DVD/TV Series Review: Chicago Med: Season 3

 

++++Warning, this will contain season 2 spoilers, but no big giveaways from season 3++++

The 20-episode third season of Chicago Med aired during the 2017/2018 TV season. The season starts off a bit weak (in my opinion), mainly in the resolution of Dr. Charles' shooting. It picked up months down the line with his shooter on trial. That storyline is wrapped up fairly quickly, but the aftermath of it really reverberates throughout the season, affecting Sarah and her relationship with Dr. Charles. Toward the end of the season, Sarah's estranged father is introduced, and he ends up being involved in one of the multiple cliffhangers that ended the season. All of the main characters/actors return for the season. Norma Kuhling is upgraded to a series regular this season, and there are several recognizable recurring and guest stars this season, including Malcolm McDowell, Corbin Bleu, Mekia Cox, and Gregory Alan Williams. There is no "one-Chicago" this season with the other shows, Fire and PD, but several of the cast members from the other shows do appear on Med throughout the season.

The DVD set is a five-disc set. There is no behind-the-scenes material, deleted scenes, gag reels, etc. The only difference between this and a MOD set is that you get closed captions. So, if you only get discs when there are a lot of extras available, you may just want to stick with streaming this one. Ultimately, the show continues to be strong. It does have a soap opera element to it with the various relationships, but the show did a good job again to not make the relationships the focus of the show. Some of the storylines from last season were completely tied up, and others led to ongoing story arcs this season. I will not spoil any for those who have not seen it, but I think much like ER was able to do (for a lot of its run anyway), Med keeps the focus on the hospital and treating patients and then weaves in things about the character's personal lives and relationships. I still would not say Med is as good as the early seasons of ER, but it is the closest to the overall feel of that show I have seen since ER went off the air.

DVD/TV Series Review: The Good Doctor: Season 1

 

Every few years (seemingly), a new medical drama comes along. The 18-episode first season of The Good Doctor aired in the 2017/2018 TV season. It starred Freddy Highmore, Antonia Thomas, Paige Spara, Richard Schiff, Hill Harper, Nicholas Gonzalez, and Chuku Modu. Tamlyn Tomita, Christina Chang, and Will Yun Lee. had recurring roles during the first season. To an extent, this one is centered around Doctor Shaun Murphy's character, played by Freddie Highmore (best known for his role as a young Norman Bates in Bates Motel). I say "to an extent" because his role is as a surgical resident, so he is a lower-level character in the hospital. While he is certainly the main character in the series, his character is sometimes in the background in the hospital scenes, not having much of a say in things. Without giving away too much, his character is an autistic savant, a longtime friend with an almost father-son relationship with the hospital president, Dr. Glassman (played by Richard Schiff). Glassman makes a deal with the hospital board to bring Shaun on, saying he will resign if Shaun does not excel.

The show was created by the creative team behind House. Like that show, it is an ensemble cast, but not as centered around Murphy as House was around its titular character. The remaining cast is rounded out with a mix of recognizable character actors and relatively unknown actors and actresses. Hill Harper plays the head of surgery, Nicholas Gonzalez plays the surgical attending who is assigned to be Shaun's immediate boss, Antonia Thomas is another one of the surgical residents, and Tamlyn Tomita, who played the female lead in Karate Kid Part 2, plays one of the board members of the hospital. It is a case-of-the-week procedural drama with serial storylines like many prime-time dramas. Unlike House, the focus is not always on one medical case in each episode. Some episodes are like that, and others focus on things like the personal lives of the various characters and the medical cases in the background. There are definitely themes that run throughout the season, with prejudice against Shaun because of his autism being front and center. Given the cast's ensemble nature, I think the show does a good job of giving all the characters storylines to generate interest in them. Although some characters get more material than others. There is at least some and for some characters a lot, of character development for pretty much all the characters over the course of the 18 episodes.

