Beach Girls

By Mike Lipton

After some bad career moves--leaving The West Wing in 2003, turning up in a TV turkey called Dr. Vegas last season--Rob Lowe may be on a roll again. In this promising six-part series based on a Luanne Rice novel (parts 1 and 2 air back-to-back July 31), the usually glib actor gets to show his sensitive side as Jack Kilvert, a Boston lawyer who is spending the summer in a New England beach town with his 16-year-old daughter Nell (Chelsea Hobbs). Both are still mourning the death of Jack's wife, Emma, in a car accident the previous fall, and not even the clingy presence of a sexy young colleague from his law firm can raise Jack's spirits. He is also estranged from his kid sister Maddie, for reasons he won't reveal to Nell, and he's a bit testy with Stevie (a compelling Julie Ormond), a local artist who was childhood friends with his late wife. Subdued and misty-eyed and sporting a raffish stubble, Lowe conveys Jack's moodiness effectively. What I like most about Beach Girls, though, is that it's in no hurry to advance the plot, including the romance between Jack and Stevie. The characters are given room to breathe--or to sigh soulfully. You don't so much watch this show as you wade into it, just like you would with any good beach read. 4 out of 5 stars.