Monday Mornings: Brain Patients, Publicity, and Legal Issues

Having a main character brush death is one heck of a way to end a first season. We've seen some interesting patients, sat threw some legal issues, and picked our favorite doctors, despite the fact that each makes mistakes here and there. Should this series receive a renewal from TNT, I will continue to watch, but I'm still on the fence about this medical drama. It seems that the characters are likable but not lovable, that the cases are original but not overly intriguing, that the drama comes and goes without really attracting much attention. I want more out of this series... don't you?

Monday Mornings "Wheels within Wheels" (S01E09): Park works on a seizure patient who covered his body in words because he's a writer who didn't have paper. [sounds kinda out there already...] His mother tried to stop him from writing so he could focus on other issues in his life (ANY other issues, actually). He's not schizophrenic or bi-polar, but still somewhat obsessed with writing. He believes that he has a right temporal lobe abnormality that makes him hypographic. [aka extremely verbose.] They can remove a lesion, but the kid doesn't want to lose the ability to write constantly, and Park actually decides to encourage the guy to keep writing. [haha at Ridgeway calling out Park on his "not do, dead" line!] Park supporting the patient is questioned by Hooten during an M&M. [isn't this somewhat similar to the case where the chef lost her ability to smell because of a procedure?]

Doug Hyun

Patients from a car accident are rushed in, and Robidaux barely saves one of them because she struggled through the woman's neck fat. Villanueva gives Robidaux a beer, then shows her a little meditation. Fran talks to the couple and Robidaux about filming a short segment for television news. Everything sounds great until Hooten calls on Robidaux during an M&M because of the complications and Robidaux's failure to ask for more help during the emergency procedure. [good point.]

Wilson suggests an MRI for a judge patient with whom Hooten has a history. She has a growth in her brain, and just a biopsy will require 4-6 weeks of recovery. [WOW!] Turns out, she has syphilis, which she likely contracted 40 years earlier. [this reminded me of Ibsen's A Doll's House, LoL.] Further damage is unlikely, but she's still worried that this will stop her from being named to the Supreme Court because of cognitive decline. When the diagnosis is leaked to the media, Hooten asks Wilson who he told about the situation, and when Napur points out that hundreds of people had access to that information, not including hackers, she's appointed the head of a special task force to work on privacy concerns in the 21st century. [while this could lead to something interesting down the line, part of me wonders if it's more of a political act.] 

Monday Mornings "Family Ties" (S01E10): A guy with back pain comes into the hospital for painkillers, but Villanueva won't write him another prescription when he has a history of multiple hospitals and pharmacies. [an age-old issue. I think even Little House on the Prairie tackled this one.] The guy assaults Ridgeway and Robidaux in the parking garage when they won't write him a prescription, either, but Ridgeway is badly injured, requiring brain surgery. After several hours knocked out, she comes to and has her language skills in tact.

A mother is brain dead and her son doesn't think his mother understood what was involved when she agreed to be an organ donor. He gets a lawyer, and Hooten and Buck have to go to the courthouse immediately over the issue, where Hooten is put on the stand about the process of organ donation. [I actually didn't know about the skin thing, either.] The son is happy with no compromise (upset that his mother wasn't able to be saved but her body will save others), but eventually the hospital wins and they use several of her organs immediately.

A 16-year-old has a heart attack after chasing a classmate, and he requires a cardiac stent. Napur talks to the boy's grandmother about making some lifestyle changes, but she is such an enabler (always giving him sodas and such) that Napur files a neglect and endangerment claim with Child Services, which Hooten calls that overstepping in the M&M. [it probably was! she's shown as so staunch in her beliefs that she's almost unrelatable, though. also, people rushing out of the M&M when Wilson came in to save Ridgeway has awakened.]

