Monday, January 23, 2012

TV 175: Royal Pains

As quite the departure from Saturday Night Live, Royal Pains is a USA original series centering on two brothers who run a concierge medical practice in the Hamptons. Don't be fooled by its labeling as a drama, though. The show does a remarkably good job of blending humor with intense scenes of heart-stopping action (literally, the patient's heart has stopped.) Imagine the earlier seasons of House, M.D. but without the sarcastic, grumpy man with a cane.

The pretty scenery aside, this show is all about the unorthodox methods Dr. Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein) employs while taking house visits to various wealthy clients, young and old. His loyal, competent assistant Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty) accompanies to most jobs, often providing an alternative diagnosis. She can be often one-note, except now in the third season a subplot focusing on her life has emerged.

The person who probably makes the show, though, is Hank's brother, Evan R. Lawson (Paulo Costanzo). He convinced Hank to start such a business in the first place, leaping in as the CFO. As you can imagine, this relationship between the two drives the show. Evan is incredibly endearing, mostly providing the -- sometimes much-needed --comic relief.

There are a few other regular characters whose lives are explored, yet any further explanation of each would make this incredibly long-winded.

I'm not sure what this show doesn't have. I mean, they've had Henry Winkler play the recurring role as Eddie R. Lawson, the brothers' deviant, dodgy father.

You can catch it on channel USA Thursdays at 10/11 est.

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