Christy (TV series)

Last updated
Christy
Christy Complete Series.jpg
Based on Christy by Catherine Marshall
Developed byPatricia Green
Starring Kellie Martin
Tyne Daly
Randall Batinkoff
Stewart Finlay-McLennan
ComposerRon Ramin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes21
3 Television movies (list of episodes)
Production
Running time60 minutes
Production companies The Rosenzweig Company
MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseApril 3, 1994 (1994-04-03) –
August 2, 1995 (1995-08-02)

Christy is an American period drama series that aired on CBS from April 1994 to August 1995 for twenty episodes. [1] [2]

Contents

Christy was based on the 1967 novel Christy by Catherine Marshall, the widow of Senate chaplain Peter Marshall. Inspired by the experiences of the author's mother, the novel was a bestseller in 1968, and the week following the debut of the TV movie and program saw the novel jump from #120 up to #15 on the USA Today bestseller list. [3] Series regular Tyne Daly won an Emmy Award for her work on the series.

Cast

Primary Cast

Secondary Cast

Storyline and characters

The show starred Kellie Martin as Christy Huddleston, a new teacher arriving in the fictional Appalachian village of Cutter Gap, Tennessee, in 1912. The villagers have old-fashioned ways. For example, they maintain rules and vengeance similar to the Highland clans of old Scotland. They also have a strong belief in folk medicine. At the same time, many of their ways are portrayed in an idealized fashion. The show emphasized their culture by making Christy and most of the main cast outsiders in one fashion or another. These "outsiders" included a minister, David Grantland, played by Randall Batinkoff; Quaker missionary woman Alice Henderson, played by Tyne Daly; and physician, Dr. Neil MacNeill (played by Stuart Finlay McLennan), who while born and raised in Cutter Gap, also grew up and was educated outside of the Appalachia. The television show maintained the book's romance novel element by showing Christy drawn both to the minister and the doctor.

The show's last episode was a cliffhanger concerning Christy's fate in the town and with the two rival male love interests. Later TV movies resolved the love triangle according to the ending of the novel. [4]

Christy was developed for television by Emmy Award-winning writer Patricia Green.

Reception and cancellation

The show received mixed reviews from critics. Writing for the Washington Post , Tom Shales said: "It is earnest, well intentioned, based on a beloved book by Catherine Marshall, handsomely photographed, wholesome as a tea cozy, cute as a kitten and almost unspeakably humdrum." He criticized the performances of Martin and Batinkoff. [5]

John J. O’Connor of the New York Times was more positive. "This is an impressive production," he wrote. "The cast is generally quite good; Ms. Martin is extraordinary, making Christy's fresh-faced innocence utterly captivating on these beautiful and sometimes dangerous mountains." [6] Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times called it "highly appealing" and "too nice to pick apart." [7]

The series developed a loyal following among readers of the novel and families. It was an initial ratings success, with the pilot episode placing fifth in the weekly Nielsen ratings and inspiring hundreds of letters to CBS from grateful viewers. [8] But it later faltered, as it came on in a period of two years where CBS lost strong affiliates to Fox due to NFL football rights and issues with CBS that had built up years before. Episodes were also expensive to produce, with each installment costing $1.2 million despite generating advertising revenues of only $900,000, in part because it performed poorly among young urban viewers most highly sought by advertisers. [9] The series was cancelled by the network to make way for an attempt to program for younger audiences, but the show's fanbase remained strong despite the cancellation. [10]

Episodes

Season 1: 1994

  1. ↑ "One Week Out: Events coming next weekend," The Daily Times (Maryville, TN), June 13, 2008, Weekend section: "Although Cutter Gap does not exist, it is widely believed that Marshall based the village on the real community of Morgan Branch in nearby Cocke County. Townsend served as Cutter Gap for the popular CBS television series 'Christy' in the mid-1990s."
  2. ↑ "Catherine Marshall. Christy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. | Read North Carolina Novels". Archived from the original on 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2016-04-28.
  3. ↑ "USA Today best-selling books," USA Today, April 14, 1994, page 4D.
  4. ↑ Karen Pierce. "Who will the lucky husband be? 'Christy' insiders keep mum on subject," The Daily Times (Maryville, TN), November 17, 2000 (no page number).
  5. ↑ Shales, Tom (April 2, 1994). "TV Preview". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  6. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (1994-04-07). "Review/Television; Settling In Amid Appalachia's Trials". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  7. ↑ Rosenberg, Howard (1994-04-02). "TV REVIEWS : 'Christy's' Pioneering Spirit Enriches a Homespun Tale". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  8. ↑ Cerone, Daniel (1994-04-06). "TV Ratings : CBS Chalks Up a Winner in 'Christy'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  9. ↑ Kennedy, John W. (November 14, 1994). "Last Chance for Television's Christy". ChristianityToday.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  10. ↑ "TV's Plucky 'Christy' Returns --and She's Getting Hitched - latimes". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  11. ↑ "Religious/Inspirational | Read North Carolina Novels". Blogs.lib.unc.edu.
  12. ↑ "Christy and Leonora: City Girl, Country Gal". Appalachianhistory.net. 3 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "Christy Friends". Facebook.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
No.
overall 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date
11"Pilot"Michael RhodesPatricia GreenApril 3, 1994 (1994-04-03)
22
Nineteen-year-old Christy Huddleston leaves her home to be a school teacher for a mission in the fictional village of Cutter Gap in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee. She soon learns how hard life is in the poverty-stricken community.
33"Lost and Found"Michael RhodesPamela K. LongApril 7, 1994 (1994-04-07)
Christy wishes to start a hygiene program with the help of Doctor MacNeill. David tries to woo Christy and is seen by a parent. Rob, a student at the school, is upset when his father wants him to leave school to work with him. While he is walking in the woods, Little Burl follows him and gets lost.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.