Series premiere review: 'Do No Harm' - 'Pilot': Monkey business
What did everybody think of the new NBC drama?
Steven Pasquale in "Do No Harm."
I didn't have time to write a review of NBC's "Do No Harm," though Dan and I discussed it for a while on this week's podcast. The short version: though I like Steven Pasquale, this is a weird show that can't entirely settle on a tone, covering the same modern Jekyll & Hyde territory(*) that Steven Moffat's "Jekyll" handled so much better a few years back.
(*) IGN's Matt Fowler pointed out to me on Twitter that Pasquale's character, if you just use the initial of his first name, is J. Cole. Sigh.
I've seen two episodes and while I didn't hate it, I also didn't feel the need to see any more, other than out of some latent "Freaks and Geeks" loyalty to Samm Levine. But I'm curious how those of you who tuned in tonight felt about it. Did you think it handled the shift between the two personae well, or did the attempt to graft a real-life psychological condition onto things seem ridiculous? Were you happy to see Phylicia Rashad back on NBC Thursdays again as Cole's boss? To see Alana de la Garza from "Law & Order" (and, briefly, "Law & Order: LA") as the confused love interest? And will you watch again?
Have at it.
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February 1, 2013 at 12:10AM EST Reply to CommentAlso, did everyone else love the last line as much as Fienberg did?
GRubi I didn't watch the show because it doesn't interest me, but due to Dan's excitement on the podcast, I really wanted to find out what the last line one. Can you tell us what it was?
February 1, 2013 at 12:14AM ESTYaysaRR Watched the last 3 minutes just so hear the last line... Appropriately highlarious, not disappointed
February 1, 2013 at 12:24AM ESTJosh @GRUBI J.Cole slowly turns towards the camera, adjusting his dark orange shades. He squats down in front of a real child with a fake monkey and says, "It's a good day to....die harm."
February 1, 2013 at 12:25AM ESTGRubi Wow. Incredibly corny and shameless product placement! I wonder if the trailer was shown during the show.
February 1, 2013 at 12:28AM ESTJoyeful LOL @ Josh - hilarious, man. That just made my night.
February 1, 2013 at 12:32AM ESTThe last line actually made me shake my head. "Wait - did he really just say that?"
buzmeg "monkeys have been known to eat their young"
February 3, 2013 at 1:44PM ESTJP
February 1, 2013 at 12:31AM EST Reply to CommentSAW IT AND ENJOYED FIRST EPISODE. LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT WEEK.
svetlana I also really enjoyed it. NBC had the pilot ondemand for a while so i watched out o boredom and was surprised how much i liked it. Though it was hard for me to buy him as a doctor at first because I was so used to him playing an idiot on Rescue me. I'll keep watching until it gets repetative and boring like most network shows.
February 1, 2013 at 3:09AM ESTberkowit28 You forgot to add "STOP" to your telegram. STOP.
February 1, 2013 at 3:18PM ESTJoyeful
February 1, 2013 at 12:39AM EST Reply to CommentI'll pretend I'm not a clinical psych major when I watch this show...
Whether I keep watching depends on what direction they take the show in. Right now, I'm not convinced "Ian" is dangerous, just a major a-hole. He could have done all kinds of reprehensible things to the love interest doctor - but he just laughed. Really? Not convincing.
DonBoy
February 1, 2013 at 1:09AM EST Reply to CommentAlso, I've read a fair amount about prosopagnosia, and patients do not report seeing goddamm multi-eyed face monsters in the mirror.
Joyeful LOL! THANK YOU. I've been trying not to nitpick on the science, but honestly. All they had to do was show a different face in the mirror.
February 1, 2013 at 9:06AM ESTpamelajaye This condition was also covered on the very brief 3 lbs. I'd forgotten.
February 1, 2013 at 4:30PM ESTPersonally I was waiting for the screen to tint red, then green
pamelajaye Honestly, I set my DVR a while back and then did not know what was on at 10. After skipping Scandal (no energy to keep track on Thursday at 10) , thinking Elementary was a rerun, landed on NBC, saw surgery and, being a doctor show junkie, I'll watch anything with that much blue and white. Figured out what it was... Doc came out of elevator to, in rapid succession - sister of Debbie Allen, who has been recurring on Grey's Anatomy lately, mention of tumor from last week's Grey's which is the one my mother died from - so by now I have whiplash - already.
February 1, 2013 at 5:03PM ESTSide note - if treated, acoustic neuroma is benign and doesn't have to kill you. Please note, it can recur years later. Also, if you have started drinking at night, your kids won't able to tell it's a tumor and not too much wine.
