After being ready to dismiss "Royal Pains" a couple of weeks ago, tonight's was surprisingly entertaining, with a high concentration of Macgyver medicine, and even some comic relief moments for the brother that didn't completely annoy me. Still probably not enough to merit a full post, but I thought the uptick in quality worth mentioning. Anybody else still watching? (Based on the ratings, which are higher than "Burn Notice," and among the most popular things on cable this summer, somebody is.) If so, what did you think?
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Royal Pains, "No Man Is An Island": Drill bit
After being ready to dismiss "Royal Pains" a couple of weeks ago, tonight's was surprisingly entertaining, with a high concentration of Macgyver medicine, and even some comic relief moments for the brother that didn't completely annoy me. Still probably not enough to merit a full post, but I thought the uptick in quality worth mentioning. Anybody else still watching? (Based on the ratings, which are higher than "Burn Notice," and among the most popular things on cable this summer, somebody is.) If so, what did you think?
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I also enjoyed the no-equipment doctoring (although the drill was a bit much). But the rest of the show is getting kind of "eh." The romantic plot line is already boring, and none of this episode's guest characters were that interesting. (I actually thought the kid's blood type meant he would turn out to be not related to his supposed family, which at least would have given them something new to talk about.)
I can't believe the ratings are better for this show. It must be a women thing; my wife loves the show as much as I find it only mildly entertaining and we are the opposite on Burn Notice. Maybe people love to fantasize about a doctor who doesn't ask for their insurance card before their name. I like the fact he never has any paperwork -- such escapism in the 21 century!
Evan is very possibly the worst, most annoying character on tv. Getting rid of him would instantly make this show 20 times better.
As is I'm done. I only watched today because you said it was better. Overall it was, but not enough to continue watching.
@Anonymous above - speaking as a woman, I don't think it's a gender issue, seeing as tonight's Burn Notice rocked, and I yet again couldn't get through an entire episode of this show. USA series tend to take a while to grow, but to me there's just...nothing that's all that compelling to the premise here. I'm pretty close to giving up as well.
Well, I am but one person, but for me it is definitely because of the lead in. I crave Burn Notice, and at 10 there is really nothing else on, so inertia results in the TV staying on USA.
As for the show itself, the medicine is absurd. And the uber-capable doctor who can drill a burr hole with a power drill doesn't know that saline is 9g sodium to 1 liter of water (he had to "wing" the recipe)? That is med student knowledge.
This show plays to all the silly in TV:
- the overly annoying side-kick (brother) who has his 1 saving moment
-the senseless sexual tension (why are the doc and the administrator not together yet--is there any reasonable explanation of this?)
This is a show you can see coming for miles around the bend, and the lack of surprise really makes it boring.
Then again, unless there is another option at 10, I will probably remain part of the problem.
I keep watching hoping the writing gets better. I actually like Evan... and so far all the characters with the exception of the girl who is his love interest. There is no chemistry between them. None. They need to make her just a friend and move on.
I find Burn Notice to be the better show by far. I am stunned that the allege ratings for this show is higher than its lead in. Their ratings are even better than The Closer.
Then again I have always thought the Nielsen ratings system was a joke. So really, I shouldn't be surprised.
I've never understood the ratings system myself, but it's always seemed highly flawed. The show certainly has its problems -- better chemistry with the brother than the romantic interest, for one -- but I watch this on Hulu in the background as I'm getting ready in the morning, and I enjoy it just fine. If I were sitting in front of the TV and waiting for commercials, like those folks in the 20th century, I might dislike this show.
My biggest problem: when will Hank get a personality? Playing the 'straight man' to Evan's constant screwing up is incredibly dull.
Still, as I always say... it's better than another mindless reality show.
I decided to give up on this show after the episode 2 weeks ago. The actors do nothing for me, the plots do nothing for me, and how many times have we seen the talentless, hanger scheming on brother/friend get in to compromising situations? There is nothing on this show that stands out for me. I may watch it on a night when I'm home and there is nothing on, or if I'm bored at work and it happens to be an episode on Hulu that I haven't seen.
I got wrapped up in the episode because it really was better. It had been on because it airs after Burn Notice and I was on the computer.
However, learning that it has higher ratings than Burn Notice makes me want to turn the channel as soon as it begins.
This, of course, is irrational since I have no magic ratings box.
I tape both Burn Notice and Royal Pains, and the latter is what I play back when I need to do something else in the foreground. Not so for Burn Notice.
As far as ratings go, BN is competing against So You Think You Can Dance...what else is on at 10 pm that could be considered competition for RP?
Another woman here, weighing in...I don't like this show at all. I gave up after the first 15 minutes of the pilot. I tried another time when nothing else was on, and again about 10 minutes was all I could take.
Last night it was on my TV only b/c it's on after BN and I picked up a magazine, so it was on in the background. After about 10-15 minutes, I turned the TV off and read my magazine w/o the TV.
I loved the Royal Pains pilot, but got bored with the two episodes that followed. The last few weeks have been somewhat redeeming, in the sense that there seems to be more of a focus on HankMed and actual doctors/patients, thus lending more of an authenticity to the concierge business.
At the same time, I'm not sure this show is going to have legs beyond a season or two. Yes, bits and pieces of the past will come to light (especially concerning Hank and Evan) but the over all storyline has nothing to move toward. At least with Burn Notice, we know the main character arc is that Michael was burned, has learned who was behind the burn and is now trying to get back into the spy game.
Royal Pains in season 2 is going to focus on what, exactly?
(And as a side note, we've seen the thing with the drill bit before -- Izzie on Greys Anatomy's "Drowning on Dry Land / Some Kind of Miracle" ferry boat disaster...)
We watch it because it's the best thing during that time slot. It's hit and miss with Burn Notice because my wife is a huge "So you think you can dance" fan. I catch up to Burn Notice via DVR. It's a much better show than Royal Pain in the !@$#.
And when are those sharks from a couple of episodes ago going to be released on the public in order to drive down the price of real estate in the Hamptons so the Germans can buy it all on the cheap?
My husband genuinely likes Royal Pains, but I only watch it because it is summer and there isn't much else to fill the DVR with. I rarely watch any TV shows "live" these days, so lead-in shows don't mean anything to me (I don't like Burn Notice, so I wouldn't be watching that, anyway.) If it aired during the fall season when there is much more competition for space on the DVR, I doubt we would be recording it.
I agree with the others who said that the plot doesn't have very far to go. The coolest part of the show for me is when Hank does his MacGyver medicine, but how many opportunities is he really going to do that? It's not like this is Lost; he is in the middle of a city with a hospital.
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