Monday Mornings: Military Medicine, Mix-Ups, Mistakes

I can't remember if I knew if the hospital was in Portland, Oregon, but that's interesting. Not as interesting as the remote medicine found in "One Fine Day," but still different. I found that episode significantly better than the one that followed it, "Truth or Consequence." In the first, we saw three very dangerous cases, and I'm glad it wasn't a happily-ever-after for all, as that would have been implausible. I also found the final scene in that episode very telling... Napur looking at Wilson looking at Ridgeway looking at baby Chloe. Obviously, that choice was made so viewers could learn Ridgeway's desire to be a mother, and the timing couldn't be worse - just after she's served with divorce papers. The second episode made me almost wish I had stopped watching this show again... I didn't care about Delaney - we had hardly met him. We all know Park needs to work on his bedside manner, but the "English lessons" on the computer were annoying. The jumper-turned-victim was fairly intriguing, but I felt that particular storyline was dragged out. Also, although I found the non-medical stuff with the deposition to be different, I don't want to watch a segment about it every single episode until it's resolved. How is everyone else feeling about this series?

Monday Mornings "One Fine Day" (S01E07): Wilson and Ridgeway were being intimate when his computer goes off and they have to help a field medic in Afghanistan who has very little to work with. [fascinating! I didn't realize military doctors consulted like this!] See, Wilson freelances some military medicine, thanks to robotic technology, among other things. The situation is serious and Wilson must walk the twenty-year-old medic through a craniotomy. [I had a rough time looking at all those holes!] Wilson is called into the M&M over his robot, and Hooten questions whether dating a colleague would compromise a doctor's work. He also gets into trouble for not following up - but the patient is doing fine.

Doug Hyun

Napur sees a ten-week-old infant who constantly laughs, and it turns out to be a brain tumor that was causing seizures. [awwww!] Operating is very risky on a child this young, but they can't wait because it could be affecting development. As soon as Wilson gets into the hospital, he's put on this operation, which is successful and little Chloe will only need to stay a few days in the hospital as a precaution.

[and, if the first two made it, you know this guy won't...] A 32-year-old man has a ruptured artery that caused a severe stroke. Park says that surgery would be a long shot, and the guy's husband and sister argue over what he would have wanted. The husband doesn't want him to suffer, but the sister thinks that they should give him every chance to fight to live. [it's a hard call!] Same-sex marriages are not recognized across state lines, so the sister has the final say. The hospital needs to minimize liability if the "losing" party decides to sue, and Hooten decides in the end to operate. But, mid-way through the procedure, Park decides he won't continue, as it would be futile. He's called into the M&M, and basically just told to read more pamphlets from Risk Management. [ha!]

Monday Mornings "Truth or Consequence" (S01E08): Starting in an M&M where a patient died after initially just having scar tissue on her ear because of a small dog bite. The patient received a lethal dose of pure epinephrine due a mix-up. However, although it was the fault of a nurse, all negligence falls to the surgeon (Delaney) in the OR. Hooten fires the guy, but Buck and Robidaux question that choice.

A patient comes in, impaled by a tree he fell on from a roof. He suffers severe injuries, and some of the doctors don't have good things to say about trying to save a guy who has no will to live. Similarly, a religious man does not want his wife's organs to be put into a guy who sinned so greatly. Before organs are transplanted into him, however, he writes that he didn't jump - he was pushed! [wow.] By his deadbeat dad! Buck becomes determined to save the kid, but he, Napur, and Villanueva end up in an M&M because they tried much harder after they found out the guy was a college graduate who was almost killed then when they thought he was a homeless bum committing suicide. [I thought this was a very moving segment, actually.]

Also, Wilson goes through a deposition for committing adultery with Ridgeway. It's intense, and it turns out that Ridgeway's husband's lawyer is going after the hospital for not stopping interpersonal relationships between married staff. [whoa. this could get interesting!]

Monday Mornings: Stabbed Son, Keeping a Kidney, Mind Minuet

"If you see one new drama this season..." um, isn't it a little late for a line like that, TNT? I mean, even if you just mean the mid-season, pretty much everything has started airing so far, so if you've managed to not see a single new drama for two months, I highly doubt you're going to try this one, six episodes into the season. Also, I didn't understand where the title came in until after the entire episode, when I proceeded to roll my eyes. I won't spoil it up here for you, read on below for that. And, speaking of reading on, I've decided not to give this show up quite yet after all. We're on an episode-to-episode basis, because I liked the sides shown of Napur, Villanueva, Park, AND Buck here.

