A SHOW FOR RABID `ER' FANS ONLY.Byline: David Kronke TV Critic ``Third Watch's'' frantically kinetic first episode practically plays like a disaster movie. Our heroes, two separate teams of both police and paramedics, deal with a major car accident, an extended foot chase to nail a vandal, a peeping Tom dressed as a clown, the wacky initiations of not one but two ``new kids,'' a puking drunk and a puking drug user, and not one but two raging building fires, one in which a baby is hurled out of a upper-story window into an awaiting paramedic's arms. And we've barely reached the 45-minute mark of tonight's show. All this in one eight-hour shift - New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. certainly gets the most out of its civil servants. The title refers to the 3-to-11 p.m. shift, when, apparently, most bodies are flung out windows - there are two separate incidents in which characters take headers out windows in the second episode alone. So much goes on here that it's amazing that writer/creator John Wells (``ER'') manages any characterizations at all, even if they are slender and formulaic. Kim (Kim Raver) and Bobby (Bobby Cannavale) are paramedics; he's sweet on her, but she's oblivious, with an ex-husband and a kid to contend with. Doc (Michael Beach) is the compassionate paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic who helps the neighborhood's indigent indigent 1) n. a person so poor and needy that he/she cannot provide the necessities of life (food, clothing, decent shelter) for himself/herself. 2) n. one without sufficient income to afford a lawyer for defense in a criminal case. when they're ailing; he's breaking in one of the rookies, Carlos (Anthony Ruivivar). On the cop side, there's good-hearted, pragmatic Sully (Skipp Sudduth), who's mentoring the other new guy, Ty (Coby Bell), who just happens to be the son of Sully's former partner, whose murder Sully of course witnessed. So Sully, as you might imagine, has issues. Particularly with hotheaded hot·head·ed adj. 1. Easily angered; quick-tempered: a hotheaded commander. 2. Impetuous; rash: a hotheaded decision. gonzo gon·zo adj. Slang 1. Using an exaggerated, highly subjective style, especially in journalism: "a hyperkinetic, gonzo version of Graham Greene" New Yorker. 2. cop Bosco (Jason Wiles), who dangerously bursts into every situation before thinking, much to the consternation/bemusement of his partner, Faith (Molly Price). Few workplace shows really include a character that is utterly untenable to work with, so Bosco could be an interesting wild card to add to the mix, even though episode two already begins to soften him. Wells cribs from everywhere - ``Glengarry Glen Ross'' to ``Backdraft'' - in his pilot script. His characters are of the glib sort, dating back to ``Starsky and Hutch'' - they nonchalantly non·cha·lant adj. Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent. See Synonyms at cool. [French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, discuss weekend plans while racing to an accident scene and, in the second episode, debate the measure of their manhood while preparing to burst into an apartment for an arrest. One character actually hoots hoots interj. Variant of hoot2. , on the way to an accident, ``Hot damn, I love this job!'' These are some rock 'n' roll rock 'n' roll: see rock music. cowboys we got here. That is, until the pilot's shocking final sequence, which abruptly and effectively changes the tenor of the proceedings and manages, thanks to Beach's sensitive performance, a modicum of emotional resonance. The second episode, airing in its usual time slot at 8 p.m. this Sunday, slows things down considerably in order for everyone to cool off from the hectic pilot, as well as to allow the writers to shoehorn in a little more character development. Ironically, we don't learn much more than we already knew. Chances are you'll experience a major case of deja vu sitting through the competent if unremarkable ``Third Watch.'' If you're a rabid fan of the cop or medical dramas, you'll quickly add this to your viewing habits; if not, you might go looking for a window to jump out of yourself. The facts The show: ``Third Watch.'' What: Action drama about cops, firefighters and paramedics working the afternoon-to-night shift. Who: Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Bobby Cannavale, Eddie Cibrian, Molly Price, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar, Skipp Sudduth, Jason Wiles. Where: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). When: 10 tonight (regular time slot: 8 p.m. Sundays). Our rating: Three stars `Chicago Hope' Over on CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , ``Chicago Hope'' opens its fifth season at a pace that's practically glacial compared to the ``Third Watch'' debut. David E. Kelley has ostensibly returned to spend quality time with the show to get it back on track, and he wrote tonight's episode. It's hardly vintage Kelley - instead, what we get are contrivances and shameless manipulation. Tonight's episode features a child who needs a delicate heart operation; Dr. Geiger (Mandy Patinkin) glibly refuses to perform it, but it turns out he has his reasons. An arrogant doctor (Bruce Davison) may have committed fatal malpractice during liposuction Liposuction Definition Liposuction, also known as lipoplasty or suction-assisted lipectomy, is cosmetic surgery performed to remove unwanted deposits of fat from under the skin. . A priest loses his penis (``It's not what you think,'' he explains, suggesting that people routinely think of such things) and confronts an HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, which won't pay for an operation that'd bring it up to full running strength. This is our second amputated male member of the week, following one on ``Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (does that make that title a double entendre?) - what trend won't Hollywood copy? The show introduces new cast members Barbara Hershey, Lauren Holly and Carla Gugino, but none really get to make an impression; instead, ``Hope'' veterans Patinkin and Adam Arkin get the big emotional moments. In the past, the series certainly veered all over the place, from low comedy to high melodrama, but if this sort of drab, hackneyed storytelling is Kelley's Rx for the patient, then its chances don't appear too good. The facts The show: ``Chicago Hope.'' What: Season premiere of the medical drama. Who: Mandy Patinkin, Barbara Hershey, Adam Arkin, Mark Harmon, Carla Gugino, Rocky Carroll, Lauren Holly. Where: CBS (Channel 2). When: 9 tonight. Our rating: Two and one half stars `Stark Raving Mad' ``Stark Raving Mad'' is perhaps the most frustrating sitcom of the new season, with a promising enough premise and strong cast that are utterly wasted. Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an Emmy-nominated American actor. He is known for his television roles as the teenage doctor Doogie Howser, M.D. and the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother. stars as Henry, a wimpy Wimpy sloppily dressed comic strip character; always “forgets” to pay for hamburgers. [Comics: “Popeye” in Horn, 657–658] See : Irresponsibility book editor with a phobia for germs and just about everything else. He's assigned to work with best-selling horror author Ian Stark (Tony Shalhoub), who delights in terrorizing Henry with childish pranks. When he questions his editor's decision to move him from editing romance novels to horror, she replies, ``It's a natural progression - at least in my life.'' Despite the contrivance, it's the episode's only funny line. Creator Steven Levitan (``Just Shoot Me'') yuks it up with a dog getting friendly with Henry's leg without buying it dinner first, Ian faking his own decapitation Decapitation See also Headlessness. Antoinette, Marie (1755–1793) queen of France beheaded by revolutionists. [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 1697] Argos lulled to sleep and beheaded by Hermes. [Gk. Myth. and Henry getting stranded in Ian's apartment dangling from the ceiling in a harness. Next week's episode doesn't suggest any improvement looms in the future - Ian offers Henry some disastrously kinky romantic advice; the jokey jok·ey also jok·y adj. jok·i·er, jok·i·est Characterized by joking or jokes, especially stale or clumsy jokes: jokey bumper stickers. plot twist is so predictable as to scarcely be a twist at all. Harris pours a lot of finicky fin·ick·y adj. fin·ick·i·er, fin·ick·i·est Insisting capriciously on getting just what one wants; difficult to please; fastidious: a finicky eater. business into his work, but still just comes off as two-dimensional. If Shalhoub's performance hints that he's too good for this material - larger-than-life characters like this usually don't seem so weary - well, that's only because he's right. The facts The show: ``Stark Raving Mad.'' What: Sitcom about a prissy book editor and an eccentric horror author. Who: Neil Patrick Harris Tony Shalhoub. Where: NBC (Channel 4). When: 9:30 tonight. Our rating: Two stars `Friends' It doesn't bode well that the best joke in the season premiere of ``Friends'' comes during the opening credits - in tribute to star Courteney Cox's recent wedding to actor David Arquette, each name is amended to reflect the change - for example, Jennifer Aniston Arquette. Which suggests last season's cliffhanger cliff·hang·er n. 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. took place in Utah, not Nevada. When we last checked in with our pals, Rachel (Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) were getting married in a drunken stupor stupor /stu·por/ (stoo´per) [L.] 1. a lowered level of consciousness. 2. in psychiatry, a disorder marked by reduced responsiveness.stu´porous stu·por n. in Las Vegas. Now, Rachel's ready to go ahead with the annulment annulment Legal invalidation of a marriage. It announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution or divorce. To justify annulment, the marriage contract must have a defect (e.g. , but Ross is a little reluctant. All well and good, but don't forget the jokes - Rachel blurts, ``This is not a marriage; this is the world's worst hangover,'' to the amusement of the studio audience, perhaps, but few others. Bits in which Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) drives with Joey from Vegas back to New York are just as weak. And for those keeping score: The female cast members are as slender as ever. The men aren't. The facts The show: ``Friends.'' What: Season premiere of the hit sitcom. Who: Courteney Cox Arquette, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer. Where: NBC (Channel 4). When: 8 tonight. Our rating: Two stars `Frasier' ``Frasier'' opens a little flatly, too - a potentially uproarious premise doesn't go anywhere, at least in this episode. It opens, atypically for this series, in a typically flat-footed, sitcom-y fashion: a case of mistaken identity. From that develops a twisted little idea - Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is dating a woman (Rita Wilson) who's a dead ringer for his dead mother, though he doesn't notice this initially (what does it say about his mother that not only has he forgotten what she looks like, but he doesn't even keep a photo sitting around anywhere as a reminder?). Niles (David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is a Screen Actors Guild, Tony and Emmy Award-winning American actor, best known for his co-starring role as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier alongside Kelsey Grammer. ) and their dad (John Mahoney) are aghast at the Oedipal oed·i·pal or Oed·i·pal adj. Of or characteristic of the Oedipus complex. ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl - one funny scene has Niles hinting very broadly about their horror over the situation to an utterly oblivious Frasier. However, once Frasier makes the connection, just as the comedy should get rolling, the ball is dropped in a splash of lame slapstick. Maybe future episodes will mine this dilemma for the comic gold it could produce. The facts The show: ``Frasier.'' What: Season premiere of the acclaimed sitcom. Who: Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Rita Wilson, Peri Gilpin, Jane Leeves. Where: NBC (Channel 4). When: 9 tonight. Our rating: Two and one half stars CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1) Bobby Cannavale, left, Anthony Ruivivar, Kim Raver and Michael Beach are paramedics on ``Third Watch,'' a medical drama/cop show that debuts tonight in `ER's' time slot. (2) Tony Shalhoub, left, and Neil Patrick Harris are a horror writer and a horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. editor on NBC's ``Stark Raving Mad.'' (3) ``Chicago Hope'' includes, front row from left, Adam Arkin, Hector Elizondo, Barbara Hershey and Mandy Pantinkin; and, back row from left, Mark Harmon, Carla Gugino, Lauren Holly and Rocky Carroll. |
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