Sunday, May 31, 2009

My Take on the Four Medical Dramas Coming This Fall and Their Preview


Anyone who knows me knows what a huge fan of ER I have been over the last almost 15 years. I've faithfully watched that show from the first episode to its last. Even when the show started to decline at the end. You also know that Grey's Anatomy is probably my #1 favorite show on TV. I've always enjoyed watching medical dramas. I'm a person that likes to be moved emotionally when I watch TV and yes even emotionally scarred ala the season finale of Grey's..LOL. Medical dramas are always filled with that emotion. How could it not be? ABC with Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice along with FOX with House are now the dominant medical drama ratings grabbers. NBC needs a show to take ER's place and CBS is more crime heavy (think NCIS, CSI) with no really strong medical drama's to capture Grey's fans.

There are four such shows slated to debut this Fall (two will debut mid-season) with two from CBS and two from NBC.


The first one, Three Rivers, is scheduled at 9pm on Sundays on CBS. Its focus is on organ transplants at a fictional Three River's Hospital (a #1 transplant facility) from three points of views ; the donor and the donor's family, the recipient and of course the team of surgeons at the hospital. It stars Alex O'Loughlin (the hottie from the canceled CBS series Moonlight) , film star Julia Ormond (another example of big screen to small screen moves), Daniel Henney and Katherine Moening. I am a fan of O'Loughlin (what straight warm blooded woman wouldn't be..LOL) and the acting chops of Julia Ormand make this show extremely promising to go the distance.


The second series on CBS , Miami Trauma from creator Jerry Bruckheimer, is slated for mid-season and stars Richard Doyle, Elisabeth Hamois, Jeremy Wortham and Lana Parrilla. Its focus is on a team of trauma surgeons at a Miami Hospital that is purely a trauma hospital. While the show overall looks good, compared to the other medical dramas already on TV and those slated for this coming season, this one seems the least promising. We all know that not every series that airs will make it. As a matter of fact it is more probable for any show that it will not get picked up or renewed. And there is only so much room for medical dramas on TV and with the public. If I were to pick one new medical show this year, based on the previews alone, that would end up not making the long haul this would be my pick. Of course I'm basing that on the preview alone. It is the one that least excited me. But, of course, my DVR will be set to record when this shows day and time are announced mid season.

NBC has Mercy, slated for mid-season, and Trauma.


The first, Mercy, focuses on the daily happenings of a hospital from the point of view of the nurses. I liked that idea already. It's like watching ER but focusing on the Nurse Hathoways only with more grit. It stars Taylor Schilling (Dark Matter), Michelle Trachlenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jamie Lee Kirchner (Rescue Me). Trachlenberg's character is the green nurse in the bunch and very much reminds me of the Carter character (played by Noah Wyle) in ER at the series start. It's got a great dose of humor combined with the drama you expect to see in such a show. For me, that is a winning combination.


However, if there is only one medical series that could join the ranks of ER & Greys this year I am going to have to say that hands down it will be Trauma, scheduled for Monday nights at 9pm, that is the winner! Wow.. talk about an adrenaline rush. This series focuses on the EMT's that respond to medical emergencies (reminiscent of the series Emergency that aired from 1972-79 that I used to watch in syndication as a girl only better!). It's like taking all the best action packed on the edge of your seat medical drama from those episodes of ER and Grey's where they were outside of the hospital (think George Clooney when his character saved that boy from drowning in a drain pipe, or whenever any of the doctors were present at a disaster such as building explosions or multiple car crashes) or the episodes of Third Watch with the best paramedic traumas (think episode 49 entitled "The Price of Nobility" where Amy Carlson's character Alex Taylor ends up the victim of a vehicle explosion when trying to save a victim) and putting that in every episode for an hour! If this show turns out to be a dud, then the person or persons that put together that preview deserves to win an Emmy for that alone, it is that good. It stars Derek Luke (Notorious), Cliff Curtis (10,000 BC), Anastasia Griffith (Damages) and Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent) . This is the medical drama that I am most looking forward to this season.

So, in conclusion, my favorite is Trauma, followed by Mercy, Three Rivers and then Miami Trauma.

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Posted by Tara at 7:50 AM  

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