Martin Schoeller

Monday Mornings "Communion" (S01E06): Villanueva's son, Nick, has been stabbed and he wants to assist in the surgery, but Napur forbids it. [I thought all hospitals everywhere have rules against practicing on family members? is that actually a hospital-by-hospital thing?] Hooten goes in and Villanueva watches from above. Nick will be fine, and Napur apologizes for throwing out Villanueva from the OR, but she had to in order to perform at her best without having him breathing down her neck. [I like her.] Down in the ER, a teenager feigns paralysis to stay away from the cops, and Ridgeway suspects he's the one who stabbed Nick. Villanueva coaxes a confession out of the teen by telling him he's dying of multiple tumors. [WHOA. love and hate here.] See, Nick had criticized the kid's baklava in cooking class. [what kinda class IS this?!? who is that intense??] Nick admits that he actually wants to go into acting. [strange family dynamic starting...] Villanueva is called on in the M&M for trying to work on a family member. He claims he was the best person to care for the patient, and the group doesn't disagree. But, Hooten asks what questions were asked for diagnosis, and nothing was aside from "who did this to you?" which has little medical relevance. [Hooten's good at his job, guys. I like it.]

Buck is planning to take a kidney from a patient to transplant into her sister. But, the recipient dies on the table. The donor can't have it put back inside of her, but Buck can give it to someone else if the patient consents. She does not, planning to take it home. [so far, not that weird.] There are several legal concerns, but the girl does not want to discuss her intents with the organ, switching gears and talking about instances where people eat organs in a ceremonial fashion. Buck is willing to stand by her after talking to a few people, but the patient now needs a psych eval because of her hostility earlier. He gets called in the M&M, where Napur strongly backs allowing the patient to have her own kidney. [I was really happy that this show has already addressed how behind America is regarding medicine.]

A famous violinist goes to Park about losing his perfect pitch, believing the problem to be in his brain and not his ears. Turns out, there's a growth that can be removed, but he could lose everything in the process. [yikes!] The guy doesn't want to call his family (including two young children) before the procedure but does want to play one last time. [people's priorities always astound me.] Park asks Wilson to assist, so he can play the violin and test the guy's pitch as Wilson works on the guy's brain. [I really enjoyed the duet between the recovered patient and Park.]

Monday Mornings: Heart, Heart, Blood

Villanueva is the best thing about this show, and for so many reasons. I like the way he practices medicine, not giving up and always trying to figure out the condition of the patient. I like the way he handles his colleagues and gives people the cut-and-dried truth. I like the way he butts heads with Hooten, yet understands where the administration is coming from. Unfortunately, he can't carry the show on his own. Napur is working her way up on my list, but nobody else is, so one more episode and I may be calling it quits. I still have hope that I'll get a medical show to replace the spot in my heart ER vacated nearly four years ago, but this is decidedly not it.

Monday Mornings "The Legend and the Fall" (S01E05): For some reason, every time Napur is out to dinner she encounters a medical emergency. ["socially Aspergery" hahaha.] This time, a former patient of her dining companion passes out after thanking the doctor profusely, and it winds up being bacterial endocarditis. The guy plans to sue his dentist but may sue his doctor as well, because he didn't do the most thorough follow-up.

An 85-year-old surgeon, Dr. Wayne, comes into the OR and thinks his patient is Park's. Park tells Hooten, and Buck confirms that Wayner has been off lately. Hooten questions the man, who has a reasonable explanation - he mis-entered the time of the procedure into his iPhone calendar. [hahaha!] Buck takes it upon himself to question the guy, and Wilson soon gets involved, too, so Hooten calls Wayne out at the M&M. [I found it interesting that Hooten briefed him first, LoL.] Wayne's explanations are reasonable, and Hooten backs him, as he, too, went into the wrong OR when he was 27. But, Hooten notices Wayne may have ischemia, and that would be bad. [I understand the man has nothing else to live for besides this hospital but geez! retirement isn't all bad!]

