Kate Brasher

*Kate Brasher*
Kate Brasher
Genre	Drama
Created by	Stephen Tolkin
Starring	Mary Stuart Masterson; Hector Elizondo; Gregory Smith; Mason Gamble; Rhea Perlman;
Theme music composer	Nathan Barr; Lisbeth Scott;
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Danny DeVito; John Landgraf; Stacey Sher; Stephen Tolkin;
Producers	Mary Stuart Masterson; Cyrus I. Yavneh;
Cinematography	Gordon Lonsdale
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	Jersey Television; CBS Productions; 20th Century Fox Television;
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	February 24 –; April 14, 2001

Kate Brasher is an American drama television series created by Stephen Tolkin, that was broadcast on CBS from February 24 until April 14, 2001. It premiered at 9:00pm ET/PT on Saturday, February 24, 2001, and was cancelled after six episodes.

Overview

The title character was the single mother of teenaged sons Daniel and Elvis living in Santa Monica, California. Facing a financial crisis, she seeks legal advice at Brothers Keepers, an inner city community advocacy center, and is offered a job as a social worker. Her co-workers include attorney Abbie Schaeffer and Joe Almeida, the organization's street-smart director, who founded it after his daughter was killed in gang crossfire.

Cast

Mary Stuart Masterson as Kate Brasher
Hector Elizondo as Joe Almeida
Gregory Smith as Daniel Brasher, Kate's first son
Mason Gamble as Elvis Brasher, Kate's second son
Rhea Perlman as Abbie Schaeffer
Roger Robinson as Earl

Among those actors making guest appearances during the series' short run were K Callan, Dennis Christopher, Paul Dooley, Mariette Hartley, Josh Hopkins, Carl Lumbly, Spencer Breslin, David Naughton and Mackenzie Phillips.^[1]

Development and production

Series creator Stephen Tolkin based the character of Almeida on Rabbi Mark Borovitz, an ex-convict and alcoholic who became the spiritual leader of Gateways Beit T'Shuvah, a residential treatment center for Jews in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. The two men met when Tolkin contacted the rabbi for help with a friend who was dealing with substance abuse.^[2]

Although set in Santa Monica, California, the series was shot on location in San Diego, California.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by ^[3]	Written by ^[3]	Original release date	Prod. code ^[3]
1	"Kate" "Pilot"	James Frawley	Stephen Tolkin	February 24, 2001 (2001-02-24)	1AEA01
2	"Simon"	Jerry Levine	Written by : Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin Story by : John Landgraf, Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin	March 3, 2001 (2001-03-03)	1AEA04
3	"Jeff"	Steve Robman	Joel Fields, Stephen Tolkin	March 10, 2001 (2001-03-10)	1AEA06
4	"Jackson"	Joe Napolitano	Phil Penningroth	March 24, 2001 (2001-03-24)	1AEA05
5	"Tracy"	Arvin Brown	Stephen Tolkin	April 7, 2001 (2001-04-07)	1AEA02
6	"Georgia"	Steve Miner	Dana Baratta	April 14, 2001 (2001-04-14)	1AEA03

Critical reception

''Kate Brasher'' received mixed-to-negative reviews. Critics often praised Mary Stuart Masterson's performance and the series' intentions while finding its storytelling didactic and its characters overly schematic. ^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Anita Gates of the New York Times wrote that the series had an appealing cast and generally did not insult viewers intelligence, but that its characters were "100 percent good" figures who delivered self-righteous speeches. She argued that the show strained to be quirky, to create a chaotic atmosphere reminiscent of "ER" and to be both uplifting and cynical.^[4]

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described it as mixing an "Eri Brockovich" vibe with a "Touched by an Angel" aura and called the result "hokum thats beneath [Masterson's] talents"^[5]

Joan Ostrow of The Denver Post found it more self-righteous and preachy than CBS's "That's Life", likening the tone to "Touched by a Social Worker" ^[6]

Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News wrote that the serise was "loaded with good intentions" but "heavy-handed and cliched" ^[7]

References

1 2 Series profile at Variety.com
↑ "Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, March 30, 2001". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
1 2 3 From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Kate Brasher"]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
1 2 New York Times review
1 2 Tucker, Ken (February 23, 2001). "What To Watch". Entertainment Weekly.
1 2 Ostrow, Joanne (February 20, 2001). "Preachy addition to CBS". The Denver Post.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
1 2 Pierce, Scott D. (February 23, 2001). "Cliched 'Kate Brasher' disappoints". Deseret News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

Kate Brasher at IMDb
Kate Brasher at epguides.com

[Variety-1] 1 2 Series profile at Variety.com

[2] "Jewish News of Greater Phoenix, March 30, 2001". Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2009.

[U.S.C.O.-3] 1 2 3 From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Kate Brasher"]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved December 18, 2017.

[:0-4] 1 2 New York Times review

[:1-5] 1 2 Tucker, Ken (February 23, 2001). "What To Watch". Entertainment Weekly.

[:2-6] 1 2 Ostrow, Joanne (February 20, 2001). "Preachy addition to CBS". The Denver Post.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[:3-7] 1 2 Pierce, Scott D. (February 23, 2001). "Cliched 'Kate Brasher' disappoints". Deseret News.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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