For those who get the DVDs, the extras include deleted scenes for most episodes, a gag reel, and a couple of behind-the-scenes features. Good for what is there, but not a ton. So if you only get DVDs or Blu Rays (which this is not available on) when there are a lot of extras, you may just want to stream this. Overall, though, it is a very good, but not necessarily great (although that is subjective) medical drama. The season ends with more than one character's storyline up in the air going into the second season, and if it continues to be well-written and acted, it can be even stronger in season two. Definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: ER Season 15 [Spoilers]

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from prior seasons and minor spoilers from the final season+++

ER's 15th and final 22-episode season aired during the 2008/1009 TV season. It marked the end of one of the longest-running, and best medical dramas ever. There was yet more cast turnover this year with Mekhi Phifer, Shane West, Maura Tierney, and Goran Visnjc leaving the show as series regulars. Some would appear here and there throughout the season, and some had a one-and-done appearance. Angela Basset was the big addition to the cast, joining as the new Chief of Emergency Medicine, Catherine Banfield. The show also had several recognizable guest stars throughout the season including Tony Hale, Chadwick Boseman, Carl Weathers, Ariel Winter, Wallace Shawn, Rooney Mara, Ernest Borgnine, and Judy Greer, among others.

I have always looked at ER as two different series. One that lasted through season 8 when Anthony Edwards decided to leave the show and the one that remained on the air until the end. Personally, I would have liked to have seen the show end after the 8th season, because had the shows that told the story of Dr Green's death been the series finale, the show would have gone out on a high point and would have never been accused of hanging on too long. This season really tries to bridge the two series, by bringing back many former cast members, including Edwards, Paul McCrane, Laura Innes, William H. Macy, Thandiwe Newton, George Clooney, Juliana Margulies, Alex Kingston, Sherrie Stringfield, and Eriq La Salle. The catalyst for bridging the early seasons to the later seasons was a storyline involving Dr. Carter that extends throughout most of the season (Wyle returns as something between a recurring character and a series regular). Edwards and McCrane are brought back in a flashback episode that found a creative way to include Basset's character. For those who were fans of the show from the beginning in 1994, the season provides a shot of nostalgia, while also wrapping up the storylines for the current main cast members like Scott Grimes, John Stamos, Linda Cardellini, and Parminder Nagra.

The DVD set is a six-disc set. It has a handful of special features including unaired scenes and a series retrospective with interviews with cast members and showrunners. Given the impact the series had, launching (or helping to launch) the careers of many stars (including Clooney, Margulies, Ewan McGregor, and Ving Rhames, to name just a few) as well as having many notable guest stars, it should have had a lot more special features looking back on the series. Even so, what was included is good. 

The season was very good, and one of the best in the season 9-15 era of the show. It was very nice to see the old cast members even though some just had cameo appearances. Many people complained about the episode in which Clooney and Margulies were brought back for having a totally unrealistic story. I think it was the best that could be done to give Clooney his "own" episode where he and Margulies could do more than just make a cameo appearance in the finale like Sherry Stringfield, Alex Kingston, and Laura Innes did. While the storyline was contrived and would not happen in real life it was really the only way, aside from having Carter go out to Seattle, to have a reason for someone from County to be interacting with Ross and Hathaway. Given that Clooney was really 1a and/or 1b along with Anthony Edwards and Margulies was a major star on the show in the early years, I think it was better to do what they did so the two could be in more than just one or two scenes. I also think the way the show ended, with Morris (of all people) taking over as the lead character, and having Carter passing the baton (so to speak) to Dr. Green's daughter who had become a prospective medical student, was the best way to end the series. It was perfect to have Noah Wyle be the last person we see on screen since the show started with his character as the wide-eyed medical student back in episode 1.

