Mercy

Compelling, well-developed characters, great writing, interesting premise, great dialogue, good production values--why was this show canceled? I honestly don't understand NBC's claim of "under-performance." According to the American viewing public and its 3.6 million viewers, this show was worth renewing but NBC found this project apparently not worth the effort.

Returning GWOT veterans, especially those in the medical field, do a great service that few realize can and does lead to PTSD. The themes brought to the fore in this drama are done in such a palatable way, it makes the topics easier to swallow for the non-military public.

Taylor Schilling is radiant as Veronica and I hope to see her in many other projects.

The show, Mercy, is not brilliant nor awful. It's somewhat mediocre. Except for Margo Martindale and Michelle Trachtenberg, I never saw any of these actors or actresses before. It's nice to have a show that is set in New Jersey which is also actually filmed here that isn't the Sopranos well except for Teresa Giudice's appearance in one episode. She was the NJ housewife who flipped the table at her dinner party and claimed to be classy. Anyway, Mercy is about an Iraqi veteran nurse who returns home to face her relationships and her life after war. I never heard of the actress but she's okay in the role as Veronica. To me, Margo Martindale is a scene stealer and a veteran character actress who should be in every episode. She's wonderful and deserves to have her name in the first credits like everybody else. She has had a respectable career and given good scripts that she could possibly be Emmy worthy. Well, maybe the writers and producers are reading this. I sure hope so.

Now I have never seen any other nurse shows so I can't really compare but all I can say this show is so beautifully made. Although I don't watch it when it first premieres instead I opt for on demand I find this show to be really great and refreshing. I love the three main nurses, they are very likable and each of them has their own unique story. There is a lot of dramatization but I guess everyday is a new thing in the ER. Nonetheless , this show should not be missed, as I said before I can't compare it to any other since I haven't seen any of them but this show tops. I am really hoping and crossing my fingers that there will be a second season, although it seems unlikely, because that season finale was just too much to not want to continue watching this!

A few weeks ago, under my former name of Ruth Ann Renaud, I wrote a review stating that Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan wouldn't have taken five minutes of any of this. Now that I've gotten to see some more episodes and I've gotten more adjusted to the characters, it's good to see that everybody SEEMS to be getting along. The plot line about the father having Alzheimer's disease/senile dementia hits home-my mom and at least two uncles died from it. James LeGros' doctor (who I called "oily") deserves some sympathy having lost a wife. At least he's on a first name basis with the nurses. The young nurse (Michelle Trachtenberg's character) seems to be developing some armor-the way she stood down the wife of her boyfriend was good to watch. Veronica also was good as a surrogate older sister playing "crazy war veteran" with the wife. The usual subplots that are in other medical dramas are here, but putting the emphasis on the nurses gives the show a new perspective. It just gets better every week!

Impactful series that should have went on. I still think about this series often... even 13 years later. Mercy dealt with real life problems that so many people deal with. I am not really sure where they could have taken it but the drama and dysfuction was second to none in this one. I have always wondered why the decision was made to end this fabulous show, apparently it was because of low ratings. Maybe this one was just out before its time because it for sure was much better than other shows that happened to make it. Well, I'm giving it a 10 rating because I can honestly say that Veronica has stuck.