Medical mockery: ‘Miami Medical’ fails to add originality to hospital dramas
‘Miami Medical’
Time slot: Fridays, 10 p.m., CBS
Thumb: Sideways
CBS’ newest drama, ‘Miami Medical,’ isn’t the kind of show that will make people want to stay in and watch on a Friday night. ‘Miami Medical’ comes off as a pale imitation to what has already become overkill with hospital dramas. Within the last couple of years, medical soaps have surged with newcomers like TNT’s ‘HawthoRNe,’ NBC’s two new medical dramas ‘Trauma’ and ‘Mercy,’ and Showtime’s ‘Nurse Jackie.’ The problem with ‘Miami Medical’ is that nothing new is on the table. All the show has going for it is a good-looking cast and somewhat flirtatious banter among the doctors.
In the opening scene, viewers are exposed to several different shots of Miami Beach, a skyline view of the city, shots of sexy young people walking up and down the beach, and the tune of hip-hop music in the background. Within these 30 seconds, ‘Miami Medical’ is already similar to another show on CBS’ schedule with the word ‘Miami’ in it, ‘CSI: Miami.’ Not that big of a coincidence considering both shows are executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman.
Bruckheimer and Littman’s experience from ‘CSI’ has heavily influenced ‘Miami Medical,’ and not in a good way. The set-up is the same as that in the ‘CSI’ episodes, yet the premise doesn’t work as well for doctors as it does for the crime scene investigators.
‘Miami Medical’ follows the ‘best of the best’ trauma surgeons in the country trying to cure tumors, help burn victims and rescue people after fatal car accidents. Jeremy Northam, Lana Parrilla, Mike Vogel, Omar Gooding and Elisabeth Harnois round out the attractive cast, which of course is a must for any hospital drama. What this show does have going for it is the cast’s chemistry together. Dr. Chris DeLeo (Vogel) and Dr. Eva Zambrano (Parrilla) were shown to be catching each other’s eyes more than once throughout the first episode, which will likely lead to a romance somewhere down the road. This season should spice up the show sexually, while going deeper into the surgeons’ personal lives.
The ensuing problem now is the show’s copycat image of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ which has been the poster child for mixing business and pleasure in hospitals. If CBS can quickly do some tweaking to this show, it could possibly be, in time, the next ‘ER.’ Super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer is attached to the show, which should lend it a good hand. The series needs to take a deeper look into the patients’ lives and how the illnesses affect them, instead of putting so much emphasis on the doctors. It is great to see doctors operate and become heroes, but medical shows should be about medicine and the patients.
CBS has not been able to break into the hospital genre with its numerous attempts with ‘Three Rivers’ earlier this year and a previous attempt with the short-lived 2006 drama ‘3 lbs.’ As of now, ‘Miami Medical’ may be sticking around for some time, as it was the most watched show on Friday night with 7.5 million viewers. Network executives should take advantage of the similarities between ‘Miami Medical’ and ‘CSI: Miami’ as soon as possible in the form of a crossover episode. If done right, this could be the perfect way for CBS to raise awareness of the show and have a great storyline between Miami’s best in law enforcement and best in medicine.
Published on April 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm
