Grace Under Fire

Grace Kelly (Brett Butler) is divorced from her abusive loser husband Jimmy (Geoff Pierson) and raising her three kids, Libby, Quentin, and Patrick, by herself in Missouri. She starts her job at the oil refinery working with lovable co-workers Dougie and Vic among others. Her neighbor friend Nadine (Julie White) sets her up with pharmacist Russell Norton (Dave Thomas). They become best friends connecting over their bad former marriages and lack of sexual chemistry. Nadine is happily married to Wade Swoboda (Casey Sander). There are Grace's sisters Faith and Evie, and her intrusive mother-in-law Jean Kelly. There is Russell's father Floyd (Tom Poston). Grace is a recovering alcoholic since giving birth to Quentin and had given up Matthew (Tom Everett Scott) for adoption.

This Chuck Lorre show is similar to Roseanne if Roseanne got beaten by her drunken husband and left him. I can do without the abuse background which is hard for any comedy. There is good irreverent sarcasm from Butler. Thomas is a veteran who delivers. The cast sometimes barely hold back laughing at their own jokes. Libby and Quentin #2 are great. They're allowed to be little angels and devils. It's a good white trash sitcom. However, Butler's personal addiction demons slowly destroyed the show.

The decline started in the third season and the slide picked up steam in the fourth until its end after a shortened fifth season. I'm not sure how much Emmet's Secret bothered the blue collar fans. A new Quentin #3 was needed to start season four. The new much-older Quentin is an annoying whiny delinquent teen. The fifth season sees the departure of Julie White and some wholesale changes. It's the beginning of the end as Butler fell apart behind the scenes.