DVD/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 4

 

Season 4 of House aired during the 2007-2008 TV season and was cut short by the writer's strike that occurred that year. The show picks up with the team in disarray with Chase, Cameron, and Foreman all having quit the team at the end of the prior season. House's solution is to hire 40 new doctors and eliminate them in a Survivor-like competition. He gave most of them nicknames as opposed to learning any of their actual names, and from time to time the original team members (Jennifer Morrison, Omar Epps, and Jesse Spencer all remained on the show) would pop in. This resulted in many new additions to the cast, some permanent and some recurring. The new cast members included Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn, Peter Jacobson, Anne Dudek, Edi Gathegi, and Michael Michele. As always, the show also had many recognizable guest stars including Frank Whaley, Thomas F. Wilson (from Back to the Future), Jeremy Renner (when he was still doing TV), Mira Sorvino, Fred Durst, and Ivanna Milicevic (who had done a lot of character work for many popular TV shows and would later star in the great series Banshee).

The DVD set includes the 16 season four episodes spread across 4 discs. The bonus material includes a commentary track on part 1 of the season finale and several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. The series continued to be well-written and very well-acted. The new additions to the cast were great and the actors seemed very comfortable coming into the show. The two-part season finale was probably the two best episodes of the series up to that point, and this season, although abbreviated is arguably the best season of the show. It is absolutely worth your time to watch.

DVD/TV Series Review: ER Season 8

 

This is, in my opinion, the best season of ER. That is due in large part to the storyline that leads to Anthony Edwards' departure from the show. From its inaugural season in 1994, ER was the show everyone had to watch and talk about. It was a ratings heavyweight for years. It was the show that helped turn George Clooney into a superstar and went on to become one of the longest-running medical dramas (and shows) on TV, with 15 seasons in total. By the 8th season, many of the original main cast members had left. This season would see the departures of Dr. Greene and Dr. Benton, but the return of Dr. Lewis. After this season the only two characters from the original (main) cast would be Dr Carter (played by Noah Wyle) and Dr. Lewis (played by Sherry Stringfield).

The DVD set includes the 22 season 8 episodes spread across 6 discs. The extras/bonus features are spread across all of the discs. Mostly, they include deleted scenes/outtakes and there is a gag reel on disc 2. There are not a ton of extras, and what is included is fine, it would be nice if there was some behind-the-scenes material and a feature focused on Edwards and his character. 

Personally, I think this season would have been the best spot to end the show. To me, the show just did not have the same feel after this season. That is not to say that there were not good characters, storylines, or episodes in the remaining 7 seasons, but I think the perfect ending would have been for Dr. Green to pass the torch to Dr. Carter and the series would have gone out on a high (albeit sad) note. The episodes "The Letter" and "On The Beach" were two of the best episodes in the entire series and would have been a perfect two-part series finale. And, the show never could have been accused of staying on the air too long had it ended at that point. I look at ER as two different series. The one that lasted up to this season, and the one that remained on the air from seasons 9-15. If you were a fan of the show at any point in its run, but especially a fan of the early years of the show, you will love this season.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D., The Complete Collection

 

This is a region-free import of the complete series of House M.D. on blu-ray. As most fans of the show are aware (at least those who are also fans of physical media), in the United States, the first five seasons of House were released on DVD and the final three seasons were released on blu-ray. But, the older seasons of the show were never released on blu-ray and there was never a complete US series release on blu-ray. To my knowledge, this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to get the entire series on blu-ray. While it is an import from Japan, the discs do play in region 1 (US region) blu-ray players and it does have captions in English on the episodes, but not on the special features.

House was a hit medical drama that aired from 2004 through 2012 starring Hugh Laurie as Gregory House, a brilliant, acerbic diagnostician at a fictional hospital in New Jersey who was addicted to Vicodin, hated seeing patients, insulted them (and his team of doctors) mercilessly when he had to interact with them, and thought everyone is a lying idiot. His team (in the early seasons) included doctors Cameron (played by Jennifer Morrison), Chase (played by Jesse Spencer), and Foreman (played by Omar Epps). In Later seasons Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, Odette Annabele, and Charline Yi would also play members of House's diagnostics team. House's only friend is an oncologist named James Wilson (played by Robert Sean Leonard), and the hospital administrator, Lisa Cuddy, who is always butting heads with House is played by Lisa Edelstein. 

The show was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural drama in which the team was presented with a patient with some weird medical issue that no one else could diagnose. Intertwined within the weekly cases were serial arcs that sometimes involved House pissing off the wrong person, the lives of one or more of the team members, or the like. The first seven seasons of the show were great. Season 8 is not as good because a pot point from season seven never truly gets resolved in a satisfying way. That said, the series has a nearly perfect ending.

The blu ray set has 39 discs, all of which are in huge keep cases. They are, unfortunately, the kinds of cases that require two discs to be stacked on top of each other, and the discs can on some tabs come loose and fall off and on others be damn near impossible to get off. The blu-ray set does have all of the same special features, including interviews, commentary tracks, gag reels, deleted scenes, etc., that were released on the US DVD and blu-ray releases. The A/V transfer of the early seasons is okay, but not great. The final three seasons which got original blu-ray releases have a much better A/V quality. The blu-ray menus are very bare bones and are hard to navigate at first, and the titles of the episodes are not listed on the menus. The only change to the episodes themselves is that the theme that plays over the opening credits is different than the one that played in the US (it is the European version).

Overall, the show is great. It is probably the best medical drama after ER (which is the medical drama by which I compare all others) that I have seen. It was well-written and very well-acted. It could be suspenseful, sad, and funny, all within the same episode. The show also got a lot of great guest and recurring stars throughout its run, some of whom were very well-known (e.g., James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, and Sela Ward), and some for whom the show was one of their big breaks (e.g., Wentworth Miller, Dominic Purcell, Amanda Seyfried, Michael B. Jordan, Elle Fanning, Jeremy Renner, etc.). If you are a fan of the show, this is definitely worth the pickup.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 8

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season of House, but no major giveaways from the final season+++

House's eighth and final season aired in the 2011-2012 TV season and consisted of the show's final 22 episodes. The show starts out almost a year after House drove his car into Cuddy's living room. He ultimately returned to New Jersey, was arrested, and has been in jail for three months (after representing himself at trial). Foreman is now the director of the hospital (with Lisa Edelstein leaving the show because of a contract dispute after season 7), Wilson hates his guts, and Chase and Taub have moved on (seemingly). The first episode, much like the season House was in the psychiatric hospital, is set in the last few days of House's stint in jail (we learn that Foreman got him early release on the condition that he can only go to the hospital or his apartment), assuming he makes it through the last week without getting killed or having his sentence extended. 

While in jail he meets Dr. Jessica Adams (played by Odette Annable, probably best known for her role in Cloverfield up to that point) who works in the prison infirmary, and who would become a new member of the team along with the character of Dr. Chi Park (played by Charline Yi) who was pawned off on House after she punched her attending. Of course, House gets out of jail, and once he does, the show continues with the case of the week format as well as having a couple of different serial arcs, including a fake marriage to a Ukranian model (played by Karolina Wydra) and a major storyline that ultimately wraps up the series. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, there are fewer extras for this release than in prior season releases. There are no commentary tracks or deleted scenes, but there are three making-of/behind-the-scenes featurettes, one about the episode that Hugh Laurie directed, one that serves as a behind-the-scenes/making-of the final episode and has footage of the series wrap party, and one that is basically a series retrospective. Between the three of them, you get over an hour of bonus content. 

