prodded by quirky geniuses), they'd all get an F, including ABC's latest attempt at cracking into the overdone genre, Body of Proof. However, when stacked up against each other, there are many shades of horrible, and in terms of other god-awful crime procedurals, Body of Proof was by no means the worst of the worst. That doesn't mean I'll be giving it a second episode or anything, but for the purposes of this review, it's a distinction that must be made. For any other purposes, all it means is that I'd rather have watched people scream at each other for an hour on Parenthood than watch this show. (In Parenthood's defense, I caught an episode a few weeks ago that had about 60% less bickering and it made for a much better show. Do more of that.) When it comes right down to it though, in terms of this time slot, The Good Wife is the only true contender. If you can only watch one show, make it that show. So great.Anyway, ABC has tried on numerous occasions to tap into the crime procedural genre, but has only really succeeded with Castle, which is one of the least conventional procedurals out there in terms of tone and execution. I think the reason Castle works where others have failed is that it has so much more fun with the old routine than other shows. Whereas the "quirky genius" on other procedurals is often cantankerous, insufferable, or the consummate know-it-all, Castle is creative and unassuming. He's wrong a hell of a lot of the time, but always helps in the end. Most importantly, he has a blast playing cops and robbers and brings a sense of childlike whimsy to the show. It makes the frequency with which he's correct charming, not grating.
Which brings me to Body of Proof, starring Dana Delany as Dr. Megan Hunt, a once-brilliant neurosurgeon turned near-preternatural medical examiner/crime solver.
Having suffered nerve damage in her hands as a result of a car accident, Dr. Hunt had to give up the career that lost her her marriage and daughter. The pilot tries desperately to play on her feelings of loss, and succeeds to a certain extent, but I've seen this dog and pony show too many times to care. This iteration of the eccentric supersleuth is basically Dr. House, solving medical mysteries whilst alienating those around her with her standoffish demeanor, dismissive behavior, and emotional reticence. It's a routine we've all seen a million times before, so in spite of Delany's acting prowess, I was instantly bored.Indeed, the entire cast is quite strong, but I found myself wishing they were attached to better projects. Delany is a power-player whom I always enjoy, but even she couldn't make this character intriguing or likable. In truth, she did more with the role than I would have expected, but there's only so much one can do with this set-up. Along with being the archetypal maverick genius who doesn't play by the rules but gets results, blah, blah, blah, which is so overused it's painful to watch, the writers have gone out of their way to give her as much quirk as possible in a failed attempt at uniqueness. I salute the efforts, but if it came down to watching a character I've seem a million times before or one who drives me and everyone
else crazy, it's a tough call. I think first and foremost, they simply tried to make Dr. Hunt too many things. She's guarded, but an emotional wreck over her family situation, she's brilliant, but flawed, she's always right, but can't work with others, she's sexy and sassy, but a workaholic who has no friends. I would greatly have preferred that the writers had constructed a character with a defined core whom they could develop over time. With the pilot alone, the audience was met with so much plot exposition that it was annoying and unconvincing. They seemed so intent on showing every single aspect of her life and her issues that none of them resonated at all. Rather than being riveted by every facet of her existence, instead I was bored by her work, her ex-husband, her issues with her daughter, her social alienation, and her interactions with the police, her colleagues, and her past.This review is making the show sound considerably worse than it is, but believe me, it's more a matter of genre than execution here. For a crime procedural, this one was a solid effort, conforming to all the cliches and conceits in lock-step. So, if procedurals are you thing, this may very well be the show for you. For me? Good god, if you've seen this once, you've seen it a million times. The A-plot murder-of-the-week is hardly worth mentioning, because really, there are only so many different ways to kill someone, but it elucidated the character dynamics that will, no doubt, plague the series as a whole. The thought of watching the incredible Dr. Hunt toy with and belittle everyone around her (but, you know, in a half-assed, sassy sort of way) episode after episode is a complete turn-off. The reason House worked for as long as it did is that it was unapologetic and unreserved. He's an insufferable, snarky bastard first, last, and always. Dr. Hunt? They kept trying to go all the way with her character, but then they'd retreat. Instead of making for an interesting character piece, their hesitations at making her unlikable made her uneven and, well, unlikable.... so, well done, guys. I can see where they'd be hesitant to
take things as far as Dr. House or Nurse Jackie, but therein lies the problem. House and Jackie are often horrible people, but that doesn't make them unlikable, it makes them interesting. Dr. Hunt was neither charming enough nor loathsome enough to pique my interests.Indeed, the show seems to think that her interactions with the other characters on the show will be a central draw, but I found them irksome. I enjoy watching a blustering cop get put in his place, but seeing Dr. Hunt tear down a guy she doesn't even know and who didn't even do anything that bad wasn't satisfying or funny, it was ugh-worthy. Had it been handled in a different way, I think it could have been successful, but as is, it just seemed like a ham-fisted ploy to make Dr. Hunt seem like a ball-busting badass, but, you know, one that's real pretty and wears sexy high heels and winks at people. Yeah, yeah, she has better relationships with the dead than the living. We get it. I'm not saying that a person should be one thing all the time, that would be ridiculous, but Dr. Hunt just didn't seem authentic. At every turn, it felt like her character had been written one way, and then watered-down or sexed-up in hopes of appealing to the average viewer. Given that that's how the writing turned out, it's to Delany's credit that she balanced it as well as she did.
The supporting cast is decent enough, but inconsequential. I'm sure as the show progresses, they'll become more fleshed-out and whatnot, but at this point, they're really little more than pawns for Delany to play off of. Her lab partner ex-cop guy (or whatever he was) and eventual love interest was fine, but unmemorable, and the police force was mostly just a bunch of bumbling fools who probably couldn't figure out if it were Colonel Mustard or Miss Scarlett without the amazing Dr. Hunt determining that the victim had been
bludgeoned to death with a 10-inch ratcheting box wrench that had been purchased at Home Depot, aisle 7, third shelf. How Sonja Sohn (best known for her powerful turn as Kima from The Wire) got attached to this sucker, I'll never understand. Hunt's associates at the hospital (ME's Office?) serve as the comic relief of the show, and had their charm, but again, unmemorable overall. Somehow Jeri Ryan, who's in all of 2 1/2 minutes of the pilot, seemed like the most grounded, well-rounded supporting player on the show. Don't get me wrong, House's underlings were never much to write home about or anything, but for me, that was always one of the biggest problems. I much prefer a stellar ensemble, not simply a vehicle for the latest crime-solving genius.All in all, it was a decent procedural when stacked up against other procedurals. It didn't have me cringing as much as most and honestly had better writing than ABC's previous attempts at the genre. That said, it was still a whole lot of the same. Delany did the best she could, but there are only so many ways to reinvent this particular wheel. I do think she could turn this role into something more over time, but I'm not invested enough in this set-up to give her that kind of time. The random crime-of-the-week isn't enough of a draw and the dysfunctional family dynamic wasn't established in a way that made me invest. Unlike Everwood, where I found myself instantly intrigued by the doctor who reevaluates his priorities after a tragedy, Dr. Hunt and her daughter barely caught my attention at all. In short, I've seen the whole "workaholic destroys relationship with children but then tries to make up for it" thing before, only better. Body of Proof wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't a coup either. I'll pass.
Pilot Grade (when compared to other crime procedurals): C+
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