Doug Hyun

A competitive swimmer with a headache comes into the ER but soon has a seizure. [what was with Robidaux's House joke??] Villanueva is obsessed with figuring out what's wrong, and it turns out to be a blood clot in his brain, causing a stroke. The guy has been doping his own blood to improve his performance, but it thickened his blood. [whoa! I didn't know that was a thing!]

Monday Mornings: Park is Sued, Ridgeway is Served

Well, in the first ten seconds of the episode, Ridgeway talks about the Y-BOCS, otherwise known as the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. I was intrigued and wondered how much this series would explain about the disorder, especially the more severe cases. But, while the story is the A plot, the patient doesn't have the big part - Dr. Ridgeway does. Her failing marriage has bit the bullet, and I can't help but wonder if it would have lasted a bit longer if she hadn't told the truth about what happened at the M&M with Hooten. He's an oddball, that Hooten. Straddling the line between strict administrator and compassionate doctor, I think the audience struggles to figure out how they feel about him. Of course, we can just be like Villanueva and butt heads... I particularly liked his "no you don't! I've got bald-dibs on this place!" line. You?

Monday Mornings "Forks Over Knives" (S01E04): Let's catch-up with an old patient first. [this also indicates it has been six weeks since the pilot episode.] A woman who no longer has tremors has become sexually insatiable, and she and her husband want to rid her of that desire. Park doesn't want to do anything, so they sue him for malpractice. In the deposition, Park claims that the woman has no honor, being unable to hold a pen two weeks ago but is now signing paperwork for malpractice. [interesting take.] The patient realizes that he was right and she dismisses the lawsuit. [wasn't expecting that.] She even gives him a caricature, as she used to be an artist. [whoa.]

Doug Hyun

Now, the OCD patient. Benjamin, 19, is a 34 on the Y-BOCS scale (0-40), which equates to an extreme case. Ridgeway wants to so a modern-day lobotomy of sorts (literally killing brain cells), but there are some big side effect possibilities. [I'd imagine!]  Hooten asks Ridgeway about her marriage in the M&M, as you can't full extract your professional life from your personal life. [rough that anything is fair game in there!] He later tells her in private to get her feelings for Wilson under control. He then meets the patient, agrees to the rare procedure, and will even assist. agrees to the surgery and will be assisting. She tells her husband of Hooten's question, and he realizes that she's having an affair, with Wilson, no less. He immediately files for divorce, causing a scene at the hospital. Because of this, Hooten and Ridgeway both assist, as she needs not to operate at the moment. Villanueva tells Ridgeway that she needs to be with a surgeon because she needs someone she can talk to at the end of the day, which will be in the morning for a while, as he puts her on nights in the ER.

And, the most fascinating storyline. A 15-year-old whose family is Christian Scientist comes in with internal injuries from being kicked by a horse. [ouch! although why did the trainer take her to the hospital if she knew they couldn't treat?] Her parents refuse treatment and ask that her tubing be removed, but Villanueva is allowed to bandage her. However, he secretly drains the area so that she'll live, as Napur looks on. He tells her to stay quiet or bad things will happen, but she isn't sure if lying is the answer. It doesn't matter, however, as Hooten tells the truth when questioned at an M&M. Hooten says that he can't allow Villanueva to defy hospital policies, though he might have acted similarly. [...but is he actually suspended? because it IS kinda a big deal.] The patient comes and tells Villanueva that he took her faith when he performed the procedure. [so she was conscious enough to remember it, but hasn't told her parents? interesting.] Hooten and Villanueva later mock one another as they share a drink. [I suspect they'll have more.]

