For me, 'Monday Mornings' will be appointment TV

 

A REVIEW BY KEVIN CANESSA Jr.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —

I love to write TV show reviews. It’s just that I usually wait a few days after I’ve seen the first episode of a show to do so. But in the case of “Monday Mornings,” I couldn’t wait — it was that good.

The show, Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on TNT, gets its name from the Monday morning meetings in hospitals that surgeons attend — Morbidity & Mortality meetings, or M&M — to discuss the good, and the very bad, in their surgical performances. 

In the first episode, we meet a doctor, brilliantly played by Blake Robbins (you’ll remember Blake as Dave Brass, the hard-luck correctional officer whose achilles tendon was severed by an inmate in “Oz”), who is on the proverbial hot seat. He’s drilled by the chief of surgery, Dr. Harding Hooten (Alfred Molina, who we’ll profile next week) on a case of a runner who was in pain who died after the doctor missed a form of cancer a simple MRI would have caught.

In an impeccable way, Robbins captured the intense scrutiny these surgeons face when they’re put on stage, in front of their colleagues, and absolutely humiliated to the core about errors of judgment made. In the opening 10 minutes alone, between Molina’s portrayal of arrogance and Robbins’s portrayal of a doc who made serious errors, I was hooked and literally on the edge of my seat.

My heart was beating that fast. 

My heart was breaking for the patient.

My heart was breaking for the doctor.

And if the pilot is any indication, we’re going to get a myriad of emotions — anger, sadness, joy, disgust — from this show.

And for fans of “ER” who have felt a certain void since that show ended in 2009 after an amazing run, we’ve finally got our sequel.

Each of the doctors have extreme personalities that are relatable. 

And yet, it’s the doctor played by Jamie Bamber I seem to identify with most already.

Those of you who are fans of “Law & Order UK” will remember Bamber as D/S Matty Devlin. In this role, where he plays American Dr. Tyler Wilson (his “American” accent is brilliant, by the way), you’ve got a surgeon we rarely got to see on “ER,” except when Dr. John Carter spent his first years in surgery. He is perhaps the complete antithesis of “ER’s” Dr. Peter Benton — he cares deeply for his patients. He worries with his patients’ families — and he shows emotion in ways we rarely get to see in fictional surgeons.

In the debut of the series, he’s tasked with operating on a young boy who comes in with a headache, only to learn he’s got a potentially life-threatening tumor in his brain.

For fear of spoiling the episode for those who haven’t seen it yet, let’s just say Bamber is magnificent in dealing with the quickly done surgery — and he shows an amazingly deep side in dealing with the boy’s mum and in the subsequent M&M.

And the surgery was hardly what one would call a “success.”

There are a few other characters in the show, too, who are just great. One is Dr. Jorge Villanueva (Ving Rhames), who is Peter Benton with about 20 years more experience. And Dr. Tina Ridgeway (Jennifer Finnegan), who is a mixture of Dr. Susan Lewis and Kerry Weaver). 

We also meet a doctor whose English is poor — but whose neuro-surgical skills are impeccable. And a few others whose characters aren’t yet developed.

The bottom line, though, is this is a winner. We’ve waited a long time for a great medical drama after “ER,” and this one appears to be it.

In the coming weeks, I’ll break down more of the doctors/characters. But in the meantime, “Monday Mornings” is worth every second of the 2,400 it runs each week.

And I cannot wait for the next episode next week.

5 of 5.

“Monday Mornings” can be seen on TNT every Monday at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

A HODGEPODGE CANESSA COMMENTARY: FROM GUNS TO THE NHL

The Canessa Commentary

By KEVIN CANESSA Jr.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —

It’s been a pretty slow news cycle this week, so here’s one of those hodgepodge editions of The Canessa Commentary.

• Former Republican South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who resigned after an affair, is planning on running for Congress — for a seat he once held. Looks pretty clear the GOP hasn’t really learned from the election of 2012.

• U.S. Rep Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., said recently the comments made by Todd Akin, that a woman rarely gets pregnant from “legitimate rape,” were “partly true.” Gingery is a former OB-GYN. Let’s just say I wouldn’t want my daughter — if I had one — going to this OB-GYN.

Isn’t it bad enough one person believes this? And now there are two?

Hell, what I am thinking — there are probably thousands of RWNJs (Right Wing Nut Jobs) who believe it.

• Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., gave one of the most lackluster State of the State addresses I’ve ever heard. He recapped exactly what we already knew — that New Jersey was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and that the federal government continues to be slow in coming through with aid.

