Tuesday, October 9, 2012

NEW SHOW: Emily Owens, MD

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The only CW show that really piqued my attention this fall is their medical drama, Emily Owens, MD. I liked the idea that the protagonist got away from the cliques and popularity contests of high school only to re-encounter her nemesis ten years later when she begins her surgery internship. Plus, she's crushing on another co-intern with whom she attended medical school, so it's like a young and competitive ER, right? Only... it's not. Not yet, anyway. The pilot has Emily (who looks old for the part, by the way) talking to herself quite a bit, her crush already shooting her down, and Emily already learning the source of her enemy's nefariousness - jealousy, of course! All in all, it wasn't a bad intro for the series, but I'm going to need less narration, less dirty play, and less advice from the patients!

Oh, and if you followed this show ever since it was entitled, First Cut, that name referred to the first cut made on a cadaver in Gross Anatomy.

Emily Owens, MD "Pilot" (S01E01): Emily has never been a "cool kid," and she's nervous about her first day of her internship at a Denver hospital. She knows one of her colleagues (a guy, Will) from med school, and another from high school (her tormentor, Cassandra). She soon makes friends with the Chief-of-Staff's lesbian daughter, Tyra. [now here's a character I can get into!] Cassandra plays nice until everyone starts complimenting Emily, when she decides to point out Emily's heavy sweating and how that led to the nickname, "Pits." [:(]

[I found the stereotypes about the types of medicine interesting... stoners go into anesthesiology, jocks into orthopedic surgery, rebels into ER, mean girls into plastic surgery, All-American girl-next-doors into OB, geeks in neurology, pediatrics is sanctimonious church-goers. And surgery is for everyone else, so those people tend not to get along.]

A twelve-year-old-girl, Julia, fainted in gym class for a second time, and Emily gives the diagnosis, while although correct, only earns her extra paperwork. [sucks.] As she's getting ready to discharge her, the girl passes out, so Emily has to take charge of the situation, which requires paddles, medication, and using a syringe to remove fluid. Emily's pager goes missing (Tyra finds it for her and in exchange wants Emily to find out if where Jessica's sexual interests are... but Emily is a bit too awkward and winds up straight-up asking her if she goes to straight bars or gay bars, LoL!), so she's late getting back to the patient, who now needs surgery to help her heart. Julia wants Emily to be in surgery with her, and Emily is allowed to, though she receives a lecture first. Emily ends up having to assist because of a complication, which is a big deal for a first day! 
Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW
Another patient needs help, as she can't remember her daughter's name, and Emily and Cassandra are put in charge of finding the daughter so she can sign some forms. Cassandra ditches Emily, who tries calling anyone with a name that could match the signature. When a woman does follow up on a message, she doesn't want to deal with her mother any longer because of her health decline. Cassandra comes in and saves the day when she tells the woman that she knows what it's like to care for an ailing relative - her brother suffered from cystic fibrosis. [I honestly thought that Cassandra would be the type to make up something like this to empathize with a patient, but this seemed pretty genuine.] This pushes the woman into seeing her mother.

A third patient a drunk driver who got his brother pretty banged up. Well, Emily notices that he has marks from a passenger's side seatbelt, but he claims he drove, because he's the screw-up, not his brother. Emily talks to the "good brother" and tries to guilt him into coming clean, and he does. [weak! save it for another time!]

And, some random drama tidbits: Micah's mother has pancreatic cancer and likely won't live a year, in pain the entire time. [sucks!] Emily tells Will that she likes him, but he just tells her that he doesn't see her like that. [awww.] Cassandra tells Emily that she was jealous of Emily in school, and that's why they're enemies. [figures.] Emily sees the Chief-of-Staff kissing Jessica in the stairwell.
Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email This Pin This

No comments: