DVD/Book reviews...

First season of America's next big show gets the small screen treatment

There’s a point during the pilot for Royal Pains where Hank, our hero and charming New York doctor is in the midst of treating multiple patients in hospital rooms with life-threatening conditions when you find yourself thinking “….wait, another hospital drama?” Everything seems in place; charming, talented doctor, impenetrable medical talk and patients dropping like flies at inopportune times. It all seems a little too generic, until Hank loses his job. Blackballed from every practice in the city after a rich patient died in his care, and with his fiancée on the way out, things aren’t going too well until his little brother Evan shows up, proposing a weekend in the uber-rich Hamptons. In the middle of a lavish party, Hank is able to save the life of a model having an allergic reaction. That spirals his life into the world of a concierge doctor, taking phone calls from The Hamptons’ finest over every little or large medical emergency.

As introductions go, after an exceptionally plain opening, Royal Pains is able to offer up a genuinely engrossing, sharp-witted comedy drama. Centring around Hank (Mark Feuerstein) and his small team at HankMed, the cast is small but effective. Paulo Constanzo (Road Trip, Joey) is easily the star turn as Hank’s brother Evan; sharp tongued, funny and able to talk himself in and out of any situation. Jill Flint plays Hank’s love interest Jill Casey, a bit of a flirt and local hospital administrator who’s a stunner, but somewhat one-dimensional. Rounded out by Hank’s assistant Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty), an enthusiastic but family-restricted young woman. There’s only twelve episodes on offer here, but that combined with the small principal cast helps keep the show focussed. So many American shows of this type tend to get bogged down in huge casts and overly long story arcs, so it’s nice to see a show that’s very much to the point.

Calling an American sitcom smart and sharply written is not exactly a stunning statement of originality, but Royal Pains is just that; a well written American comedy drama with a healthy dose of medical jargon and action. This first season doesn’t overstay its welcome and sets up season 2 very nicely for when it’ll arrive on UK airwaves. For now, why not take a look at one of the highest rated shows on American television? There’s a few good reasons for that on this basis.

Iwan Lehnert