Ultimately, season 8 is good, with some great moments, but feels incomplete because there is no real resolution to the House-Cuddy storyline. Basically, the show was brought back for an eighth season on a smaller budget, and the producers asked Lisa Edelstein to take a cut in pay, and she refused. So, Cuddy was written out and she did not appear, even in the final episode in which many of the former cast members (including Kal Penn, Sela Ward, Anne Dudek, Olivia Wilde, Amber Tamblyn, Andre Braugher, and Jennifer Morrison) returned for cameos. That said, I do think that the ending to the series was perfect for House. It gave the viewers closure but still left some things open to imagination. Even with the reduced budget, the show managed to get some good guest and recurring stars (some of whom were not huge stars at that point) including Jaleel White, Michael Masse, Wentworth Miller, Yaya DaCosta, Jeffrey Wright, David Anders, Rena Sofer, and Michael B. Jordan. So, while I do not think it is as good as the prior seasons, it is still very good, and for me, it was better after a second viewing.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 7

 

+++Warning this contains spoilers from the end of season six and a minor spoiler of the season seven plotline, but has no major season seven giveaways+++

The seventh season of House aired during the 2011/2012 television season. It would end up being the second to last season of the show and, in my opinion, the last very good to great season of the show. This season is all about the House/Cuddy romantic relationship that was teased (yet again) at the end of season six when Cuddy showed up to stop House from taking drugs. The big serial story arc that runs throughout the season is their relationship, its function, and dysfunction, whether House can be as good of a doctor when he is happy, and whether he will end up sabotaging the relationship. Then, the show also does the case-of-the-week procedural storylines that have been the backbone of the show for the first six seasons. The series undergoes more cast turnover with Olivia Wilde taking a leave of absence from the show to go shoot movies, which allowed the show to bring in former soap opera actress Amber Tamblyn for a multi-episode arc. And of course, Jennifer Morrison had completely left the show after season six. Wilde makes a very short appearance in the season premiere and then returns about 3/4 of the way into the season in what is one of the season's best episodes (and for me, one of the top five episodes of the entire series). The season ends with a relatively big moment that will have a major impact on season 8.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the 23 episodes are spread across five discs. The show looks good, but not great in the HD format. Of course, it does not have a ton of special effects or CGI (although what is in the show does look good), and while the A/V quality is a step up from the DVDs, it is not huge. The extras include commentary tracks on three episodes, features on the characters of Thirteen, Cuddy, and Martha Masters (Tamblyn's character), and featurettes on the episodes Bombshells and The Dig, all of which are carried over from the DVD release. There are also some BD-live and U-Control extras that are specific to the blu-ray set.

Overall, the season is very good. It has a good blend of action, drama, and comedy, the latter mostly at Taub's expense. The storylines are well-written and the medical cases continue to be entertaining and interesting, and the acting is still top-notch. The show also continues to get a good slate of guest stars which this season include Candice Bergen, Cynthia Watros, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jack Coleman, Jennifer Gray, Donal Louge, and Matthew Lillard. If you have liked the show up to this point, this season is definitely worth watching. In some ways, it is really the payoff to seasons 1-6 much more than season eight is. I definitely recommend it. 

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 6

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season 5, but no major season six giveaways+++

The sixth season of House picks up with House going through withdrawal in the mental hospital that he checked himself into at the end of Season 5 after hallucinating Amber, Kutner, and sleeping with Cuddy. The season premiere was actually a two-part episode that spanned the three-month period of time that the show normally time jumps. The only two regular cast members that appear in the season premiere are Hugh Laurie (of course) and Robert Sean Leonard. House does get clean and is discharged being able to provisionally go back to practicing medicine, but until his license is restored, Foreman is "the boss" of the team, which starts out as the original team of Foreman, Cameron, and Chase. This season has more cast turnover with one of the series regulars leaving partway through the season, and the fate of another character in limbo at the end of the season. After the first episode(s), the show goes back to the regular case-of-the-week format with the serial arcs mixed in. There are also a couple of episodes in which House and the team are not the focus. One follows Wilson around through a day and the other follows Cuddy around. In each of the episodes House pops in and out as he does, the only difference is that we stay with Wilson and Cuddy so we do not get the full context of what House is doing, which makes the interactions even funnier than normal.

