Combat Hospital is off to a good start

I’ve been looking forward to Combat Hospital for quite some time now. There hasn’t been a network show that has featured our fighting men and women for some time. We have medical shows aplenty, but in this show, there is an opportunity to tell stories no one else is telling. I have had the opportunity to learn some of the stories first hand in my day job, and am very excited to see how Combat Hospital is able to feature them.

Around the internets, the M*A*S*H comparisons are bound to crop up early and often, and they’re not entirely unfair. The Colonel even has a Radar-esque assistant. But whereas M*A*S*H was a dark comedy (perhaps the Dark Comedy), Combat Hospital is a different show operating in the same world. If we get to see how war defines these men and women’s interactions, then that is a fine legacy to have.

I like the cast, even if it is a little unrealistically small at this point. Michelle Borth’s Rebecca Gordon and Elias Koteas’ Xavier Marks are the obvious standouts so far. Rebecca will get some (undeserved) Meredith Grey comparisons, but, then again, what shows with a female doctor doesn’t get compared to Grey’s Anatomy these days?

If I have any real criticism thus far, it is that Combat Hospital is way underplaying its most dramatic moments. ER set the gold standard for trauma scenes, and what we saw on-screen in the first hour is far from meeting that. It isn’t a technical critique, I think they are purposely trying to infuse a sense of calm into the Trauma Bays and Operating Rooms that just don’t feel right. Even a little more up-tempo, dramatic music would have made a large difference. It is something I hope gets tweaked, because it is more than a little off-putting.

I get that doctors and nurses might pick up on Rebecca not looking like she was feeling well. I think it would have made a lot more sense if make up had actually made her look like she wasn’t feeling well. I’m a simple guy, ‘ya know?

I barely recognized Luke Malby, until he started talking. Not that, you know, I’ve ever seen anything that he has been in. Especially movies with Julia Stiles in them. That has never happened.

Notes & Quotes

• I’d always wanted to see a combat landing portrayed on the screen … and was disappointed here (But little did I know YouTube would be my friend.)
• “Clean the blood of the floor so no one slips.” – Will
  “No, you don’t understand, we’re doctors.” – Rebecca
  “What, does that mean we have to show you how to mop the floor?” – Nurse

Clacked by Ivey West
on Jun 22, 2011 @ 00:14 EST5EDT