`JUDGING AMY' INTRODUCES LIKABLE FAMILY, STRONG STORY.

Byline: David Kronke TV Critic

A sturdy, old-fashioned kind of series, ``Judging Amy'' may be an utter reversal from star Amy Brenneman's last one - the ultra-edgy ``NYPD Blue,'' against which her show will compete this season - but it is a tribute to the enduring strength of nicely delineated characterizations and bright dialogue. Brenneman (who also serves as an executive producer - the show is inspired by her mother's life) plays Amy Gray, a woman who leaves New York and her husband to return to her hometown of Hartford, Conn.

Amy, daughter in tow, moves in with her colorfully domineering mother, Maxine (Tyne Daly), and brother Vincent (Dan Futterman, sort of a gawkier David Duchovny), an overeducated and undermotivated aspiring writer. She takes a job as a judge in family court - ironically, as she feels her own family is fairly dysfunctional. An established attorney in New York, she's not quite sure she's up to being a judge. In short, she has a lot on her plate - an overwhelming new job in a new environment, the dissolution of her marriage and a needy child, and a mother who, like many mothers, will not give her a moment's peace.

This is familiar enough territory - it has served as the basis of the movie ``Hope Floats'' and the TV series ``Maggie Winters'' and, with some adjustments, ``Providence.'' What distinguishes ``Judging Amy'' is its efforts to go easy on the corn and value realism over the sensational or the maudlin. Tonight's pilot capably sets up the themes and dilemmas the series will explore.

``Judging Amy's'' chief strength is its characters, smartly established and well-played in the first episode. In most shows, Maxine would be a brash, overweening handful; here, she's certainly opinionated, but she also has plenty of experience to support her. Most engaging is the relationship between Amy and Vincent - having survived childhood under Maxine's roof together, they can freely share their confidences and feelings with one another. Their scenes together are among the show's best, boasting a genuine lived-in quality. And the show is rich with nice lines that no one in the cast tries too hard to sell to viewers - in the second episode, Amy's daughter asks Maxine, ``What's anorexia?'' Daly dryly replies, ``It's a disease women get from reading magazines.''

In a kind of odd nod to younger audiences, the ``Judging Amy'' pilot mimics pilots of ostensibly hipper shows by sprinkling in a smattering of pop songs, albeit from artists palatable to older viewers (David Byrne, David Bowie). It wasn't really necessary - no one's going to mistake this for edgy, no matter how many songs are dropped in. There's nothing wrong with its conservative storytelling technique or its declining to indulge in cool posturing. It's a simple story about a likable family, well told, and that should be enough.

The Facts

The @show

:@ ``Judging Amy.''

What

:@ Drama about a single mother returning to her hometown to assume a judgeship.

The stars

:@ Amy Brenneman, Tyne Daly, Dan Futterman.

Where

:@ CBS (Channel 2).

When

:@ 8 p.m. Sunday (regular time slot: 10 p.m. Tuesdays).

Our rating: Three stars.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Tyne Daly and Amy Brenneman play mother and daughter in the new CBS series ``Judging Amy.''