For those who get the blu-ray set, the show looks and sounds good in the HD format. This is, at least in the US, the first season that was available on blu-ray, with the prior seasons only being available on DVD. This season does have one episode with a lot of CGI special effects in which the team takes on the case of a video game creator. The CGI shots of the game (that was made especially for the episode) look great in HD. There are a lot of extras, including commentary tracks on the episode Wilson in which Robert Sean Leonard provides commentary along with David Foster, a commentary track on the Cuddy-centric episode 9-to-5, in which Lisa Edelstein provides commentary with the writer of the episode, a commentary track on the season premiere with the director/writer Katie Jacobs and two of the three co-writers. Then, there is a featurette on the episode Hugh Laurie directed, a featurette on the video-game episode, a featurette on the footage Katic Jacobs shot on location at the hospital in NJ at the end of Season 5, some of which was used in the series premiere, and then a behind-the-scenes featurette that focused on the first episode. So, a lot there if you like going through the bonus content.

The show continues to be very strong in season seven. The writers keep coming up with good storylines and balance the ensemble cast well. This season also has a strong slate of guest and recurring cast members including Michael Weston, Andre Braugher, Cynthia Watros, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James Earl Jones, David Marciano, Jon Seda, Joshua Molina, Ethan Embry, Orlando Jones, Laura Prepon, and Sarah Wayne Callies. The season has a couple of cliffhanger-ish elements that will likely take the show in a bit of a new direction in season seven. So, if you have liked the prior seasons of the show, this it is still worth watching. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Chicago Med: Season 2

 

The second season of Chicago Med follows the same format as season 1. It is mostly a case-of-the-week procedural show in which one or two big cases come through the emergency department, with smaller cases interspersed throughout the episodes to give all the characters some screen time. There are also storylines that play out throughout the course of the season, mostly involving the personal or professional lives of the characters, which is when the show can get a bit soap operaish. Some of the character dynamics shift in season two with Reece (Rachel DiPillo) joining Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) in psychiatry as a resident, Dr. Choi (Brian Tee) is now the chief emergency resident, which results in some tension with Dr. Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss), and Dr. Rhodes (Colin Donnel) gets a new boss with whom he immediately clashes with. Dr. Rhodes also starts seeing Dr. Charles' daughter, Robyn, played by Mekia Cox, which causes all sorts of issues throughout the season. 

The DVD set just has the 23 episodes spread across six discs. There are no extras or special features at all. Also, there is no big crossover this season with the other One-Chicago shows, but characters from both Chicago PD and Chicago Fire do appear in smaller cameo or guest-starring roles throughout the season.

The show continues to be strong in its second season. Like ER (which to me, is the standard by which all medical dramas should be compared), it mostly focuses on the medical cases, but as I said above, it can get a bit soap operaish. The writing and acting are both strong and the writers do a good job of giving the large ensemble cast material to work with. The season ends on a very large cliffhanger that will undoubtedly reverberate going into season three. So, if you liked season 1, then it is definitely worth sticking with the show in season two.

DVD/TV Series Review: House M.D.: Season 5

 

+++Warning, this review contains major season four spoilers, and a couple of hints, but no major giveaways from season five+++

