Summary : Good performers, eco-friendly protagonist, inspiring alternative
therapy and emotional story
Score : 7/10
A video clip from this
episode convinced me to give Mental a chance. Two actors from Prison
Break were cast. One plays the doctor Jack Gallagher who uses
unorthodox methods and the other a patient who has hallucinations.
Their first scene was a great way to introduce them to us and it
should both surprise you and make you laugh.
Chris Vance's performance as
Jack was quite convincing and I already like him because he looks
like the guy next door. Moreover there's something genuine about his
character and I would really like to learn more about his story. For
instance a flashback revealed the event that convinced him to become
a doctor. I also enjoyed the fact that he uses a bike to move around
instead of a car, it's nice to see the producers care about the
environment. It was also quite funny to see him hanging around with
his wheel. Last but not least the tensions with other characters,
specially female, should lead to quite twisted side stories. It leads
us to Jacqueline McKenzie who plays a sexy and ambitious doctor. It
was interesting to see them interact and I can't wait for their
relationship to develop.
The other arc I enjoyed was
the doctor Carl Belle one because it intrigued me and I think the
writers will use it to cover health care and big money issues. Are
all these medecines really necessary ? At times shouldn't we use
alternative and natural solutions instead ? I think it's what Jack
tried to do in this episode. That simple acts like drawing can be
used as a therapy to cure people. Give them a goal, something to rely
on. Let the patients express themselves instead of drugging their
creativity.
About the patient I really
enjoyed the actor's performance. In fact he already played a nutsy in
Prison Break and greatly contributed to make its first season a
success. But it seems we won't see anymore of him. In fact it's what
worries me because I hope episodes won't be patient of the week ones.
As Jack received a very weird phone call I suspect the writer will
develop two arcs. One about the protagonists and an other for each
episode, introducing new patients.
So overall it was quite
interesting and I'm looking forward to watching the upcoming episode.
Moreover I got really emotional while watching it because the
performances were quite good. However I hope it won't jump the shark
as Life did because at first I really liked its zen spirit but it
quickly turned into a mission of the week show. The main story has to
be interesting in order to keep the viewers tuned. Also I was
slightly disappointed by the production quality because it really
looked cheap. I suppose it's due to budget cuts but it almost looks
like a really bad sitcom. The lighting was so horrible that it felt
like the scenes were filmed using a high-definition mobile phone. But
it's not that important and somehow I found it made them more
realistic. Anyway I'm not that picky when it comes to the form
because I think the contents matter the most.
