TV Show Review: Royal Pains - Season 1

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Strong characters and humor make an entertaining series

Cons: Evan R. Lawson, CFO of HankMed, can get annoying quickly

The Bottom Line:

Medical mystery

Kept light with plenty of laughs

Makes fun first season

Another Satisfied HankMed Viewer

Over the last few years, I have gotten hooked on the original shows on the USA Network.  I really enjoy all of them.  So when they've got a new show starting, I automatically give it a try.  Because of that "rule," I tuned into the first season of Royal Pains, even though I am not normally a fan of medical shows.  I was rewarded with a charming show with great characters.

Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein) is engaged to a beautiful woman and rising in a New York City hospital.  That is until the day he decides to treat a poor young man with a serious medical condition instead of focusing all his time on the hospital trustee member who appears to be in stable condition.  While the young man lives, the trustee takes a turn for the worse and dies, causing the hospital to fire Hank and blacklist him around the city.  Hank slips into depression, causing his fiancee to break up with him, leading to further depression.

His brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo) decides that a weekend in the Hamptons is exactly what Hank needs to pull himself out of his funk.  At a party the first night, Hank saves the life of a young woman, leading to an invitation to open a private medical service for the rich in the area.  Evan is the first to get on board, quickly declaring himself the CFO of HankMed.  Hank gets an assistant in the form of Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty), an Indian woman whose parents don't know she has gotten a medical degree.  Then there's Jill Flint (Jill Casey), the cute administrator for the local hospital.  She and Hank seem to flirt as often as they fight over the best use of hospital resources.

Along the way, Hank gets some unusual cases.  There's a senator's son who collapses for no apparent reason.  Hank is asked to accompany a pregnant woman to an island so remote it has no phone service.  The guests at a bark mitzvah (yes, you read that right) get quarantined when a mysterious disease breaks out there.  And a local children's illustrator is risking his life to finish his latest book.  Can Hank deal with all these cases?

This show definitely takes its cue from modern medical shows.  Very few of the diseases faced are common enough that I've heard of them.  It seems that if you want to get sick in the Hamptons, you need a disease as exotic as the location.  Of course, that goes right along with Hank's diagnosis skills.  This man took lessons from MacGyver, sometimes making medical instruments out of the weirdest stuff.  Okay, so it isn't that practical.  The show is so much fun, I really don't care.

Yes, this fits quite comfortably into the USA Network's family of dramadies.   This is especially true when Evan and Divya are together.  Those two exchange some of the funniest barbs.  I can't help but laugh at them.  But all the characters provide some comic moments in the middle of the medical drama.

Another staple of the USA Network's hits is strong character, and once again this show perfectly captures it.  The four main characters are all very believable and relatable.  They're helped by wonderful acting by the leads.  There are actually several recurring characters on the show, all of whom add greatly to the its depth as a whole.  My favorite of these is Tucker, a neglected teenager played by Ezra Miller.  The teen latches onto Hank as a caring adult, and the two have some of the best scenes together.

The big flaw in this season is Evan R. Lawson, CFO of HankMed.  Evan is a bit too much of an idiot most of the time.  In fact, there are plenty of times I want to smack him.  Most of the time he is funny, but he crosses that line from funny to annoying at least once an episode.  Paulo seems to go a little over the top with the acting at times, but I blame it more on how the character is written then how it is acted.  And maybe it's just because he's an accountant so the character hit a little too close to home for me because both my roommates watched the show with me and loved his character.

This three disc set collects all twelve episodes from season 1 of the show in wide screen and full surround.  Extras include the usual deleted scenes and outtakes along with six commentaries on four different episodes by various members of the cast and crew.  We also get a featurette on the real doctor who is the medical consultant for the show and Paulo Costanzo's video blogs from the set.

Even with how annoying Evan R. Lawson, CFO of HankMed, could get at times, I still couldn't wait for Royal Pains each week.  This first season set is a must try for fans of medical shows and should entertain everyone who enjoys a light, fun show.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Pilot

2. There Will be Food

3. Strategic Planning

4. TB or not TB

5. No Man is an Island

6. If I Were a Sick Man

7. Crazy Love

8. The Honeymoon's Over

9. It's Like Jamais Vu All Over Again

10. Am I Blue?

11. Nobody's Perfect

12. Wonderland