Bit of this and that.

tamawil

I've read through the reviews and though not surprised on how many people compare it to something else, am slightly surprised on much it's getting ripped. I haven't seen House outside of the Dave Matthews guest episode 'Half Wit' (if correct) but I suppose to have a hospital drama created by the same team things are going to look the same no matter how you cut it.

I'm not going to say that it's perfect in every way. I do like it and watch it every week, but it does have good -and- bad points. Here are a few that spring to mind… The bad: Dealing with the over use of SFX. – This was a hook that they over used during the first four episodes of the series. Luckily it cleverly broke away during 'Manic at the Disco' and 'Rainy Days' (5th and 6th episode) as they started to rely more on the situational drama and the characters, but it would be a major deterrent for anyone starting out with it.

Different shooting style- From what I've read this show is a bit of a test for FOX and their operation costs. By shooting down in Colombia they do save money and try for a wider international base. This means that if you are used to glossy, high end, movie scale film quality you wont like this. Slightly dark, sometimes gritty or the feeling of 'live'/ 'Telemundo soap opera' the mix will throw you off.

Slow character development- The show hammers into the fact that Jack, on his first few weeks, is a very up beat, zany, personable guy who wants to shake the boat. The cocky, confident new kid on the block who knows what he wants but now he's got to manipulate the others to his way of thinking. It stuck with the doctor and his struggles to find his sister while leaving the rest of the cast out in the cold.

This also started to become a theme of never ending similarities- womanizers, the backstabbing egotist, adulteress, and the woman surviving/suffering through cancer. The typical issues that you would see in almost any drama makes it more of a stumbling block for the series other than setting up character weaknesses and flaws.

Hokey stories- yes the cheese factor can get bad in some episodes, to the point of it being less drama and more high school.

The good: Situations and growing character development: Again the major push for this series was 'Manic'. It still had a little bit of silliness but now they started to narrow the three to four cases floating around to just one major one and a side story. This allowed the spot light to be shifted some from Dr. Gallagher to his co workers and how he affects them. Though most of the clichés that were previously listed go through a good deal of the Season, the writers seem to not linger on them for too long. You start seeing the environment change during the season as the turbulent uprising of dust from the new guy in town and how the question of who helps the helpers appears when its show that the Docs may have more issues than the patients.

Also Jack changes. As time goes and the pressures surround him you find that he becomes a little more driven, a little darker, and a little more authoritative with his staff and how he thinks things should be done. He still has his boyish charm, but there might be more stress and past that he has yet to deal with or we know of.

Short subjects: I might be typical in not expecting much from an hour show. Even the credibility of things being authentic down to the minute details, but I'd be lying if I said I cared. I honestly don't think any of us want to actually watch what we do all day. I do like that each week something new or creatively spun is presented and leaves with questions of what it was they were talking about. Two of my favorite episodes 'Rainy Days' and 'House of Mirrors' gave really good examples of issues that had me researching for more information. Sometimes it's OK to have total authenticity pushed aside to entertain with a little bit of truth. You can't expect them to tell you everything.

Breaking status quo: The show has potential to make something out of medical mysteries of the mind. It has a lot of work ahead to find that element (and not that much time) but honestly it could run a very interesting course if treated right.

With that I know I have no interest in House though was told by people that it was wonderful, but was hooked when referred to Mental. I was intrigued by Chris Vance and stuck around to see how his character would evolve and watched all of the episodes so far. I personally enjoy the show because its still fresh and again has potential like their on screen profession. It's a series that's still finding a foot hold, and most know its not easy when shows get canned at a drop of a hat.

score 7/10

tamawil 2 August 2009

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2105706/