PILOT REVIEW: Code Black

CODE BLACK

Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Raza Jaffrey, Bonnie Somerville, Melanie Chandra, William Allen Young, Harry Ford, Benjamin Hollingsworth, with Luis Guzman

Created by Michael Seitzman
Written by Michael Seitzman, Directed by David Semel

THE SYNOPSIS
As the first image of the show tells us, "code black" stands for when a hospital's patients outnumber available resources. At the Angels Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, a "code black" is a regular occurrence, hence the title. The person in charge is the tough ER Residency Director, Dr. Leanne Rorish (Marcia Gay Harden). She often clashes with Dr. Neal Hudson (Raza Jaffrey). The rest of the ensemble is a group of residents, managed by senior nurse Jesse Salander (Luis Guzman). The residents are all first years: Mario, Christa, Malaya, and Angus (Benjamin Hollingsworth, Bonnie Somerville, Melanie Chandra, and Harry Ford).

THE REVIEW
Just like the hospital in the show, this pilot picked up steam as it went along and it left me much more satisfied at the end of the episode. I actually felt like it wasn't quite as intense as I wanted it to be at first but I realized that was mostly by design as the hospital got busier and busier through the night and the pace of the show and feel of the show became more hectic. The best example of this was the scene where Dr. Rorish was instructing a resident on doing a c-section over the phone while presiding over her own medical emergency.

The cast is very sold here. Marcia Gay Harden is one of those actresses who can just make you feel like this show is in good hands. She exudes confidence even as she's playing a type that has become common in dramas, especially medical ones. Luis Guzman brings a good amount of humor and lightheartedness that is needed while the residents seem good as well. There wasn't really a weak one in the bunch and it does seem like it's going to be a little more character driven than some other dramas on CBS.

That being said, the pilot did resort to pretty much every medical drama cliche in the book. From the devastating loss of a loved one being redeemed in a small way to a sweet moment with an old couple to a pregnant woman's trauma to a predictable back story that led a character into the medical field, they're all there. Just like Rosewood with crime dramas, I don't mind a medical drama that is pretty much standard fare if it's done well with good actors, and that is the case here. Is it the next coming of ER? Probably not, but it is a drama with room to grow and it should satisfy anyone who enjoys a good medical drama.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. I'm not sure if I'll ultimately stick with it if it survives only because my track record with medical dramas is I tend to lose interest eventually, but I'm willing to give it a chance.