The fifth season of House is another very good one, especially in the last third of the season. It starts out a couple of months after the events that ended season four, with Wilson returning to wrap up his practice at Princeton Plainsborough, intending to find a new job after Amber's death. Of course, Robert Sean Leonard did not end up leaving the show so he eventually overcomes his resentment of House, but the first part of the season is really about repairing their relationship. Then, the show becomes the traditional case-of-the-week procedural mixed with serial storylines. The big storyline for the middle part of the season is 13's participation in a Huntington's drug trial that is being run by Foreman, and a great storyline involving Cuddy. Then, in the latter half of the season, another major death rocks House and launches into the storyline that ends the season and sets up season six. This season sees another round of great guest and recurring characters/stars including: Michael Weston, Breckin Meyer (from Clueless), Emily Rijos, Zeljko Ivanek, Jimmi Simpson, Jay Karnes, Mos Def, and Collen Camp. The writers also found a way to bring back the character of Amber (Anne Dudek) as a part of the final big storyline of the season.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include a commentary track on the episode "Locked In" which is one of the most unique episodes of the series that was partially inspired by an episode of M*A*S*H*. Then there is a featurette on the 100th episode (which aired later in the season than it normally would have because of the shortened season four), a featurette on Cuddy's storyline, the featurette on the medical accuracy of the show, one on filming the teaser opening to one of the episodes, and a featurette on the guest cast members that have appeared throughout the first five seasons of the show. The total running time for all of the featurettes comes in at a little under an hour. So, there is a lot of good bonus content if you like to watch the bonus features.

Overall, the season is very good. The show does a good job balancing the large cast, which of course, got larger during season four with the addition of Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, and Kal Penn. All of the cast members got pretty significant storylines, some definitely longer than others, however, including Cameron and Chase who I felt were underused a bit during season four. The show continues to be well-written and very well-acted even though the character dynamics have changed from the first few seasons. But, if you were a fan of the prior seasons, the show is definitely still worth sticking with.

DVD/TV Series Review: House: Season 4

 

Season four of House was, at least for me, an unexpectedly great season. I was worried about how changing the dynamic of the characters, with Foreman and Cameron quitting and Chase being fired would affect the show. Of course, Omar Epps, Jesse Spencer, and Jennifer Morrison all stayed on the show, but their roles were very different not being members of House's team. I think the writers did a great decision by having House hire 40 new doctors only to whittle them down to three in a reality-tv style competition. And, of course, he gave the characters nicknames instead of learning their actual names (for the most part). Some of the candidates included Olvia Wilde (playing 13), Kal Penn (playing 6/9/Kutner), Peter Jacobson, Anne Dudek, Edi Gathegi, and Michael Michele. The season is shorter (just 16 episodes) because of the writer's strike that occurred about halfway through the season. The show actually came back for four episodes after the strike so they could do their planned two-part season finale. 

The show continued with the case-of-the-week style procedural format, but the storyline about which potentials would make the cut was the main serial storyline throughout the season. Thankfully, the show abandoned the House pisses off the wrong person off storylines from season 1 and season 3, and just focused on the relationships between the characters for the serial arc.

For those who get the DVDs, there are a fair amount of extras which include a commentary track on part 1 of the two-part season finale, clips from the soap opera that House watches, featurettes on the writers and visual effects process, the new team, and the season as a whole. So, a lot there if you like the bonus material.

Overall, I think this is the best season of the show. I think all the new cast members did a great job joining an established and wildly popular show, and the existing cast did well with the changing dynamics. The two-part season finale was wonderful and set up season three very well. And, the show continued to get a ton of great guest stars including Frank Whaley, Thomas F. Wilson (from Back to the Future), Jeremy Renner (when he was still doing TV), Mira Sorvino, Fred Durst, and Ivanna Milicevic (who had done a lot of character work for many popular TV shows and would later star in the great series Banshee). If you are a fan of medical procedural dramas, chances are you watched House at some point. If you are one of the few who have not seen it, start at season one and watch it. It was almost always good, many times great, and sometimes the best show on TV. Definitely worth watching.

DVD/TV Series Review: Chicago Med: Season One

 

Chicago Med was, in 2015, the newest addition to the Chicago-based shows (spun off from Chicago Fire) produced by Dick Wolf, who also produced the Law and Order franchise of shows. For those who already watching Chicago Fire and PD, Med got a backdoor pilot in season 3 of Chicago Fire, and Nick Gehlfuss' character, Dr. Will Halstead, who is the brother of Jay Halstead on PD, made a couple of appearances on that show before Med officially premiered.

