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Ally McBeal

The popularity of American comedy shows is an intriguing insight into the collective psyche of the USA.
Witness the wildly popular Friends, now starting to show its age, with dialogue lines turning towards children, marriage and leaving behind the joys of youth. Also witness the plunge in popularity of Ellen, after she decided to 'come out' as a lesbian on her long-running TV series. Although the episode in which she did had top ratings, audiences subsequently deserted her in droves. The show has since been dropped from UK television.
Latest in the long line of hits to appear on the small screen on this side of the pond is Ally McBeal (Wednesdays, Channel 4) the story of a young woman lawyer, a partner in a go-ahead firm full of neurotic characters . It has already built up a loyal and enthusiastic following with good ratings.
Ally, played by Calinda Flockhart (made-up name: surely no parent could be that cruel...?) is good-looking, successful, but falling apart emotionally (in a cute, funny kind of way, not in a serious, about-to-have-a-nervous-breakdown kind of way). And all she wants is to get married, have a house and children to look after.
As a storyline, this is a massive reversal from the popularity of shows in recent years. Murphy Brown (not screened in the UK to my knowledge) was a comedy show that ran for years about a single mother who did not want to be married. It was famously attacked by then Vice President Dan ('foot in mouth') Quayle for promoting immorality - an attack guaranteeing its success.
But the wheel has turned full circle, and here we have a storyline that explicitly admits that what people really want is permanent stable relationships and family life.
The counterpoints to the central character - a flatmate who is easy-come, easy-go about relationships, and a workmate who aims to manipulate men to her own end -show the poverty of alternative approaches. The tragedy for Ally is that there seems no hope of any man appearing who can meet her needs in this department. The men portrayed are either geeky, married, or totally unable to commit themselves. So it's not just in church that this is a problem!

Drusilla Darling