PILOT REVIEW: Body of Proof

BODY OF PROOF

Starring: Dana Delany, Jeri Ryan, John Carroll Lynch, Nicholas Bishop, Sonja Sohn, Geoffrey Arend, Windell D. Middlebrooks

Created by Christopher Murphey
Written by Christopher Murphey, Directed by Nelson McCormick

Body of Proof is a new medical/crime drama starring TV veteran Dana Delany as Megan Hunt. Hunt was a successful neurosurgeon who lost her job thanks to effects from a devastating car accident that led to an accident on the operating table. She now works as a medical examiner helping to solve murders because she "can't kill a dead person." The headstrong Hunt often goes against the wishes of detectives but gets results. On the personal front, she is very career focused with few friends and is estranged from her daughter who lives full time with her ex-husband.

Body of Proof plays like it is - a mix between medical and crime drama. All the fancy medical phrases are dropped with regularity yet it essentially is a murder case procedural. That makes it somewhat intriguing but the truth is that it is a generic procedural. In the pilot, they made a somewhat unlikely jump to the conclusion almost as if they ran out of time on the story. The difference is Dana Delany though. She elevates the material and the performances around her. Her character is written as a bit of a know-it-all but she gives the character a vulnerability and a depth that makes her an intriguing lead. The more exploration into her home life and her back story will aid the drama as well because, like any procedural, the quality of the cases will vary from week to week.

The supporting cast is solid but unspectacular. Jeri Ryan is the second biggest name in the show as Chief Medical Examiner Kate Murphy but her character was barely seen in the pilot. Nicholas Bishop was solid as Hunt's supportive partner Peter Dunlap. John Carroll Lynch plays the somewhat blowhard Detective Bud Morris but he had some humble pie dealt to him in the pilot and appears to have an interesting personal story to be explored. Both Geoffrey Arend and Windell Middlebrooks didn't have huge parts in the pilot but were humorous and could add to the lighter moments in the show.

Body of Proof isn't as strong as the drama it replaced - Detroit 1-8-7 - but the potential is there because of Delany. Right now it's trying to be a medical drama, crime drama, and drama in general with the back story. It will need to balance all three to be successful as the crime part of the story seemed to be rushed in the pilot. This seems like it would fit perfectly on CBS, it will be interesting to see if ABC's audience buys it and how the post-pilot episodes turn out. But it has a chance.