Off the Map

After coming down with a pretty bad case of the flu, I logged into my Amazon Prime to find something to watch and this is what i found.

Off the Map comes from the creators of Grey's Anatomy and so from the beginning the expectations are set against the show. whilst it does have an air of cheapness to it (not so great SFX although could be because its a few years old) the acting is pretty good on the whole.

I particularly liked that they deal with "field" treatment in tropical climates. How to save lives without modern technology, using native medicines in conjunction with modern medicines.

i am currently on episode 11 and really disappointed that i won't be seeing much more. It was moving in the right direction and i was hoping to see more of the two worlds meeting each other. BAD MOVE ABC! PLEASE BRING IT BACK!

...Think sorority girls and stud muffins play at being doctors in the jungle complete with simpleton "locals" and formulaic drama and that is all you need to know.

...Because this show is shot in Hawai'i, the scenery is spectacular. It will make you all the angrier that not more was done with the writing, casting, and scripts.

...I made it through 1 and 1/3 episodes, but no more. The acting is passable, but the music is sappy, the stories are predictable, and the casting is well, to be kind, extremely uninspired. This could easily have been the Disney Channel does jungle medicine with high schoolers.

...I can guarantee you that it is only a matter of time before one of the "doctors" has to land an airplane due to an accident with the pilot.

...yes it is that bad.

... The networks wonder why the cable channels have all the hits now-a-days. Well I give you "Off the Map" as exhibit Number 1.

I love this series and it's no different than Greys or ER was. I love the intertwined lives of the doctors and the jungle. The actors are decent and seem to play off of each other well. The location is believable enough, as I think they are supposedly in Peru somewhere. I've seen every episode and hope it continues on!!! It's one of those weekly shows that is totally a mix of McGyver and ER at times, in the way they save people, and their struggles in losing lives too. This week, the episode about a doctor who was doing surgery on black market for a man who needed kidney transplant (man was paying a lady for her kidney and the doctor to do the procedure) brought out the one aspect of this week's episode, which was "take a chance" on things - whether it be life, love, or otherwise. There is always an underlying message with this show.

First, i must say there is something likable about this show, it kept me watching for all 13 episodes and i don't regret it. Maybe it was nature which is beautiful, i don't know. But on the other hand i found it kind of boring, not just because of the stories, true some of the episodes were interesting but there was quite a few boring ones in sense of predictability. After 10 minutes into the episode you knew exactly what is going to happen in the next 30 minutes and not just with medical part of the show, but with personal life of characters which are also very predictable. There is of course their love life and we all know that in this kind of TV series they usually pair up among group and that is also the case here, just enough that it becomes annoying and their life before they came to the clinic to make a fresh start is cliché..so if i summarize, i kind of liked it but if it were less predictable it could actually be a good TV series.

p.s. sorry for my poor English and also this is my first review so bare with me :)

This was excellent. It kept me intrigued and interested through he whole pilot episode and left me with questions to be pondered at throughout the season as answers are given. It is unique, fun and the actors are amazing! I can't wait to watch more of this great show and begin to learn more about the characters. I am not sure why it's getting such lacking reviews. It had beautiful scenery, interesting story lines for a pilot episode and gave us some details about each new doctor as well as the older doctors. Hopefully people will respond better with the next few episodes. I see this being a very popular and well loved show in the future!