Shows great series potential.

Refreshing, low-key and true to its small-town Texas setting, the series goes against the grain of most so-called current "family entertainment." This isn't another inane sitcom with dopey adults and unbearably cute kiddies. Everyone here seems natural, real. [1 Oct 1993]

"Against the Grain" is kitsch masquerading as rugged regional realism and is, surprisingly, involving on both counts. [29 Sep 1993]

The writing is erudite and classy, the acting first-rate and the setting relatively novel. [1 Oct 1993]

The title of this feel-good drama is an unintended irony. Against the Grain is anything but. It goes with the grain, gently stroking the viewer with predictable storytelling and heartland homilies.

A wholesome family saga loaded with positive role models, the NBC series turns what could have been a 1993 version of "The Last Picture Show" into an idealized fantasy about an inspirational "local legend" who revitalizes a losing team that was "the pride of Texas" 20 years ago. [1 Oct 1993]

The temptation is to call "Against the Grain" a well-meaning failure, but I fail to see what's even well-meaning about it. It's a horrid show about dreadful people in a wretched place. So there. [1 Oct 1993]