“Diane, I'm holding in my hands a small box of chocolate bunnies.”
“MDs,” says "Reno," is “not bad at all.” Herc, who has not yet seen the pilot and therefor has no business offering predictions, predicts it will not be as nearly as entertaining as the Larry Gelbart era of “M*A*S*H.”
The “Push, Nevada” pilot, notes "Reno," is “a little straight forward.” Herc, who has not yet seen this pilot either and therefor again has no business offering predictions, predicts it will fail miserably in its effort to approach the perfect wonder that was “Twin Peaks.”
The “Push, Nevada” pilot, notes "Reno," is “a little straight forward.” Herc, who has not yet seen this pilot either and therefor again has no business offering predictions, predicts it will fail miserably in its effort to approach the perfect wonder that was “Twin Peaks.”
Hey Herc, RENO here with a look at the premier episodes of two new series coming soon from the Alphabet network, ABC.
MDs (premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 10 p.m.)
First up is MDs, formerly known as MEDS, formerly known as THE OATH.
Watching the premier episode for this hospital drama set in the San Francisco Mission Hospital, I couldn’t help but draw a comparison between this show and M*A*S*H (film version). They both feature caring doctors in stressful situations with an "Us versus Them" attitude.
The nominal lead in the ensemble is a Dr. Kellerman (played by William Fichtner), easily the Hawkeye Pierce figure (without the Alan Alda’s TV version’s Groucho Marx fixation). His wife has left him and remarried because he spent more time caring with his patients than concentrating on being a good husband and father. Taking up the Trapper John position is Dr. Dalgety, played by The Mummy star John Hannah, a man who has spent some time in one of those war torn Balkan countries and as such has no real respect for beauracracy. Combined with Kellerman’s hot shot brilliance that allows him to get away with breaking hospital rules on a regular basis, you can almost see these two hanging out in a rather slovenly kept apartment with a still in the corner…
The pilot’s main story centers on a young woman, whose HMO coverage is set to expire at midnight. Administration doesn’t want to even try to get authorization for some additional test to determine the cause of her stomach pains once they determine she’s not pregnant, so they discharge her, trying to say that she just has some cramps. The patient is brought back into the hospital by a new intern, Maggie Yang, who enlists Kellerman and Dalgety’s help in getting the young woman some care.
Meanwhile, a new hospital administrator, Shelly Pangborn, is starting her first day on the job. Anxious to make a good impression, she also is hoping that no one discovers her last job was running an amusement park and that she gets woozy at the sight of blood.
The scenes where Kellerman, Dalegty and a new intern wheel the patient around the hospital, trying to avoid the Hot Lips Houlihan style Head Nurse while finding a place to examine her make for some good dark comedy, as does Kellerman’s rationale for operating on her. ("Well, it’s not really an operation. It’s an autopsy which I can legally do without anyone’s permission if I’m uneasy about signing her death certificate." "But, she’s not dead." "So you can see why I would be uneasy about signing her death certificate.") These two are could definitely be the heirs to the Pros From Dover.
Pangborn definitely steps into the Col. Blake role when, after the two doctors are caught and are getting reamed by the rep for the company that owns the hospital (who looks like The States’ Thomas Lennon). She decides not to fire the two, figuring that their skills and passion to be an important asset.
There are a few familiar plot points sprinkled through the pilot- the heart transplant patient who must reconcile with his estranged son has been done before, but it’s a small point to quibble in an otherwise entertaining premier.
Towards the end of the episode Pangborn’s assistant turns to her and states, "Not bad for a first day- A little comedy, a little tragedy, a little farce." The same can be said for the pilot- Not bad. Not bad at all. It definitely shows some promise that it hopefully can deliver on.
Push, Nevada (premieres Tuessday, Sept. 17 9 p.m.)
Another show that promises to deliver is "Push Nevada." In this case, it promises to deliver a million dollars to one lucky viewer who can unravel the mysteries that series will present. Let’s face it- this is "Twin Peaks" as the ultimate play-along-at-home game show.
The premier episode of this 13 episode series opens with a naked man stealing a large satchel full of cash from vault of the Versailles Casino in the small town of Push Nevada. He then delivers the money to the shady looking Silas, played by Jon Polito, the guy they always seem to call when they can’t get DeVito.
We then cut to the office of Jim Prufrock, a seemingly ordinary guy. As he goes through his usual work routine, he receives a fax concerning financial information for the Versailles Casino. Skimming it over, he notices that it wasn’t meant for him and tries to call the sender to let him know that the fax was misdirected. The man gets surly when Prufrock tries to point out an accounting error in the fax, threatening him and then hanging up. Fortunately, Prufrock doesn’t have to take that kind of guff because he’s an IRS auditor and the information in the fax is enough for him to launch an investigation. He packs a bag and heads out to Push, Nevada.
It’s hard not to think about "Twin Peaks" while watching the show. Both shows have government agents at their lead investigating a mystery in a small town that promises to turn into much more than what they and the viewer initially expect. Prufrock even gets a very Dale Cooper "Why I Am Such A Straight Arrow" Speech at one point.
There are several characters, who may or may not play an important part in the series that just have a David Lynch feel to them. (Is Lynch-esque a word?) There’s the shivering man, who seems to be cold while sitting outside in the Nevada heat. And there’s Mary (played by Scarlett Chorvat), the beautiful taxi dancer who is steeped in the noir femme fatale tradition.
There are plenty of things for the viewer to look for scattered through the episode. (Heck, I’ve mentioned several here, both purposely and perhaps inadvertently.) When we see an ad for ABC’s series "Alias" appear on a television in the background of a scene are we to take that as a clue, or is it just a red herring? Viewers intent on solving the mystery would be well served to tape each episode and give it the Zapruder film treatment afterwards. It wasn’t until my second viewing of the pilot that I caught the quick visual reference to the town’s newspaper’s website pushtimes.com.
All series have to hold their audience from week to week, and nothing is truer for "Push, Nevada." The biggest hurdle for the show’s producers will be if they’ve made the mystery engaging enough to entice viewers back week after week to try and discover the truth. The true mettle of any mystery story not only lies in the complexity of the mystery but on the strength of the characters involved. Personally, I think that while the opening episode is a little straight forward, if the producers can keep the twists coming and make the overall mystery engaging and complicated without frustrating viewers, they should have a break out hit on their hands.
"There’s a secret Jim," Mary tells Prufrock. "And like all the best secrets, it’s not quickly told." Well, they promise that all will be told within thirteen weeks. It’ll be up to us to figure things out.
That's about it for now. I still have a few tapes sitting on top of the TV that may yield some interesting things. We shall see...
RENO out.
“I feel like I know her but sometimes my arms bend back...”
