On the Box - Weekly TV Review
This week, John Byrne looks at a hit US medical drama starring Dubliner Eoin Macken, a quirky thriller featuring Matt Dillon, crazy country soap Nashville, and the ultimate tribute to Bill O'Herlihy.
Reviewed: The Night Shift (Thursdays, RTÉ2); Wayward Pines (Thursdays, Fox); Nashville (Wednesday, E4); The Late Late Show (Fridays, RTÉ One)
Medical dramas have always been a good friend of TV. The Dr Kildare films of 1930s and '40s spawned a hugely popular 1960s' show of the same name, which turned Richard Chamberlain into one of the world's first global TV stars. Others such as the BBC's Dr Finlay's Casebook, Marcus Welby, MD, Australia's A Country Practice, and of course more recent successes such as ER and Grey's Anatomy, and our own The Clinic have followed in due course.
But for every Grey's Anatomy there are loads of US medical dramas that don't last long, such as Off the Map(Shonda Rhimes' only flop so far), Emily Owens MD, Three Rivers and The Mob Doctor, all of which surfaced briefly in recent years.
And while Grey's Anatomy is chasing ER's record of 15 seasons and 331 episodes, it's highly unlikely that it will last beyond its next, 12th, season, as it's been on life support in recent years. The sudden, recent departure of Patrick Dempsey could well finish it off.
One of the shows that has come in the wake of Grey's Anatomy is The Night Shift (Thursdays, RTÉ2). Already two seasons in, and renewed for a third, this NBC series is nothing if not a survivor. Dubliner Eoin Macken, who's also enjoyed a modelling career, plays the lead role of TC Callahan, a strong-willed doctor working the nights shift at the San Antonio Medical Center.
Last Thursday's opening episode set the scene, and while it was hardly ground-breaking it was very watchable. The cast is strong, so if the writing becomes a little more imaginative, it could make for riveting TV. My missus lapped it up, which is always a good sign.
As well as Macken's rebel with a stethoscope, there's Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint, Royal Pains and The Good Wife), Callahan's former girlfriend, who has just been promoted to night shift leader, and has her work cut out dealing with a feisty crew of hardened medics.
Meanwhile, Callahan is constantly battling the money-conscious hospital admin head, Dr Michael Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez, Six Feet Under and Ugly Betty), and in the pilot episode they literally trade punches, while agreeing to move on. Well, until the next time a child with a life-threatening condition and no health insurance turns up at the hospital.
Jordan Alexanader sets herself up to Ragosa as the one person who might tame Callahan, so you can envision how that mini-drama's roughly going to play out, especially as Callahan is secretly dating Landry de la Cruz, the night shift psychologist.
The Night Shift is solid if unspectacular, but for Eoin Macken it has to be a welcome opportunity to establish himself at the top table in this fiercely competitive and unforgiving industry. Let's hope he can build on it, and the writers give his character a chance to develop.
Another recent arrival from across the Atlantic is Wayward Pines (Thursdays, Fox), which is about as radically different to The Night Shift as TV gets. Based on the series of novels of the same name, it's like a latterday Twin Peaks or something that would appeal to Lost fans still searching for a quirky fix.
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