club was canceled, I need a new show about a damaged female just trying to get by in the world.

Now I'll have to go back and watch the first season of Saving Grace and get caught up. Unfortunately, it won't be available on DVD until July 15, 2008, so I'll be watching both seasons simultaneously. I hate it when that happens. Probably not as much as Grace hates the bad guys, though. Which is why I'll have to do it.