Okay, so yeah. I watch Off the Map. So sue me. I brushed it off as crap when I first saw the previews, but it was recommended to me by a trusted friend. And then I found out Caroline Dhavernas from Wonderfalls is the star. And that makes it worth giving a shot.
To be honest, I find it interesting so far. There's some very good setup happening and I think it has a lot of potential. But that's not what this post is about.
Here's my beef with Off the Map. It's about a hospital in the jungle. In the pilot before the new doctors arrive, the established doctors who have been there for years complain about how newbies are so annoying to break in and hardly ever stay.
Dr. Ben Keeton (AKA the "hot" doctor. I don't really get the appeal, but to each his own. I'll stick with my McDreamy, thank you. Actually, my hot doctor is more like Dr. Todd Mauer on The Big C. But enough about my taste in men...) replies positively, something along the lines of, "Yeah, but we just need one good one."
This to me is very realistic, and would make for an interesting show if it were actually followed. However, at the time we are thrown into this world, on this exact day, this crazy jungle hospital that has so much trouble keeping doctors seems to have found not just one, but three "good ones."
These three new doctors are clearly being set up to be established characters, who we will grow to know and love as the series progresses. Caroline Dhavernas is definitely the most grounded and important of the three. Wouldn't it make sense to have just her turn out to be a "good one", and have the other two doctors rotate, constantly coming and going. Some could stay for four or five episodes, and some only one. Sometimes one just doesn't show up and they're short handed.
I think this would make for a much more interesting and realistic show. Also, the false setup just really pisses me off.
And I find this promo pic absolutely hilarious:
'll always root for Zach Gilford thanks to Matt Saracen, but I simply can't imagine a Shonda Rhimes show without an elevator for characters to hook up in.
ReplyDeleteFriday Night Lights, right? I think I should give that one a shot. I promised a friend I'd watch Battlestar Galactica next in exchange for his promise to give Bones a second chance. But I think I might do Friday Night Lights when I finish that one.
ReplyDeleteAs for Off the Map, technically it's not a Shonda Rhimes show. She's exec producer, but it's created by Jenna Bans. They're pretty adamant about the fact that it's a different creator and it's a completely different show and concept.
That being said, most of Jenna Bans' TV credits are from writing and producing Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. And, oh yeah, the show is Grey's Anatomy in the jungle.
And I assure you there's a very nice waterfall pond type thing for the characters to hook up in.