Ok, so I may be WAY behind on my television watching, but I have just recently found the delightful program entitled, State of Grace. What a pity that this has been cancelled!!
The show centers on two 12-year old girls growing up in the South in the mid 60s. I can speak with authority about this because I was 12 years old, growing up in the south in the mid 60s. Great attention has been paid to detail of the period - from the behavior, to the costumes, to the sets. The incidental music is from the mid 60s and fits right in with the situations that are occurring at the time. For instance, in the episode "Saving Grace", Grace is rebelling a little against the school dress code. When she walks down the hall wearing her mini dress with pop art material, groovy metal flower pin and textured hose, the music that is playing is "England Swings". Carnaby Street fashions were all the rage at that time. I nearly choked when the "sister" made Grace get on her knees in the hall while she measured the length of distance from her hem to the floor. How many times did I have to do that??
Nay-sayers have criticized this show for ripping off "The Wonder Years". I have tried to watch that show, but it is not an experience like "State of Grace" is. TWY just doesn't transport one back to the time like SOG. I just don't get the feeling of the era as I do watching Grace. Also, just because someone has an idea, does that mean no one else can ever expand on that idea? What if we complained that the telephone had been invented and no one else should tamper with it? Where would most people be without their beloved cel phone attached to their ear? In this case, someone took the idea of The Wonder Years, and MADE IT BETTER!
Every actor in this show is absolutely perfect for his or her part. The script is tight and well written - sometimes funny, sometimes poignant. When it's funny, it's really funny. I loved the part in the episode, "Eve of Discussion" where the Rayburns were writing a big ad for the newspaper. When they checked the morning paper for their ad, they found that instead of reading, "You'll sink in our sofas!" it read, "You'll STINK in our sofas!" (I'm chuckling as I write this - OK it sounds a little sophomoric, but you just had to be there.) KUDOS to everyone involved in this production, and thank you for giving me a slice of my youth, if only for a little while.
