Wonderland: A Potential Hit
Written: Apr 03 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quality Acting, Experimental Subject Matter, Less Melodrama Than Average TV Dramas
Cons: Yet another redux of handheld cameras that were old 5 years ago. Too much pop psychology.
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| tccarroll's Full Review: ABC |
Cast
Dr. Robert Banger - Ted Levine
Dr. Neil Harrison - Martin Donovan
Dr. Lyla Garrity - Michelle Forbes
Dr. Abe Matthews - Billy Burke
Dr. Derrick Hatcher - Michael Jai White
Dr. Heather Miles - Joelle Carter
Series created, produced, written and directed by Peter Berg.
The Show
Although it's a mid-season replacement show for ABC, "Wonderland" has potential to be the newest star in the world of prime time dramas. I don't know why they would've held it back as fill-in material; this is a good show. Further examination shows that ABC execs also placed it in the Thursday at 10 p.m. time slot, directly competing against ratings giant "ER" on NBC. I suppose the only consolation for that death spot is that "Wonderland" follows the biggest show on TV right now, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" ABC is definitely banking on Regis to deliver a hefty enough lead in audience to give "Wonderland" enough leg to keep it around until next season. I'm sure series creator, Peter Berg, hopes that reasoning will work for his show. We all should.
"Wonderland" focuses on the lives, both professional and personal, of six doctors at the psychiatric and emergency units of Riverview Hospital, a fictional New York City hospital. Although it is yet another in a long line of hospital shows on network television, "Wonderland," while not a stellar example of originality, is different enough from current and previous medical shows to make it worth watching. Don't tune in expecting to see "ER" in a psych ward. It isn't. Don't wait for it to become "Chicago Hope" with a couple of drooling patients talking to themselves in the background. It won't. What you will find, however, is a show that takes a somewhat novel approach to dealing with people with psychological problems: It treats them as people. Imagine that.
Although my overall impression of "Wonderland" is a positive one, the first few minutes were a little tough to swallow. In an effort to set up events later in the show, Berg, who wrote and directed the first episode, really went overboard with pop psychology. We are treated to Dr. Matthews talking to his own analyst about his fear of commitment and his desire to continue dating supermodels. Later a coworker tells him he thinks with his penis too much. A pregnant Dr. Garrity bemoans the loss of her collarbones and applauds another woman who refuses to become a "baby factory." Both of these characters are later fleshed out to be more than their initial bag of neuroses, but the damage was almost irreversible. I had the remote in my hand wanting to change the channel before deciding to give it more time. I'm glad that I did.
One of the brightest spots is Ted Levine, a.k.a. Jame Gumb from "Silence of the Lambs." As chief of forensic psychiatry, Levine's Bobby Banger is humane, tough, and battling his own demons. All three traits are expressed perfectly when Dr. Banger engages in a telephone battle with the D.A. over the competency of a psychotic shooter while under going his own examination to see if he is fit enough to receive custody of his two young children. As the scene ends, Banger pleads, "Please don't take my children. They mean everything to me." A little melodramatic, but Levine plays the line as if he were making the plea himself. I've seen Levine in a number of films and TV shows, including "Silence of the Lambs." This is his best work.
All totaled, Berg has set up a good show here. In the first episode alone, it touches on murder, suicide, serial infidelity, abortion, psychosis, divorce, child custody, the meaning of parenting, and governmental treatment of the psychologically damaged. I recommend this show highly, especially if you would like to see that "crazy" people are not all that different from ourselves. This show, to quote Dr. Banger, shows us "... exactly how tenuous our grasp on sanity really is."
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tccarroll
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Member: Teddy Carroll
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Reviews written: 30
Trusted by: 12 members
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