TV Show Review: Royal Pains - Season 2

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great characters and stories.  Just plain fun.

Cons: Storylines often seem to have abrupt endings.

The Bottom Line:

Medical mystery

Yet characters make the show

Addictive escape

"No, He's Not Laughing at You.  He's Laughing with Me...at You."

After enjoying the first season of medical dramedy Royal Pains, I couldn't wait for season two to start.  My patience was rewarded with a season that was stronger and more fun than the first.

Once again, the show centers around Dr. Hank Lawson (Mark Feuerstein).  After being fired from a hospital in New York City, he finds himself opening a concierge practice for the rich in the Hamptons.  Each episode finds him treating some mysterious malady.  For example, there's the heir of an inventor who keeps having strange accidents.  One woman seems to be dying of a broken heart.  A young man is acting like he is an alcoholic even though he swears he doesn't drink.  One of the stars of a reality TV show suddenly becomes sick.  And the owner of a food truck suddenly turns antisocial.

In the midst of these medical mysteries, we are treated to the ongoing drama of the lives of Hank and his friends.  These storylines occasionally dominate the episodes with the medicine staying in the background.  The season opens with Hank and hospital administrator Jill (Jill Flint) split up but still working together to treat poor patients.  Hank's brother Evan (Paulo Costanzo) finds himself playing a faux beau to a beautiful young woman he seems to be falling for.  And Divya (Reshma Shetty), the physician assistant, struggles with her duty to the fulfill the marriage her parents have arranged for her and her desire to actually marry for love.  Competition comes to town in the form of Hank's new girlfriend Emily Peck (recurring actress Anastasia Griffith).  And Hank and Evan's father Eddie (recurring actor Henry Winkler) shows up in their lives after many years.  Does he really want to make amends or does he have an agenda of his own?

With all this stuff going on, each episode is packed.  It is all kept afloat easily by the actors.  They make these characters fun and lovable; I actually look forward to spending time with them each week.  There is not a weak performance in the bunch.

While this is a medical mystery show, it never gets too graphic for me.  Heck, I normally steer clear of medical shows, but I love this one.  True, most of the diseases are so rare it's hardly believable that Hank would be able to diagnosis them.  Likewise, he has a talent for making medical instruments that work out of whatever happens to be around in an emergency.  That all adds to the fun.

And make no mistake about it, this show is fun.  As I've already said, the characters are so real you just love them and you want to see them happy.  Last season, I found that Evan could get on my nerves some, but he's been toned down this season, and I actually enjoyed most of his scenes.  All the characters behave in witty banter; there's usually at least one good laugh and multiple chuckles per episode.

The only real weakness of the season comes when they try to wrap up storylines.  Quite often, the resolution of an arc that's lasted several episodes or most of the season feels abrupt to me, like they ran out of time to fully develop the ending, so they just throw something out there.  It annoyed me a few times, but I still really enjoyed the season.

Because this show has proved to be so popular, they expanded season two to 18 episodes.  All of them are presented in widescreen and full surround sound.  Extras include scenes deleted from 13 of the episodes, a gag reel, and three episode commentaries.  There are also some featurettes on guest stars and the locations of the series.  And let me tell you, the locations of this show are definitely part of the fun.

Season two of Royal Pains is like a weekly escape to the Hamptons.  It makes me smile from start to finish.  If you want a light medical show, this is the one for you.

Season Two Episodes:

1. Spasticity

2. Lovesick

3. Keeping the Faith

4. Medusa

5. Mano a Mano

6. In Vino Veritas

7. Comfort's Overrated

8. The Hankover

9. Frenemies

10. Whole Lotto Love

11. Big Whoop

12. Open Up Your Yenta Mouth and Say Ah

13. Mulligan

14. Pit Stop

15. A History of Violins

16. Astraphobia

17. Fight of Flight

18. Listen to the Music