What Christie didn’t say was what he’d do to get the funds quicker, how the state would aid cities and people affected by the storm — or anything else for that matter, like lowering one of the nation’s largest unemployment rates.

He’s been great on the national scene. He’s been wonderful standing up for the people who were hurt most by the storm. And quite frankly, I’ve never seen a Republican more willing to stand up to the establishment — John Boehner, that is — than Christie.

But his address was meatless. He offered no specifics. And in a state where people are hurting from the storm and so much more, he truly failed when he had a tremendous opportunity to lead and comfort.

• The NRA recently met with Vice-President Joe Biden, and the NRA says the meeting was “useless.”

I will never understand how, in this nation, an organization that has 4 million members could have as much clout and power as it does. Perhaps I am just naïve here. But in general elections, if every NRA member voted Republican — and let’s face it, they probably do — it still wouldn’t matter.

And yet they’re still seen as all-powerful and almighty.

And it’s not just the NRA. There are tons of special-interested organizations in this country with smaller memberships — the ACLU comes to mind — that just have way too much clout and influence over policy.

Not holding my breath this will change anytime soon.

• I’m a big fan of older TV programs — started watching 1994 “ER” episodes in 2009. So it won’t come as much of a surprise that I just started to watch the old NBC show “Third Watch.” I never realized it back in the day — I did watch the show from time to time when it was new — but the show (some of the same production team) is basically “ER” on the streets. Similar background music. Similar themes. Similar terminology.

Regardless, the show is tremendous — and if you’re ever looking to catch up on old shows, this is one, for sure, to give a try.

• Speaking of TV shows, “The Good Wife,” CBS Sundays, gets better each week. Julianna Margulies is incredible in the lead. But this season has been made even better by guest appearances. First, it was Maura Tierney, who briefly worked with Margulies on “ER.” On-going, Michael J. Fox defies the odds with his Parkinson’s by playing an amazing role on the show. And Nathan “Joe” Lane, who went to the same high school as I did — St. Peter’s Prep (he the class of ’74, I the class of ’92, and yes, his birth name is Joseph — has been nothing short of stellar, as he often is in any role he plays.

Nathan Lane, left, with Christine Baranski, in 'The Good Wife.'

• As much as I was/am angry with the NHL, its players and its owners, I must admit to being excited for the start of the season. Though the schedule isn’t yet out, I’ve read the NJ Devils open on the “road” on Long Island against the Islanders on Jan. 19, and open at home on Jan. 22 against the despised Philadelphia Flyers.

After the first lockout, I was at the first Devils game of the 1994-95 season — in Hartford, Conn., against the Whalers. But it’ll take free tickets for me to step into an NHL arena this year after the third lockout in 17 years.

I’ll watch the games online or on TV for sure — but no in-person games.

I’ll be very curious to see what the attendance numbers are like across the league.

• Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Should be a good Sunday of NFL football. Let me know who wins, eh?

TOUGH TO SAY GOODBYE TO 'FLASHPOINT'

The year 2012 was what it was. We lived through Sandy -- and the horrors of Newtown. And yet, one thing was consistently awesome in 2012, and that was television. There have been some good new shows this year -- my list is topped by "Chicago Fire." And we said goodbye to others.

But no show was more difficult to say goodbye to, for me, than was "Flashpoint."

It was, by far, Canada's greatest TV import. It'll be hard to find other shows where the same could be said, save for "Rookie Blue," and for the younger generation, "DeGrassi." But there was just something about "Flashpoint" -- I think most viewers could relate, in some way, to at least one character, if not more -- that will make this one a tough one to not have back in the fall.

The cast is so unassuming in real life.

And for crying out loud, Sergio DiZio, who played Michelangelo Scarlotti, responds to Tweets all the time.

The show ends after five intense seasons. And there's no doubt, it goes away on an extremely high note. They really could have gotten five more seasons out of it. And if there's one recommendation I could make that you follow, it's that you check this show out if you've never seen it.

If you like believable, intense police drama, without the New York spin and attitude, I can't imagine you'd be disappointed in any way.

CLASSIC TV: HBO'S 'OZ'

I was looking back at some old TV shows recently -- and it hit me just how good the old show, "Oz," was. It was brilliantly written -- and had far too few episodes. Also just learned Eamonn Walker, who played Karim Saed, is from the U.K. Damn he plays an American quite well -- and continues to do so in his new role on "Chicago Fire."