Do No Harm "Pilot"

Do No Harm
Episode: Pilot (101)
Network: NBC
Original Air Date: Jan 31, 2013

Dr Jason Cole is a very respected surgeon with a very big problem -- himself








Imagine you are a highly respected, rich, easy on the eyes neurosurgeon living in a posh apartment in Philadelphia. You are so smart and so good at your job that you are in fact the chief doctor in your department and loved amongst most of your peers (there's always that one guy). Your employers are so enamored of your skills that they are more than happy to put up with that slight medical quirk that being diabetic means you can't work at night and they might have to call in another doctor or delay a surgery (depending on whether it's life threatening or not) if you fail your pre surgery blood sugar check. 

Doesn't sound so bad right?

Now imagine that you're a highly respected, rich, easy on the eyes doctor who's real medical quirk isn't that he's diabetic. Nor is that the real reason he can't work at night. The real reason is in fact that said doctor is, well, crazy. Okay lets be clear about this. The doctor himself isn't crazy. He's totally sane. He's sweet and kind. He's the type of guy that would buy coffee for a coworker having a bad day, or flowers for a nurse on her birthday. He's a 'real keeper' as my Gran would say. 

No, it's Ian Price who is crazy. Sociopathic, narcissistic, egotistic, hedonistic. Pick any word that means a totally undesirable character trait and Ian Price probably fits that bill. Trouble is that Dr Jason Coles is Ian Price. Well from 8:25 pm to 8:25am. Every day. And that body time share program hasn't exactly worked out for Jason who finds himself living a rather lonely life cut off from having real friends, girlfriends, etc out of fear of what Ian might do to them. And he has good reason to fear considering Ian already hurt a previous relationship, Olivia, who fled with Jason's son to keep the boy away from Ian. Other than Olivia, only two other people know Jason's secret. The head of his Dissociative Disorder support group and a hospital pharmacist that has been brewing up a knock out drug that makes Jason sleep through his Ian hours. Well it did for the past 5 years. But now it's not working and Ian is back and rather pissed about being stuck in nap time. 

This modern day spin on the classic Jekyll and Hyde tale starts off rather well. I've seen a few attempts at bringing this story into modern times and this is, in my opinion, one of the best. Even when Jason uses Ian as a tool to put the smack down on a wife beating cop I couldn't really see him as a villain. Just desperate. The same desperate that caused him to put his life on the line every night for 5 years with an experimental and illegal drug (and to even ask his friend to put freedom and career on the line to make it) and even to risk his life faking a blood sugar crisis to knock Ian out for the night with an Insulin overdose (something he dare not do at home due to the risks). 

Steve Pasquale is awesome in his dual roles as Jason Coles and Ian Price. I wish I could say the same about some of the supporting cast. They feel a bit cookie cutter in a way. The Boss, the Love Interest, the Job Rival (who according to Ian has issues with having a small penis). The patient who couldn't recognize any faces was more intriguing than really any of them. I enjoyed the episode and I am curious to see what happens with Jason's 'agree to share while I'm trying to destroy you behind your back' offer to Ian. But I'm very afraid that we won't see the end of the tale due to sudden death syndrome. My fingers are crossed that should NBC decide to put the pull they will at least do so with some warning or someone else will pick up the show and finish the tale in some form. 

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