The show is a pretty standard medical drama that has, mostly, a case-of-the-week format, in which one or two major medical cases come through the hospital, and then also focused on character development. The main cast included Colin Donnell (from Arrow) as Dr. Connor Rhodes, Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning, Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton (who had a past with Severide on Chicago Fire), Rachel DiPillo as Sarah Reese (a medical student working in the emergency department), Brian Tee as Dr. Ethan Choi, S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood (the head nurse for the emergency department), and Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles (the head of psychiatry). Tee and Merkerson are interesting additions to the cast that created continuity issues (not that Wolf's shows have been big on continuity) as they had played other characters (Merkerson on Law and Order, and Tee who played a bad guy on PD the season before) in the same universe. Of course, the Law and Order shows were established to be in the same universe of shows as the Chicago-based shows via the crossovers between Fire, PD, and SVU. While the show did a good job telling its own stories, it was a part of the three-episode crossover with Fire and PD, and characters from the other two shows made short appearances throughout the season.

For those who get the DVD set, the 18 episodes of the first season are spread across five discs. The only extras are the episodes from Fire and PD that made up the three-episode crossover, so if you did not watch the other shows, you could see the entire storyline of the crossover. There are no other extras like behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes, or the like.

Overall, the show is very good. If you are someone like me, who only started watching the show because you like medical dramas, and did not watch the other Chicago-based shows, it is enjoyable as just a medical drama. If, however, you are a fan of the other shows, you can enjoy the crossovers and mini-crossovers throughout the season. For me, pretty much all medical dramas stack up against ER. While I would not say that Med is as good as ER, it is still very good (the name of the Hospital from ER is even named-dropped in Med). It does have a bit of soap-operaishness to it with romance storylines (although not as much in the first season as it would have in later seasons), but it mainly focuses on the medical storylines. It is well-written and acted, and definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: House, M.D.: Season 3

 

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior season, but no major season three spoilers+++

Season three of House picks up some time down the line after House was shot at the end of season two. We see that the Ketamine treatment he requested worked, and he is pain-free and even able to jog. He is in a better, albeit not a good mood, and he is still acerbic and acts like a jerk to nearly everyone. One of the main serial arcs of the season, which while not a carbon copy of the season one storyline, but definitely derivative of it, involves House ticking off the wrong person who can make his life (and the lives of everyone around him) miserable. When that arc gets resolved, about 1/3 of the way into the season, the show pretty much sticks with the case-of-the-week format until about 3/4 of the way into the season, in which one member of the team decides to leave, and the season ends on a pretty big cliffhanger with the future of the entire team up in the air.

For those who get the DVD set, the extras include a gag reel, a commentary track on the episode "Half-Wit" and an "angry valley girl" alternate scene in which Jennifer Morrison and Lisa Edelstein swear at each other (bleeped out of course) the entire time, and a couple of behind-the-scenes featurettes. A decent amount, but not a ton.

Overall, the season is very good, even with the one storyline that kind of mirrors the first season's storyline. There is a good slate of guest stars including Leighton Meester (who has a pretty hilarious role for a couple of episodes), Charles S. Dutton, David Morse, Marc Blucas (from Buffy), Lyndsy Fonseca (from the Kick-Ass movies and Agent Carter series), Patrick Fugit, Meagan Good, Joel Grey, Clare Kramer, John Larroquette (from Night Court), Sheryl Lee (from Twin Peaks), Dave Matthews (of the Dave Matthews Band), Joel David Moore, Piper Perabo, Tyson Ritter (of the band All American Rejects), and Kurtwood Smith (from That 70s Show). The writers do a good job juggling the ensemble cast. The focus is always, of course, on House, but this season Wilson, Cuddy, and Foreman get the most substantial character arcs (we even get to meet Wilson's ex), while Cameron and Chase are a bit more on the sidelines (somewhat). The acting is great (as always) and the cases are interesting. So, if you like the first couple of seasons, this one is definitely worth watching.