Episode: “Pilot” – Series Premiere (Season 1)
Premiere Date: Sunday, June 4th, 2009
Rating: 2.5 out of 4 Stars, but with potential
Quick Synopsis: Hot shot doc loses his job, but then finds a new one that he doesn’t really want.
Long Synopsis: A doctor at a major New York hospital is a star on the rise, until he has one bad day. Even though he didn’t really do anything wrong, he ends up jobless and blackballed. Not able to get a job anywhere in the city, his life begins to fall apart, until his brother shows up. They head out for the Hamptons and a big party that is sure to cheer him up. A woman seems to have overdosed and the doctor springs into action to help. A very rich man, who is throwing the party, sees him in action and wants him to be the new concierge doctor for the rich and famous that lives in the area. He doesn’t want anything to do with it, but after much convincing from his brother and the beautiful head administrator at the local hospital, he decides to stick around for a little while.
Review: Royal Pains is a lot of fun, once you get past the first few minutes. The way it begins is like a whole other show. It’s shot differently and packs a lot of info into a short period, but in a way that seems to go by really slowly. This back-story needs to be told, it just needed to be done differently. But, things change for the better once the doctor’s brother shows up.
Mark Feuerstein (3lbs., Good Morning, Miami) plays the doctor and Paulo Costanzo (Joey) plays his brother. Feuerstein is always very likable and Costanzo is here to provide the comic relief, to which he does a good job. The duo has a good rapport right from the start. You totally buy them as brothers.
The setting looks to be a good one, as it gives you a bit of a fish out of water setting for this doctor to work in. Also, you’ll get to see plenty beautiful people and beautiful places. The guest star potential is high and the situations they could get into are numerous.
There are some interesting storylines being set up in this extended premiere episode, like the woman that wants to be the doctor’s assistant, the teenage boy that he helps, and to a lesser extent, a potential romantic interest. Don’t want to say more than that, as I want this review to remain mostly spoiler free.
I enjoyed the Royal Pains premiere and am looking forward to see where things go from here. The main reason I graded this episode down, is because of how it opens. So, stick around, it’s worth the trip, once they head for the Hamptons.
Royal Pains premieres tonight, Thursday, June 4th on USA, following the third season premiere of Burn Notice.
