Sometimes a very intense drama, but sometimes very light-hearted, "Picket Fences" stayed around on CBS from 1992-1996 and stayed under the radar on Friday nights and usually had just enough momentum to win the night. The show took place in a small Wisconsin town that was anything, but normal. Usually one family (led by sheriff Tom Skeritt and doctor Kathy Baker) took center-stage. The children (Holly Marie Combs, Justin Shenkarow and Adam Wylie) also became key elements as problems for under-aged people were explored on several occasions. The townspeople (county judge Ray Walston, lawyers Don Cheadle and Fyvush Finkel, deputies Lauren Holly and Costas Mandylor, secretary Zelda Rubinstein and mayor Marlee Matlin) would end up helping to create some of the strangest situations you could ever imagine. Up and down the whole way, I enjoyed the series for the most part due to its creativity and its black humor. Usually the episodes had something to say, but sometimes they would cover their messages in thick sugar. 4 stars out of 5.
