Mercy

Channel: Seven
Day & time*: Monday, 9.30 p.m.
(*as at October 2009)

 

Show a little Mercy

Nurses, it seems, are the new lawyers in TV land. It feels like shows about the profession are popping up everywhere. Hard on the heels of Ten's Nurse Jackie, Seven is getting in on the act with Mercy, a show that follows a similar story arc and appears, at least superficially, to have many similar features.

Like Nurse Jackie, the lead character is a nurse - here, she's Veronica 'Ronnie' Callahan (Taylor Schilling), a real hard case who's recently returned from Iraq. Her job at Mercy Hospital in New Jersey is confronting; but hardly something to faze someone who's been working on the frontline. As you might expect, Ronnie doesn't suffer fools lightly, and some of her work colleagues definitely fall into that category.

In the pilot episode, she's separated from her husband Mike (Diego Klattenhoff). It soon emerges that her experience in Iraq had something to do with that, particularly a fling with a doctor. And wouldn't you know it, that very doctor - Dr Chris Sands (James Tupper) - has lobbed at Mercy and has decided to hang around for the next two years. As you might expect, this puts her tentative reconciliation with Mike at severe risk.

If you've checked out our review of Nurse Jackie, you might gather that there are some marked resemblances between that show and Mercy. An additional similarity is that the lead character is a strong, independent woman. While I didn't really think Taylor Schilling could match it with Edie Falco, she nonetheless manages to make Ronnie worth following. At times, she perhaps takes the 'hard-edge' thing a bit too far; but in general Schilling does a great job with the role.

Where Mercy loses out however is with the supporting characters, where the writing devolves into some cookie-cutter stereotypes. The male characters aren't exactly helped by the casting of some fairly bland actors in the crucial roles.

You'd have to think that Seven would have been aware that this show was going to be a direct competitor with Nurse Jackie. Its decision then to make sure they didn't go head-to-head appears to be a smart one; as is their decision to have its blockbuster new series FlashForward as a lead-in. Certainly, Seven are giving this show every chance of succeeding. The thing is, this is not another Grey's Anatomy. This has a rather flintier aspect to it, something that the Grey's audience may not appreciate.

Although I think Mercy might struggle, it's another quality medical series. Schilling delivers in the lead role, there's some interesting storylines and the show has a slickness that's undeniable. Given a direct clash, I'd probably chose Nurse Jackie over this show; but that's largely a personal decision.

Phil James