I've not seen the actor before and I honestly had some trouble with the Which one is he now? Especially as he was bad but not totally homicidal... and I didn't read up in advance.
I don't know how long he's had this, but how did he get thru residency??
Pleas remember to *totally* empty you pockets before sending your credit cards away.
Had sudden flashes of Ben and Glory (did not watch MOWEnemy or Ringer)
Having different names (even in hash tags) didn't help. I know no one's name in ep one.
There was an awful lot of blood and loose parts in that brain. You writers don't watch medical dramas?
Made me miss Mob Doctor. (kidding - but not by much)
Final: boring *and* stupid but if I made it thru Mob Doctor I can do this too. As long as I continue to care as little for the characters as I do now. (Mob Doctor had some interesting medical stories - aside from rabies priest freaking out at water. Sorry I deleted those parts.)
Jon, The Earl of Hamm Sandwich Haha! nice one pam! what's also funny is that the Awake premiere beat this by about 4 million viewers. so yeah, I wouldn't get too attached to this, it might be gone by Valentine's Day
February 1, 2013 at 5:51PM ESTbjssp
February 1, 2013 at 1:27AM EST Reply to CommentI liked it. It wasn't that great, but it was good enough for a pilot. I'm willing to give shows a lot of leeway when it comes to finding the right tone and getting better with the dialogue, but my bigger question is, what's the point of the show going to be going forward?
Also, I missed the last time, I think, or at least I didn't remember it. Maybe I need to watch the pilot again.
Video Interpreter
February 1, 2013 at 1:33AM EST Reply to CommentLove, love, loved it. It was entertaining. Hey if I watch Zombies walking endless miles with no water or food, which I do, this isn't that far fetched. This was fun!
FictionIsntReal
February 1, 2013 at 2:29AM EST Reply to CommentI also watched just for that last line. The actual line to the kid with the plush monkey is "Careful. Monkeys have been known to eat their young".
I didn't notice the name thing either. Perhaps because of that it doesn't make me think any more or less of the show.
Yes, it was kind of underwhelming when we are told what "Ian" (don't know the significance of I. Cole) did to de la Garza. It wasn't actually filmed so perhaps the writers weren't sure how far they wanted to push the envelope and pulled back at the last second. The "Batman Gambit" that Jason pulls on Ian was mildly amusing, but I expect would quickly become tiresome if repeated.
Not that anyone cares since adaptations have been ignoring it from the beginning, but this setup is almost the reverse of the original story. Stevenson's Jeckyll deliberately turns into Hyde so he can act out and live vicariously through himself (although we never learn of any specific premeditated misbehavior from Hyde) without facing any of the consequences. He doesn't lose memory of what happens ("Awake" is also like the opposite of this show in that the protagonist lives & remembers two days for every one others do) and cares as much for Hyde as he does for himself. Hyde doesn't deliberately screw things up for Jeckyll because he'd only be screwing things up for himself and at times deliberately transforms back to Jeckyll. This show avoids the common deviation in filmed adaptations of making Hyde larger than Jeckyll, he's actually smaller in the original.
John
February 1, 2013 at 2:56AM EST Reply to CommentThe real question is, has Fienberg immediately started pushing for "gem of American musical theatre" Pasquale to sing on the show? Sure, he's no Garber or Patinkin, but go listen to "The Streets of Dublin."
nic919 Maybe he can develop a third split personality that just sings show tunes. Can't be any more implausible than the current premise.
February 1, 2013 at 3:59AM ESTKathyB
February 2, 2013 at 9:09PM EST Reply to CommentDidn't watch. Commercials just remind me that they canceled Awake. More interesting concept IMO
KathyB
February 2, 2013 at 9:10PM EST Reply to CommentDidn't watch. Commercials just remind me that they canceled Awake. More interesting concept IMO.
buzmeg
February 3, 2013 at 10:21AM EST Reply to CommentWrite a comment...A cancellation waiting to happen.
Dezbot And...it's cancelled! That was quick.
February 10, 2013 at 7:32PM ESTBrian S
February 3, 2013 at 12:15PM EST Reply to CommentBased on the record-low ratings, don't think you'll have long to discuss this DOA show anyway.
Gab-Gaby
February 7, 2013 at 2:42PM EST Reply to CommentI saw it and I'm disapointed. Not that it isn't a good show but it seems like a straight rip off of a book that I read just last month called Dukak: Nocturnal Invasion. The main difference is that Dukak is about possession and not split personalities. Similar names (Jason vs Justin), same profession (Neurosurgeon) and location (Philadelphia). There's no way that this is a coincidence!!! I hope the author sues NBC!!!