Christy: The Complete Series

Fans of Little House on the Prairie and similar family-friendly frontier fare should be drawn to this Emmy-winning inspirational 1994-1995 series starring Kellie Martin as 19-year-old Christy Huddleston, an idealistic young woman who willingly abandons her sheltered city life in 1912 to help others less fortunate in a remote community. Taking a position as a schoolteacher in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains, Christy grapples daily with problems stemming not only from the region's poverty but also the odd customs of its residents, while a running subplot follows her attraction to two men, a mission preacher and a doctor. Based on the bestselling novel by Catherine Marshall, Christy serves up individual plots that are often perfunctory with easily predictable outcomes, but Martin makes a winsome leading lady, Tyne Daly adds strong support as her friend and mentor Alice Henderson, and the show's writers and directors consistently reinforce the traditional values at the foundation of the series. Bottom line: fans of old-fashioned, light romantic dramas will enjoy this, while those preferring edgier fare are likely to find Christy bland. Presented on an extra-less four-disc set, this is a strong optional purchase. (E. Hulse)