TV REVIEWS : Family Struggle in ‘No Child of Mine’

Patty Duke must have been eager to perform the part of Lucille Jenkins in “No Child of Mine,” which airs at 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS (Channels 2 and 8). This is the type of emotionally volatile character that an intelligent actress can really sink her teeth into.

Jenkins is a grandmother who fights to adopt her mentally disabled grandson after her daughter decides to place this twin with a caring couple who raise children with Down’s syndrome.

To some outsiders, it appears as if this Memphis matriarch is acting out of pure love and benevolence. But Duke compellingly exposes Jenkins as an unusually overbearing and meddlesome figure who is constantly trying to manipulate the family members around her.

With the other twin experiencing various health problems and another son to tend to, Jenkins’ daughter, Tammy (Tracy Nelson), and her husband, Bob (Markus Flanagan), feel ill-equipped to care for a child with such a severe handicap. Yet they understandably object to the idea that the baby be placed into the unsure hands of Jenkins.

Duke’s multifaceted performance is one of the chief reasons why this smartly scripted TV movie is so effective. Nelson also delivers a heartfelt performance as the independent-minded daughter trying to escape her mother’s negative influence.