All I've heard for the past two weeks is how TNT's "Saving Grace" blew chunks. Usually what I've heard from the too-cool-for-school crowd is, "Yeah, I heard about that new show set in Oklahoma City, and I heard it sucks."

Never mind that the most anybody had seen of the show was a trailer on TNT's Web site. The primary objections about the show I heard were that the show depicted Oklahomans as being redneck, good-ol'-boy, smoking, drinking, promiscuous hillbillies in a vast sea Bible-belters.

And?

"Oh gawd, they sure do make us look like idiots," I heard one person say.

Anyway, I was ready to pass judgment on the Holly Hunter vehicle only tonight, when it aired. The paranormal police procedural features Hunter as a hard-living detective who is being guided by what's called a last-chance angel, played by a fellow named Leon Rippy.

The gist of the drama, written and created by Oklahoma City native Nancy Miller, is that Grace Hanadarko (Hunter) has to solve crimes while facing her own personal demons -- booze, sex, whatever -- in the face of high tragedy (losing a sister in the 1995 bombing).

There's a whole lot going on, right?

First things first. I lived in Dallas for a decade. I lived in the greater Houston area for two years. I am quite familiar with some of the social interests, quirks and personalities of people from other cities in other parts of the country -- the stereotypes if you will. Saving Grace definitely wasn't any more over the top than Dallas was some 27 years ago.

Whether a show is set in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago or Minneapolis, I can't imagine the people indigenous to those areas didn't take a bit of exception to how they were portrayed. The only problem with the criticism of Saving Grace in that realm thus far is that, in my book, Grace and her criminologist friend (played by Laura San Giacomo) come off as real people.

They're way more like the people I know than the folks generally portrayed on TV.

They drink, smoke, cuss, screw and yet they can find time to be both functional and spiritual, two dimensions usually never afforded to common folk. Truth is, Hunter was solid in Monday night's debut, but it's not like her performance was worthy of an Emmy.

Rippy, who plays an angel named Earl, is likely a future Emmy candidate. He's a joy to watch and was cast perfectly, down to the chaw in the back of his left cheek and his green-glassed spit bottle.

The show itself suffers from much of what other police procedurals do -- formula. Whenever the chief would tell Hanadarko to get in his office, I'd cringe. Whenever the tough-talking Hanadarko would punch out a handsy cattleman (twice), I'd cringe.

Saving Grace is not nearly perfect. It's not nearly written as well as it could be. I'd direct the jury to Showtime's paranormal Dead Like Me a couple of years ago for a show that touched on spirituality and the after-life with not only a brilliant cast but also brilliant writing.

However, much like Det. Hanadarko's redemption is possible, thanks to her last-chance angel, this show is redeemable. It can get better; the premise itself is pretty darned good. One review I read earlier today noted that, in the critic's opinion, Miller was trying to do too much too soon, saying that there were "too many cooks in the kitchen."

I would agree. This show is in need of some subtlety, although that might difficult when one of its lead characters is an angel who sprouts enormous wings. What separates this drama from others and even those that have touched on religion is that the angel is a last-chance helper for those "who need to get their s*** together."

There's a sense of desperation in that sentiment and in Hunter's character that both compare favorably to the level of desperation I sensed in Miller's writing. It was like the creator pulled out all the stops in order to make sure the show set in her home state was red hot like Oklahoma red dirt.

The problem is the show doesn't need it. Saving Grace has a good premise, great actors and a wonderful placesetting in the Sooner State.

What the show needs is a level of brilliant writing that serves as not only the hallmark of shows like Grey's Anatomy but also that serves to give its characters something more than the stereotypes they portray.