Grade: 80%
FOX has a new drama called THE MOB
DOCTOR. Starring Jordana Spiro (My Boys) as Grace Devlin, a promising
young surgeon who agrees to do work for the mob to pay off her brother,
Danny’s (Jesse Lee Soffer, As the World Turns), debt, the series finds
the protagonist bouncing between two worlds. In one, she has a bright
career ahead of her and a wonderful boyfriend, Dr. Brett Robinson (Zach
Gilford, Friday Night Lights, Off the Map). In the other, she pulls
screwdrivers out of heads in the back room at a veterinary clinic.
As the “Pilot” begins, it almost looks
like Grace enjoys the double life. She handles a thug with ease, not
cruel, but not flappable, either. We learn that she grew up around
criminals, and one of her earliest memories is finding a dead body. This
sets the stage for a main character of questionable morals, something
that does very well on cable, but is rarely seen successfully done on
broadcast TV.
But as the hour plays out, it soon
becomes apparent that Grace is not a common criminal. She is helping out
her family, making her the kind of bright and shiny hero that populates
many a series. This actually makes her a bit less interesting, as now
we assume that she will always do the right thing. After all, her
involvement in this mess of a situation is just stemming from loyal to
her family, not out of a desire to do wrong or protect guys that should
be behind bars. Should the writing stray from such a predictable
formula, it would be neat and fresh. As it stands, Grace may quickly
become rote and boring.
What gives me hope is Spiro herself. Her
excellent work on her previous sitcom starring role over several years
proved and honed her comedy chops. She dipped her toe into light drama
with a recurring role on Harry’s Law more recently. Now, with THE MOB
DOCTOR, she is given more to work with than ever, and the entire hour
seems to hang on her, since she is in every scene. Spiro doesn’t flinch,
and stays compelling through it all.
Another positive element is the writing.
It’s hard to tell in which direction the series intends to go from just
the “Pilot” because it is mostly setting things up. But there is no
obvious patient of the week, with Grace treating several people
throughout. And because the show is on FOX, not CBS, it may very well be
allowed to explore large arcs, rather than being stuck in a formula.
Or, if it does follow a weekly pattern, it may get to depart from that
more than many other shows.
Spiro is surrounded by a talented,
proven cast. Besides Gilford, there’s Zeljko Ivanek (The Event, Damages)
as the hospital boss, William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire, The Rock)
playing the counterpart man in charge, James Carpinello (Rock of Ages),
Floriana Lima (Poor Paul), Wendy Makkena (Sister Act, Listen Up), and
Jaime Lee Kirchner (Mercy). This means that, if the writers decide not
to make Spiro carry the show by herself, which they should, despite her
talent, there is an already-built support system in place to sustain a
quality series.
I don’t want to give away the ending of
episode one, but suffice it to say, the balance of power is not
established until the very last minutes of the episode. It makes it a
little hard to talk about what to expect, going forward. A lot of the
“Pilot” does a fine job establishing the characters and the setting, but
it’s hard to say what kind of series THE MOB DOCTOR wants to be until we
see how things play out past this first installment.
Another thing that happens very late is
telling about Grace herself, painting some of her attitudes and actions
in a different light. As a character, she does a handful of things that
didn’t quite add up to me until that revelation. Had the twist been
missing, it’s likely this would be a very different review.
THE MOB DOCTOR premieres Monday, September 17th on FOX.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.