Royal Pains is a pain

Anyone watch the USA Network show Royal Pains? It stars Mark Feuerstein, who I liked a lot in a show a few years back, Good Morning, Miami, as ER doc Hank Lawson who, due to some bad luck, becomes a concierge doctor for the rich and famous in the Hamptons. Also on the show are Paulo Costanzo (his annoying brother), Reshma Shetty (the cute PA with a great accent), and Jill Flint (the annoying love interest with no chemistry).

My take on this show is that while Mark Feuerstein is very endearing, he's just not enough to save the show for me. It's full of cliches, annoying characters--particularly the brother, and bad writing. Julie and I were making a game out of finding inconsistencies in the plotlines. It's like the writers don't read their own scrips! For example, they have the physician assistant, Divya (Reshma Shetty), supposedly hiding her interest in medicine from her parents. You see, they want her to marry well and be a trophy wife---and not be working or overly educated. Yet she's got a degree as a PA, which takes 2-3 years of study, and supposedly got the degree without her parents knowing. And did I mention the SUV crammed full of expensive equipment and supplies? It was a running gag in the first few episodes that she had every type of portable diagnostic equipment that "Hank" would need. We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars here! Hard to believe that her parents haven't noticed this "hobby."

Anyway, inconsistencies like that really drive me bonkers and I've finally given up on the show. Let me know if you like it---maybe I'll try the show again later on.

Comments

Teresa said…
I watch this show for entertainment value only -- and it's not all bad in that respect. Divya comes from a culture where women get lots of education, but the prize is to marry her off so she doesn't have to use it. So, I think her parents know she's got the degree -- just don't approve of her using it. But it is odd that everyone else knows about the practice, but they not only don't know about it, but her schedule conveniently coincides with the time when she doesn't have to tend to social obligations. The brother isn't well-written at all. For a screw-up, he managed to get his degree and seems as smart as his brother -- in a different way, of course. Still, I can forgive all that. It's the promos for the episodes that annoy me most. I really hate when promos have nothing to do with the actual show... and if it weren't summer when there's not much else to watch, I might have boycotted after the second episode.
12:59 AM
utenzi said…
You're right, Teresa. And the brother seems a mite young and doofy to have a CPA. And how can he disappear to the Hamptons for months during the Summer if he's got a CPA job or his own office?
2:28 AM
Col said…
Must admit to having never watched it.. but now you have me curious. :-)
11:03 AM
Jan said…
Nothing sets me off more than watching a show that the writers themselves don't seem to have been watching. And it isn't that unusual. It's what turned me into a reality show junkie.
1:19 PM
Unknown said…
I gave it up after 1.25 shows. The writing was just awful and the plot worse. Hank is a cutie, though!
5:05 PM
srp said…
Do I watch it.... no.
Will I watch it... no.
Unfortunately, too many of the rich and famous have these.... and look where it got them... Anna Nichole, Michael Jackson... etc.
5:45 PM
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