Mental: Season 1

Over the decades I have spent watching television I’ve noticed that the popular genres seem to go through cycles. When I was much younger westerns and lawyer show have come into vogue only to decline in favor of another type of show. In the 2009 fall season it appears that once again the networks decided to revisit a perennial standard; the medical drama. Just about every evening there was at least one representative of this genre on the air. During this cycle I had a different perspective than before, after a stroke I spent several months in a hospital recuperating; watching the workings of real doctors and nurses. Perhaps that gave me a more jaded vantage point but most of the new series came across as foolish fantasy far removed from what these professionals do each day. There is so much sex and drugs going on in these shows that if reality was a fraction like this the mortality rate in American hospitals would be staggering. The staff just would not be in any condition to perform their jobs effectively. With this in mind I took a chance and decided to check out one of the new hospital shows airing on the Fox network that at least looked potentially interesting; ‘Mental’. Much to my pleasant surprise I discovered a series that not only I could tolerate nut I found myself becoming a fan bestowing upon it the highest modern honor a TV viewer can; I added it to my DVR season pass recording list. At long last a series in this genre that is entertaining and extremely well constructed. I then got an opportunity to review the DVD release and revisit a new favorite. Hopefully, Fox will make the right decision and renew it for another season. This is a series that deserves every opportunity to succeed.

The creators of the series were Deborah Joy LeVine and Dan Levine. Both previously collaborated on the intense crime drama, ‘The Division’. LeVine also worked on ‘Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman’ while Levine provided the screenplays for several Lifetime’ ‘Moment of Truth’ TV movies. This may seem to be an odd set of resumes leading to an offbeat hospital series such as this but there had to be some chemistry that developed between them since the scripts for each episode thus far has been among the better examples currently on broadcast television. The series employs a tried and true format. It is basically episodic with one major storyline run in parallel with a secondary patient. This serves as the canvas for a character driven drama where each member of the ensemble cast gets to develop the back story and emotional state of their character. In the case of the show’s lead this also affords a chance for a season long story arc that provides the season one cliff hanger.

Dr. Jack Gallagher (Chris Vance) is a psychiatrist with a reputation among his peers for his unusual style and clinical practices. Those who are disparaging of his techniques are unable to deter the good doctor from his methodology. As the series starts Jack has just accepted an appointment as the named Director of Mental Health Services at Los Angeles' Wharton Memorial Hospital. His getting the position did not sit well with the senior staff members of the service who were passed over for the job. This included Dr. Veronica Hayden-Jones (Jacqueline McKenzie) and the overly officious Dr. Dr. Carl Belle (Derek Webster), who was far more interested in hospital politics than actual patient care. The hospital administrator responsible for hiring Jack was Nora Skoff (Annabella Sciorra). She is divorced with a couple of kids, had a brief relationship with Jack and is in remission from cancer. This is a teaching hospital so there is a reason to include a couple of young, attractive doctors; Chloë Artis (Marisa Ramirez) and Arturo Suarez (Nicholas Gonzalez). Arturo is very interested in Chloë but she is not into people with ‘Y’ chromosomes. The establish Jack’s unorthodox methods when on his first day before he even gets to his office he strips off all his clothes in the lobby in order to put a patient at ease. The story running throughout the first season concerns Jack and his search for his schizophrenic twin sister. This arc is developed slowly over the course of the entire season giving the audience ample time to get to know the doctor on a personal level. The last few episodes of the season afford us some resolution when his sister appears and we get to watch the personal anguish it causes in Jack. This series is a bright spot in an otherwise bleak and unimaginative nadir that a once worthy genre has declined into.

Posted 12/06/09