Boston Grace
aka Joy Street Station
[This page to be updated very shortly--stay tuned!]
Back in early 1998, the UPN network decided on a new strategy. It would expand beyond its largely urban audience with a collection of hour-long dramas designed to appeal to women. Chief among them was an updated version of "Love Boat" starring Robert Urich as the captain, and, coincidentally, Corey Parker (Noelle's brother). Though the new line-up was set for the fall, around late April, 1998, "Love Boat" debuted in a trial run, getting stronger than expected ratings among men and women.
UPN readied a number of shows for the new season, including "Legacy", a family drama; another show with a quirky Northern Exposure quality, and "Boston Grace", a police drama featuring a female cop in Boston. This last was created by Martha Coolidge (Director of "Valley Girl", "Real Genius", "Rambling Rose", "If These Walls Could Talk II", to name a few), with the alternate title of "Joy Street Station", the name of an actual police station in Boston on Beacon Hill. It was to focus on the lives and careers of two uniformed policewomen, and was to be a 90's version of "Cagney and Lacey" with a bit of "Thelma and Louise" thrown in. It would be produced by David Gerber, who helmed "Police Story", "Police Woman", "In the Heat of the Night", and oversaw "thirtysomething" as a network executive.
UPN's new direction didn't last long, however. "Legacy" made it on the air, briefly, and though "Love Boat" did well for a while, the network held off on its larger plans. "Boston Grace" was postponed as a midseason replacement in 1999, but by then the UPN network decided to stick with its urban sitcom strategy, which it retains to this day (It never actually aired, as for all I know, may still be on the back-burner). Actor Christian Payne (Days of Our Lives) called the pilot a well-written show and his favorite experience so far as an actor (it also featured actor Brian White).
Noelle was to be one of the two detectives, and the other, statuesque blue-eyed blonde Tracey Needham, who was previously on "JAG", and currently on "The Division". When I started this site, I had a question in mind: What is the ideal role Noelle would have in mind for herself? A modern-day "Cagney and Lacey" might come very close to it, I would imagine, especially with the kind of creative pedigree this project had. A humorous, tough and down-to-earth kind of character is what no doubt would have been featured by Coolidge and Gerber. Could it have succeeded? Right now, most networks would say "no". Their idea of women in law enforcement now tend to towards the sleek image of the sexed-up fashion model. On the courtroom dramas, it's even more apparent: Calista Flockhart, Lara Flynn Boyle, etc. Not even the "Lifetime" network is immune to this. Obviously this is a lot of conjecture on my part, but "Boston Grace" could possibly have not only been a breakthrough role for Noelle, but the return of an edgier kind of female character for TV. But trends can change rapidly on television, and it's never too late for another project like this to re-appear. Interestingly, back in '93 and '94, Noelle starred in a play about tv shows with models as cops in "All For One".
