IGYPRH wrote that if Eli Stone wasn’t the best examination of faith on TV, he’d sell his TiVo.  Well, he can keep his TiVo, but Eli Stone does have some fairly strong competition in Saving Grace, the cable, female version of Eli Stone.  TNT’s drama (Mondays, 10/9pmC) is now in its second season, and it’s still as strong as was when it made its first splash last summer.

Grace has its flaws.  It’s yet another police procedural, one part Law & Order and one part CSI.  It tries way too hard sometimes to be hip, and Holly Hunter isn’t kidding anyone.  She’s 50, and she looks it, no matter how skinny she is and how many times she has to punch guys out for coming on too strong.  Most jarring is the bar scenes when there’s way too much laughter and not enough real dialogue to reveal what the people behind the caricatures.

But despite all this, the acting is generally very good.  The supporting characters aren’t as interesting as Eli Stone’s supporting cast, but the actors do their jobs well despite a lack of material.  Holly Hunter is an Academy Award-winning actress, and she shows why here.  Finally, of course, the premise is compelling.  Grace is much more unwilling to respond to her George Michael, in this case an angel named Earl, but that’s what keeps this imperfect but interesting show worth watching.