‘Grace’ Stumbles in Season Opener

“State of Grace,” ABC Family’s re-imagining of the boomer-centric series “The Wonder Years,” makes its second-season debut tonight with an effort that’s something less than graceful (8 p.m.). The series, which originally was given a 13-episode commitment for 2002, recently got the go-ahead for 13 more in the belief that this coming-of-age story of two young girls and their families, set in North Carolina in the turbulent ‘60s, had tapped into something special.

The network’s instincts are sound. Although tonight’s episode, “Get Me to the Church on Time,” doesn’t show off the series’ charms to their best advantage, the ingredients are there for a decent run. But the half-hour dramedy needs to know when to jog instead of sprint, and tonight’s episode simply tries to cover too much ground.

Picking up where the show left off last season, widow Tattie McKee (Faye Grant) is preparing to remarry, leaving her 12-year-old daughter, Grace (Mae Whitman), deeply resentful of the change her life is about to take.

Grace’s best friend, Hannah Rayburn, (Alia Shawkat), whose Jewish family has undergone some turmoil of its own in moving from Illinois to the Deep South, provides some comfort, but it’s not nearly enough. Besides, a garish new presence has invaded the Rayburn household in the form of color television, and family members are quickly enslaved to the magic box. But not to worry--this intense fixation doesn’t even last to the end of the episode.

Oscar winner Frances McDormand (“Fargo,” “Almost Famous”) has an off-camera role as the adult Hannah, narrating the proceedings a la Daniel Stern in “The Wonder Years,” and ‘60s musical hits provide some added resonance.

Next week’s episode, “Of Diamonds and Deli Meats,” has more of the warm, deft touch that is the show’s strength, but for the uninitiated, tonight serves as an acceptable introductory course.