Monday Mornings: The Doctors AND Patients are Boring

Well, after three episodes, I'm not really sold on this show. I want it to be something it's not, and I want the characters to be more interesting than they are. It's already a slippery slope, but, given that the first season is only set to be ten episodes, I hope to hang in there for five. What's wrong with the series? Well, Napur and Tierney aren't really likable... they're just there doing their thing. Hooten is boring. Wilson and Park are pompous. I like Ridgeway, Villanueva, and Robidaux, but the personal drama alluded to with the first two is a turn-off. And then there's the patients... this episode features a story not far from one seen on Emily Owens, MD recently, another was your plain "is there a doctor in the house?" cry for help, and the third was a stroke victim whose doctor doesn't have the best bedside manner. If you're a fan of what you've seen so far, what's keeping you with the program?

Martin Schoeller

Monday Mornings "Who's Sorry Now?" (S01E03): A mentally unstable patient has been to the hospital many times for different things, and Wilson orders and MRI this time. It's a tumor and Wilson wants to operate, despite the fact that the patient is not able to give consent. Another doctor in the operating room also expresses concern when the patient asks for a lawyer. [the music during the procedure was a bit odd.] After the operation, the patient gives a different name and is completely coherent, though he believes it is 2006. [yikes!] He went missing, and eventually his wife filed for divorce and remarried. His former family does come to visit him, and there's a lot of crying during the reunion.

A stroke patient needs surgery to remove part of his skull. There are no complications until he winds up brain-dead, and Park puts him on a ventilator, though he should have talked to the wife about her wishes, as the patient did have an advanced directive explaining that he didn't want to live on machines. [I don't think I realized those were voided during surgeries!] Well, Risk Management talks with Park, hoping to get him to show more remorse for what happened. [is he supposed to be a new hire? because otherwise I think that this would have gone down A LONG TIME AGO!] Park tries to be compassionate in speaking with the widow, who struggles to ask for her husband to be removed from a ventilator. At least he goes to her house that night, in the rain, to truly express his sorrow. [although that IS a little creepy.]

While out to dinner, Napur performs the abdominal thrust on a woman who then stops breathing. Lieberman is impressed. Hooten tells Napur not to announce that she works for the hospital if it happens again, because of potential liability issues. [fair enough.] 

Ridgeway's case was deemed un-winnable so the hospital has settled. Tierney is still getting sued, and he is deposed. Settling will cost nearly a million dollars, but Hooten wants to stay out of court.

The M&M: Hooten wonders if Wilson tried hard enough to find the man's family before operating. Park is called out over how he doesn't say "I'm sorry" to patients' families.

Monday Mornings: Don't Harvest Organs too Quickly!

Let's not lie... I was not in love with this episode. I did find it interesting that the Morbidity & Morality (M&M) conferences will feature cases beyond those where the patient died. But, beyond that, this episode offered some uninteresting fodder. Dr. Robidaux showed up on the scene, as did Dr. Tierney. I didn't particularly care for either of them, and my feelings toward the Ridgeway-Wilson relationship are almost indifferent. Villanueva is emerging as my favorite character, with Park fulfilling the opposite of that. This episode was designed to really show a more human side to Hooten, but I can't say it won me over at all... I mean do YOU really like him more now that you've seen him shave his head at a patient's request?

Monday Mornings "Deus ex Machina" (S01E02): Ridgeway is called to the stand during an M&M conference. Her resident, Robidaux, was supposed to explain the risks to the patient then operate. Robidaux had assisted on the procedure dozens of times, but a side effect later presents itself, proving that the more senior surgeon should have taken charge in this case. See, the patient was a chef who now has no sense of smell. Plus, the hospital is being sued.

