On the Tube
Alan Pergament: New series depend on the charm of leading men
Now is the time of year that the broadcast networks often carry cheaply produced shows they don’t have much faith in, and cable believes it has its best chance of attracting viewers looking for an alternative to what’s on the network menu.
Two cases in point tonight are NBC’s Canadian-produced “The Listener” and “Royal Pains,” the new show from NBC’s cable sister, USA Network.
Both series are highly dependent on the considerable charms of their heroic leading men, Craig Olejnik of “The Listener” and Mark Feuerstein of “Royal Pains.”
Feuerstein, whose credits include NBC’s “Good Morning, Miami,” has the much bigger name. He’s in the sillier show, and that’s saying something.
“The Listener” seems inspired by one of the characters in “Heroes.” The diminutive, hazel-eyed Olejnik plays Toby Logan, a resourceful paramedic who inherited his mother’s telepathic gift of being able to hear what other people are thinking about clothing, sex, money –and crime. He also helps people out of difficult situations even if they don’t want any help.
He is a little embarrassed and perplexed by his “freak show” gift, which enables him to save more lives than he does medically and get involved in police cases. A soft, sensitive, responsible hero, Toby isn’t big on sharing his gift in the premiere but that is expected to change after a few episodes.
In the pilot, he keeps his gift from his best friend, Oz (Ennis Esmer) and his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Olivia Fawcett (Mylene Dinh-Robic). However, he has a longtime, supportive confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer. He is played by Colm Feore, who was the president’s husband on last season’s “24” and is the only highly recognizable actor in this CTV coproduction. The rest of the cast wouldn’t even qualify for “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.”
“You don’t have to read my mind to know I’m worried about you,” Ray tells Toby.
In the first of two episodes starting at 9 tonight, Toby hears things that lead to his involvement in solving a preposterous kidnapping case that foxy Detective Charlie Marks (Lisa Marcos) and the police don’t realize has even occurred. The actions of the mother of the kidnapped child and the kidnapper are as ridiculous as the ending.
But despite its obvious and potentially fatal flaws, I’m thinking “The Listener” could be a reality show alternative thanks to Olejnik’s understated appeal.
With the comedy “Royal Pains,” at least the silliness is intentional. It premieres at 10 tonight on the cable channel. Feuerstein stars as a former potential medical star, wise-cracking Hank Lawson, whose career was ruined by an unfortunate bit of luck in a case involving one of the chief benefactors of the hospital where he was working.
Once on top of the world, Hank proceeds to lose just about everything, including his prestigious job, his materialistic, sexy fiancee and his furniture. Then his goofy, fun-loving, rule-breaking brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo), gets him out of his funk by taking him for a weekend in the Hamptons.
There, Hank’s luck changes. It seems everywhere he goes, a rich person almost comes down with a fatal problem that Hank heroically resolves. Sometimes, he talks himself through procedures. As a result of his heroism and charm, babes seek him out. So do rich people who like having a medical guy around to avoid the questionable local hospital.
The scenery — the beautiful homes and the beaches—looks great. And the show has enticed guest appearances this season from Campbell Scott and Christine Ebersole (who play cartoonish characters in the pilot), as well as Margaret Colin and Andrew McCarthy.
The script is loaded with as many pop culture references — including Patrick Dempsey, Brangelina, Linda Blair, “Baywatch” and “MacGyver” — as it with painful digs at the lifestyles of the extremely vain, rich and famous. “Royal” is for fans of glitzy, stylish shows that enjoy seeing the rich being made out to look foolish or worse.
Cable soap returns
At 10 p. m. Sunday, one of my favorite summer guilty pleasures, “Army Wives,” returns for the third season with more moving emotional drama in the first two episodes. It’s a strong cable soap that stars Catherine Bell, Kim Delaney and Sally Pressman.
In the first two episodes, a teenager acts out, a wife wears the scarlet letter after having an affair and the local bar owner tries to find a way to save her business.
Along the way, the show emphasizes how much of a big family the Army ultimately is once the officers and their wives get past moments of being judgmental. Unfortunately, many of the servicemen seem so rigid in their beliefs that you wonder what century they are living in.
But during the summer, you can do a lot worse than re-enlisting in this appealing “Army.”
Mark Feuerstein
TV Review
“The Listener”
★★
(Out of four)
9 tonight, NBC
“Royal Pains”
★★
10 tonight, USA Network
“Army Wives”
★★★
10 p. m. Sunday, Lifetime
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments