Last night was the season finale of Saving Grace, a TNT original television series starring Holly Hunter. Here's the website.The nutshell plot is this: Grace is a hard-living Oklahoma City police detective who is visited by an angel named Earl, who is struggling to save her soul. I originally didn't like the series very much, but have come around to a positive view, for the following reasons.1. It's set in Oklahoma City--not in Utopia--the sets look real, and gritty, and it's not all glamorized. Most of the people seem real, not Hollywood. And the Oklahoma City bombings --sin, evil, and the permanent loss it can cause -- still haunts the characters. Like real life.2. Religion is integrated into people's lives. Grace comes from a big Catholic family; they go to Church, go to first communion, get confirmed. People in the office mention God, belief, church as if they are facts of their lives (sometimes a bit awkwardly, but the writers have to get used to the new area).3. I sense an attractive religious vision here--at first I was skeptical. Grace's seems to be a very generous and selfless person, risking her life for others, especially the defenseless. Her big sins are her very active --one could say promiscuous --sex life and her drinking. Originally, I thought, here we go again, stereotypes about Catholics, God and sex, and not enough knowledge to know that drinking isn't really a Catholic hangup. But I've been pleased--as the show has gone on, it has become apparent that Earl wants Grace to curb this behavior because it's not good for her--not because it's subject to some arbitrary prohibition. The clear theme is God wants whats best for us.4. Grace's issue, of course, ends up being that she was abused by a priest. But even that, in my view, is rather well-done. Her beloved brother is a good priest-an honorable man. So it's clear that not all priests are abusive. And even the abusing priest shows signs of guilt; his humanity comes through too. Brokenness generates brokenness. We all need redemption.5. Grace's best friend==played by Laura San Giacamo. She's a happily married nerd--she's a doctor who's a crime scene investigator, and a devout Catholic, but not a goody-goody. And she's fascinated, as a scientist, with Earl--asking Grace to get her evidence of the angel that she can analyze (a wing would be good). There's no sense that there is a conflict between science and religion.6. Religion isn't only the province of the perfect--and God isn't concerned only with the perfect. God and the angels of God aren't easily shocked.So in the end, a thumbs up. BUT this show isn't for television-watching neophytes. There is a lot of crudeness, some pretty explicit sex scenes, and partial nudity. You can't go straight from Brideshead Revisted to Saving Grace. Spend some time in Seventh Heaven first.