PILOT REVIEW: The Mob Doctor

THE MOB DOCTOR

Starring: Jordana Spiro, William Forsythe, James Carpinello, Zach Gilford, Zeljko Ivanek, Floriana Lima, Jaime Lee Kirchner, Wendy Makkena, Jesse Lee Soffer

Created by Josh Berman and Rob Wright
Written by Josh Berman and Rob Wright, Directed by Michael Dinner

As you might be able to tell from its title, The Mob Doctor is a hybrid medical-crime drama centered on brilliant surgeon resident Grace Devlin (Jordana Spiro) whose ties to the mob thanks to her brother (Jesse Lee Kirchner) jeopardize her career and life. In her medical life are steely Chief of Surgery Stafford White (Zeljko Ivanek), friend Rosa Quintero (Floriana Lima), co-worker Olivia Watson (Jaime Lee Kirchner), and love interest Brett Robinson (Zach Gilford). Also in the cast is Grace's mom Daniella (Wendy Makkena), mob boss and Grace's protector Constantine Alexander (William Forsythe), and another mob man Franco (James Carpinello).

THE GOOD: This show has a good cast. Jordana Spiro elevates some very mediocre material and makes the show watchable. I enjoyed Zach Gilford on Friday Night Lights and Zeljko Ivanek on The Event. They are ok here but not as good as on those shows. William Forsythe is solid as the mob boss. So basically the cast is the only thing this show has going for it. I don't have many other good things to say about the show.

THE BAD: Oh, where to start. How about the opening - which made very little sense, even when it was somewhat explained at the end of the episode. The show feels like a run-of-the-mill medical drama with an odd twist. The mob storyline isn't enough to make it a game-changing drama but it is distracting enough to keep it from being a really good medical show. Though he was just a guest star, the always awful Michael Rapaport had his usual overacting. The show had its fair share of melodramatic moments too - the slow washing of the hands before a controversial surgery, Grace banging her head against the seat of the car. It all just seemed like they cared way more than I did. A good drama will bring you into the story. I didn't feel that way here at all.

BOTTOM LINE: This seems ripe for a quick demise. Sometimes a show with little to no buzz can fly under the radar and surprise while others just disappear. I think The Mob Doctor is in the latter category. I was previously thinking NBC's Animal Practice would be the first show cancelled, but this might give it some competition. At the very least, I think it'll be the first drama cancelled. It is not going to work. And what a terrible title.