A thirteen-year-old girl doesn't want brain surgery, but without it she will die. She has extensively researched her condition and has had unsuccessful surgeries in the past. Hooten thinks that Park didn't explain the risks very well to the parents so he talks to the patient, who is a pianist who first "heard God" in a sonata. [and that's why her mother took her for her first doctor's appointment... how 'bout them apples??] She's writing an opera and wants to spend the remainder of her time doing what she loves, seeing the next few months as a lifetime. [really? at 13? such an interesting (and mature) stance.] Hooten has Villanueva come to bully the parents, as he couldn't bully the teen, but the father stands by his daughter. So, Hooten, Park, and Villanueva again talk to the girl, and she decides to go through with it. [why didn't the family just leave the hospital at this point??] Before the procedure, the girl asks Hooten if he'll cry if she dies. [holy awkward, Batman!] He tells her that he doesn't have time to cry for every lost patient, but she has touched his heart and that will make him cry. She says that Hooten would make her smile if he shaves his head, and he does. [and she doesn't even see it until AFTER the surgery!]

A patient comes in with severe abdominal pain that has spread to her chest. Most doctors are stumped so Napur asks for Villanueva to consult. He quickly deduces that it's trichinosis. Because Lieberman didn't think Villanueva could solve the case, he owes Napur $200... and tries to pay her in gift cards. [so weird. I mean, he's doing more with his life than donating plasma and hitting casinos! (both of which pay you in giftcards, if you didn't know).]

A guy who is missing half his head is an organ donor, so a transplant surgeon, Tierney, begins making arrangements to operate. But, the patient must be declared dead first. Robidaux performs an exam, indicating that the patient is still competent. He later dies and six people benefit from the organs, but Tierney's attitude toward the guy while he was living really hurts the patient's mother.

photo: Doug Hyun

photo: Doug Hyun

Plus,  Tierney is called to the stand in a M&M conference over his breach in protocol - he had operations ready to go before the patient died. [dang!]

Wilson sees his dead son in his dreams and can't shake images from running through his head during the workday, either. We're left on a cliffhanger with this one, though... after re-examining Quinn's case again, he calls Quinn's mother, but we don't see what happens after that.

NEW SHOW: Monday Mornings

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I first heard about this show at TCA a month ago, and I was pretty excited about it. Longtime readers know that I've been yearning to fill the medical drama hole in my life that ER held for so long. Emily Owens, M.D. didn't do it for me (and ends tonight) and Miami Medical didn't last, and the other medical shows that have popped up in the nearly four years since ER left the air never even blipped on my radar. Well, after the pilot of this series, I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for, either, though it does have hope. It's a good sign (to me) when I have goosebumps less than three minutes into an episode, but all of those under-the-operating-sheets camera angles were weird. Plus, the music coming in and out with Dr. Wilson was creepy. If they were going for something specific, it went right over my head. Still, we're building drama, we've got doctors with tangled relationships, and there's a gimmick factor: peers reviewing one another when a patient dies. I think the series will be worth at least a few episodes!

Martin Schoeller

One thing with which I often struggle when watching newer shows is figuring out who's who. So, let me help you. The above photo, from left to right, is Dr. Napur, Dr. Tierney, Dr. Hooten, Dr. Ridgeway, Dr. Wilson, Dr. Villanueva, Dr. Robidaux, and Dr. Park. Now, onto the recap...

Monday Mornings "Pilot" (S01E01): A car accident patient is brought in, and the doctors presume it was an attempted suicide until Dr. Villanueva (who drinks and pays for call girls in his spare time) notices that the patient likely had an aneurysm. [some disturbing shots of the patient having brain surgery.] During the procedure, Dr. Ridgeway (who has relationship problems at home) expelled a rep from the OR, though they are now allowed in those rooms. [not gonna lie, I was pretty shocked to learn that!]

A loud-mouthed patient has been in the ER multiple times over the past few months, this time with bronchitis. Most doctors want to write her off with that, including Dr. Liberman. However, Dr. Napur believes it's something more, and it winds up being a pulmonary embolism. [why throw a failed engagement into the pilot? (Lieberman and Napur) I guess to show that not everyone works well together? geez!]

Dr. Hooten calls a Monday Morning meeting for all surgeons on staff over a patient of Dr. Martin's who died the week before. The patient was a runner who first came in on August 12th, returned December 19th with bone cancer, and died three weeks later, despite aggressive treatment. [dang! quick timeline!] Dr. Martin's nickname is "007" because of the correlation with "license to kill," and he will be suspended, though Dr. Villanueva believes that the penalty should be stricter because of the number of patients under Martin's care who have died. [hmmm.] 

