Dear Prudence
By Marshall Fine
Rating:
Saturday, Aug. 23, 9PM, Hallmark
On a vacation in Wyoming to get away from the demands of her TV show, household-hints guru Prudence McCoy (Jane Seymour) discovers that a suicide may actually be a murder. So she does what any self-respecting TV celebrity would do: She decides to play detective (while still dropping the occasional tip on removing problem stains). As in other personality-based detective series - "Columbo," "Monk" - this show is less about solving the murder than about creating engagingly eccentric characters as the focus of the show. Here's the surprise: Seymour has a great way with a snappy one-liner and enough bounce to make even lame jokes seem workable. Seymour is particularly good in her scenes with love interest Jamey Sheridan, who turns up as the local police chief, and in her banter with her TV show assistant - and full-time sidekick - Ryan Cartwright. For the former "Dr. Quinn", this show is the right medicine.
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