Royal Pains

I ignored this for a long time, finally I watched out of desperation. I loved it. Could have done without Evan. But, I am now hopelessly in love with Scott Campbell.

I really enjoyed this show for it's first season. I thought the characters were really likable, they were very funny, and some of the extremely exotic conditions rich people were coming down with (all on long island, who knew?) made the show fun and rewarding. The Dr (Hank) is great and the idea of saving someone at a rich recluse's house, then being given an amazing apartment, money, and the chance to rub elbows with the secretive elite plays on my fantasies terrifically. A lot of the rich characters fall into a typical neurotic mold but there are some like Boris the house owner that creates enough mystery to keep you watching for the next episode. The son with the distant father and crazy girlfriend is a great character. Evan the brother is Hilarious and has great chemistry with the main character. The Indian assistant Divya is really funny and I like the subplot of her dreams and her conflicts with traditional Indian cultural values. I thought the girlfriend character was OK but it didn't add much and the conflicts weren't very strong or justified. Overall a really fun show.

Evan is just pain irritating. Kill him off and you have got a good show.

I have now watched every episode of this series. That in itself says something about its entertainment value. But I think it's safe to say this show is not for everyone.

"Royal Pains" has been compared to "MacGyver", because it concerns a concierge doctor (Dr. Hank Lawson played by Mark Feuerstein) who practices in the Hamptons, and he has the uncanny ability to construct whatever medical device he needs from articles at hand. His brother, Evan (Paulo Costanzo), handles the business and financial sides of the operation. Divya (Reshma Shetty) and Jeremiah (Ben Shenkman) are the medical assistant and associate doctor who round out the practice.

The show focuses on their personal lives, too. Their lives provide plenty of drama and comedy. Henry Winkler plays the father who has never reliably been there for the boys.

Two others really deserve mention: Campbell Scott, who plays Boris, Hank's benefactor and most demanding patient, and Brooke D'Orsay, who plays Paige, Evan's beautiful girlfriend.

Production values are spectacular. It doesn't hurt that the show is filmed in the Hamptons and on some foreign locations.

Though Boris provides some intrigue, don't expect gun battles or car chases. This is a show about nice people who really care for others.

With the dearth of scripted shows on the 4 major networks these days, I've been forced to check out the series on USA, TNT, etc. "Royal Pains" is a delight! I'm sorry the first season is over already. The HD is brilliant, the scenery around the Hamptons is glorious.....a great back drop for a really good series, full of humor and drama and just a mix of "MacGyver" thrown in. It's important to me in a series that the supporting cast is just as strong as the lead character, and here we have an eclectic group who complement each other, and their interaction seems effortless. I do agree with another comment that the chemistry between Hank and Jill needs to be tweaked in some way, but aside from that I do look forward to many more years of "HankMed" and I will be one of the first to by the DVD.