Back to business, a middle-aged woman has uncontrollable shakes that only stop when she drinks wine. Dr. Park wants to poke around in the patient's brain while she's conscious, and after making a couple of false pokes, solves the problem. [I would have liked more explanation of what was going on here.] Plus, Dr. Hooten questions that Park jumped into surgery instead of trying all medications. [what was with all of Park's interns/residents being minorities? awkward. and I'm already over this speech thing.]

Also, a young soccer player had a head collision the day before and an MRI reveals a large, operable brain tumor that much be removed immediately. The seven-year-old boy has a cardiac problem during the procedure and winds up bleeding out. [interesting to see Dr. Hooten sit with the mother.] Dr. Wilson gives the bad news to the mother, but he soon cries too, as it seems he previously lost his own son. [I was a little surprised to hear that the surgeon showered before giving the news. I mean, I wouldn't want him bloody and discussing the scenario, but why wait longer than you have to?]

Another Monday Morning meeting is called over this, as Wilson did not take a thorough history (missing that the absent father has a bleeding disorder) or consult with a neurosurgeon (just a trauma surgeon). [wow. those are some big mistakes.] Dr. Hooten calls Wilson arrogant, but Wilson must perk up immediately to work on an internal decapitation. [holy cow!]

Winter TCA 2013: Monday Mornings

After Cougar Town, the next big panel of the first full day of TCA this cycle was TNT's Monday Mornings, a medical drama that’s based on Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s book. You may know Gupta, a neurosurgeon, as the CNN chief medical correspondent. Many of the situations and cases in the series are based on real-life scenarios that Gupta has witnessed or experienced.  

What makes Chelsea General (set in Portland, Oregon) different from other medical shows is the weekly focus on the mistakes (whether due to negligence, narrow-mindedness, or bravado) that have been made and how the staff can learn from them. These “morbidity and mortality conferences” feature the doctors reviewing one another’s work and are the basis for the drama’s title.   

Ten episodes have been shot at this point, and the pilot features a couple of patients whose ailments turn out to be much more complicated than they initially seem (like a brain aneurysm originally disguised as an attempted suicide).

Panelists include Executive Producers Bill D’Elia, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and David E. Kelley, as well as actors Emily Swallow, Sarayu Rao, Keong Sim, Bill Irwin, Jennifer Finnigan, Jamie Bamber, Ving Rhames, and Alfred Molina. Some of the major characters on the show are Dr. Jorge Villanueva (Rhames), the most celebrated trauma chief in the country, Dr. Tina Ridgeway (Finnigan), a compassionate neurosurgeon with turmoil at home, Dr. Buck Tierney (Irwin), the least-liked member of the staff, and Dr. Michelle Robidaux (Swallow), an inexperienced resident. 

Martin Schoeller

Highlights from the Q&A include: 

Will the show be mainly single-episode procedurals or will there be longer stories? Kelley explains that there are long arcs and some cases will take place over several episodes, though each episode in and of itself should feel somewhat self-contained. 

Are those meetings real? Gupta says yes and talks about how much he learned from those meetings about doctors holding one another accountable. It really makes you as good as you can be. 

How do trauma surgeons see themselves? They’re the front line and have to know a lot about many different things, especially as they don’t have the advantage of working with how things behave under normal conditions. 

Molina names the most dramatic scene so far to be where his character and another are having a drink and he is asked about the troubles with being in administration. 

Kelley talked about how he initially worried that the meetings wouldn’t work forever, but they’ve turned into the staple of each and every episode. 

Gupta takes on a large role as an executive producer, and Kelley wouldn’t have it any other way. One thing he’s done for the show? Explained how to clip an aneurysm. 

The series will premiere on Monday, February 4^th at 10pm ET/PT on TNT, just after the second season of Dallas airs.