Necessary Roughness

Pleasant if fundamentally flawed show. The basic problem with this show is that tries to combine the blue sky appeal of other USA network shows while combining sometimes serious psychotherapy. As a result, the show has serious tonal issues and ends up not being very good at either. However, the show manages to still be moderately enjoyable because of one reason: casting. I feel that in television (not so much in movies unless it's a romantic comedy), casting talented actors and having sympathetic characters can go a long way and can forgive a multitude of sins. Army Wives in particular is a great example of this (and has a more talented cast than this show), but this show really works well at the top because of Callie Thorne's magnetic star quality and excellent counterbalancing from supporting players Mehcad Brooks and Scott Cohen. They help make this show more than the sum of it's parts, if not quite enough to make this a "good" show. Even so, it's not have bad as escapist entertainment.

I don't know why this show has a rating of 7 where I strongly believe that this deserves a straight out 9. It has everything a good show needs to have to stand out. Good script, great characters well played out, slow moving but worthwhile plot.

Dr. Dani Santino is one of my most favorite characters on television.She plays the role of a strong well built character of a single mother with a charisma to cherish and a refreshing smile with expressions that will knock you out. She also knows how to think right through every issue and put her words in an undeniably good notion. Well she should, she's playing the role of this psychiatrist that will solve just about anything that comes her way.

More importantly, every episode has a new case, with new top notch players facing difficulties. Their cases will make you think and give you a brief idea of how life can be really difficult sometimes. I myself could relate to a number of them, and go on to fascinate.

Then we have Terrence King (TK), key player of the New York Hawks with an intoxicating bad ass attitude towards everyone and a reckless lifestyle that no one can keep up with. This man acts like a baby throughout the season and is kept under control by his counselor cum friend Dr. Santino.

The kids are cool as well, and there is nothing more they could do to fit into their roles.

Other characters are good with only a few weak links, nothing noticeable. Nonetheless, the central characters have done a good job.

This is one of my standout shows this year and you can very easily sit through it. Don't miss out on this one. It was a blast for me, and I can't wait for Season 2.

Hats off to Callie Thorne the one that made this show what it is.

Performance anxiety is universally applicable to a written entrance test as well as a satellite launch.

What this show vividly unravels is, how this is exaggeratedly disastrous for any sport or physical activity, a mere shake of hand, a momentary hesitation could make all the difference.

Irrespective of the stage the pressures shown are universal, be it a schoolyard match, or common OCD like disorder, these issues are prevalent and it is a delight to see Dr. Dani tackle them head on.

Interestingly, it is the personal life of Dr. Dani that actually keeps us hooked to the show.

And, although surprising, I am thankful they extended the show to three seasons. A must-watch for anyone who wants a balance between fun and deep!

Dani Santino (Callie Thorne) is a suburban mom who is picking up the pieces of her life. She's divorcing her cheating husband. Her teenage kids (Hannah Marks, Patrick Johnson) are becoming a handful. A professional football team is having trouble with their wide receiver TK (Mehcad Brooks) and they call in the suburban psychotherapist to help. There's the hot trainer Matthew Donnally (Marc Blucas) and the mysterious fixer Nico Careles (Scott Cohen) on the team.

I like most of the characters even the standard annoying teenage kids. I like the love triangle they set up. I really like TK. The first two seasons is basically a serial where Dani works on TK and everything else as well as a procedural where Dani treats a new client every week. There are a lot of changes in the third season. The football team is sidelines when she's fired from the team. The family is gone when the kids leave. The love triangle is gone. Only TK and Nico remain while they add John Stamos as the sports agent guru Connor McClane. It's an understandable Hail Mary to revitalize a borderline show but it's ultimately a failure. The last season is cut to only 10 episodes. It was a nice show before the change. It wasn't a bad show after the change either. It just lost too many characters that the fans care about.

Necessary Roughness is a show about an experienced psychiatrist played by Callie Thorne(from Homicide: LOTS and Rescue Me fame) who gets hired to help out the fictional New York Hawks football team to help out with their star wide receiver Terrence "TK" King. Along the way she is also seen helping out other people with their own neurosis. The story of the show also involves the lives of Thorne's characters life especially about her kids. It's actually a quite well thought out show with a lot more depth then you'd expect from a show you'd expect about football. Also the show gives you a lot of behind the scenes perspective of what it's like to run a football team.