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Review: '3 Lbs.'
It's going to be a fun game to see how many critics are going to be able to avoid comparing CBS' new pre-midseason drama 3 Lbs. to FOX's established hit House.
The similarities are so obvious and intended, plus this is the second time in three months that CBS has baited us to make these House comparisons, following the fall offering Shark. While that James Woods semi-hit at least could be pitched as "House with Lawyers," 3 Lbs. is the much less intriguing "House with Doctors."
The show was created by Peter Ocko, whose Dead Like Me and Boston Legal credits suggest a gift with far quirkier and less generic material than this.
Stanley Tucci is in Woods/Hugh Laurie territory as Dr. Douglas Hanson, a brilliant but enigmatic New York City neurosurgeon. Is there any other kind? Why yes. Dr. Hanson's new shadow is Mark Feurstein's Dr. Jonathan Singer. Dr. Singer is from Los Angeles, which means he cares what his patients think and likes to meditate to clear his mind, while Dr. Hanson is prone to walking out in the middle of consults and he prefers to think of the brain as a box with wires. How ever will these two different, but gifted surgeons learn work together?
The background characters are a blur, with the exception of Indira Varma, as a neurologist who may blend some of the sensibilities of the two main docs.
Episodes of 3 Lbs. begin with the soon-to-be patients immersed in their lives until a brain-based ailment strikes, depicted by an effects-heavy journey inside the body to the root of the condition (basically, just like House). And a major wrinkle is that the Dr. Hanson may be having his own medical problems -- phantom images and whatnot -- which may impact his professional judgment (basically, just like House). No doubt producers would insist that the difference between 3 Lbs. and House is that by specializing specifically on cerebral function, they can get into more ephemeral territory, the origins of memory, feeling and emotion.
The problem with the pilot and with my having any interest in 3 Lbs. going forward is how poorly defined Tucci's Dr. Hanson is, a problem that I blame 100 percent on the show's creative team rather than on Tucci. The TV landscape is littered with anti-social geniuses and it takes more than just a lack of conventional bedside manner to stand out. Other characters describe Hanson as a terror, referencing the previous doctors he's scared into quitting and their awe of his skill, but the character we see is kind of rude, but not in any way that you'd talk about in hushed tones.
He's perfectly capable of talking to some former patients in a sensitive way. He has at least a bit of a connection to his teenage daughter (a nod that's more sentimental Shark than consistently misanthropic House). He's unemotional and mechanical, but not to an extreme.
The absence of extreme behavior on Hanson's part makes him a poor foil for Feurstein's touchy-feely, uber-New Age-y Dr. Singer. Feurstein's portrayal is all empathy and earnestness, which plays badly off of Tucci's underdeveloped ambiguity.
After the unexpected failure of Smith this fall, CBS opted to rush it to air in the Tuesday 10 p.m. ET slot. The network might end up wishing that a different time period had become available, one which wouldn't force this Xerox -- loaded with strong performers though it may be -- from airing immediately after FOX's original.
Don't be so quick to not blame Stanley Tucci. I know for a fact that he singlehandedly screwed up "Twenty Good Years" by signing on to do the pilot, then insisiting the script be changed to something awful, which the show creator refused to do for him, so the network fired the creator, put in some hack who made all the changes Stanley wanted... and then Stanley took a better deal with "3 Lbs", leaving "Twenty Good Years'... but only after having screwed it up royally with his controlling creative demands. He's a talented actor, but he should NOT be allowed to ruin good material. The pilot for "Twenty Good Years" was NOT what aired on NBC, and that is purely because of Tucci's interference. So let's not go assuming he is blameless on whatever shortcomings this series has. My guess... he is.
Tom | Nov 14, 2006 5:03:52 AM | #Stanley Tucci has a much different sensibility than either Jeffrey Tambor or John Lithgow. What they couldn't make work, he may have. Tucci was awesome in a very over-the-top role in the little seen "Undercover Blues."
Sally | Nov 14, 2006 9:44:16 AM | #The lesson here is that studio and network executives are hungry for half-assed derivitive programming. They are so afraid to take a chance on wonderfully crafted characters and worlds and lean toward shows helmed by has-beens and based on formulas that drew an audience 20 years ago, but perhaps offends audiences today. They are far too eager to sacrifice programming quality for job security. I submit any HBO, FX or even Showtime as examples of risk-taking, groundbreaking television that the big networks always claim they are looking for, but when push comes to shove, we get crap like "Twenty Good Years, "The Class" and "Til Death." No wonder television ratings are in the toilet. Don't blame creator. Blame the executives who want every original idea to fit the mold of something else that was a hit on another network.
Max | Nov 14, 2006 1:23:53 PM | #Saw the pilot.
Ugh......
Double Ugh
I fell asleep while watching.
ginny | Nov 15, 2006 10:53:30 AM | #Ginny, I fell asleep, too. And not just because I was tired. I have a negative amount of interest in 3 lbs - Even after watching NCIS and The Unit that air before 3 lbs.
Mavourneen | Nov 15, 2006 11:28:04 AM | #I loved it but I'm a fan of House on fox also. I thought 3 Lbs. reminded me a lot of the old CBS hit medical show Chicago Hope. . .anyway I liked it and can't wait to watch the rest of the episodes!!
Jess | Nov 15, 2006 5:44:45 PM | #Jess, I agree with you wholeheartedly on the Chicago Hope theme, only they've updated a little. If it's on opposite House, Law & Order or something else, I'll watch House or something else.
And you Sleepy Heads up there, get a VCR or TiVo. It goes much faster without the commercials & it's okay, but I'm still a House fan, hands down. Hugh Laurie is just amazing to watch!!!
I taped 3 lbs & found it okay, but it's not on my tape list or 'must see' list!
Apres Ski | Nov 15, 2006 10:34:10 PM | #Ever since Stanley Tucci shaved his head & started wearing black-on-black clothing, he's been a mess!
Apres Ski | Nov 15, 2006 10:37:57 PM | #I actually thought it was great. I don't watch House so maybe it's refreshing to me. I think it has good potential to grow.
Wendee | Nov 20, 2006 8:21:53 PM | #I frist what to say that the new show (3 lbs.) is awsome. The ones who said they don't like it or think it is slow is because they don't understand it. This show 3lbs. is right up there next to ER. The reason why some people can't watch it or seem to enjoy it is because they can't handell the reallity of life. I know exactly what it's all about because I personally went through all that nightmire myself. I suffered from seizures for ten long scary years having ten aday.Thank god that I finnally had a operation to take away that living hell that I delt with. The process that they go through when dealing with there patients medical condition on the show is so reallistic it's great. Hell I even have some pictures that they can use for the show from my operation, but it might scare you babies out there who can't handle reality of life. So the next time you people watch 3lbs that is if you can, try to understand what people really go through who have suffered from seizures,and how far doctors have come in the medical world.
Grow up! or go back and watch bambi!
I just finished watching the pilot at the CBS website, and honestly, it left me cold. I can't necessarily pinpoint it to any given aspect of the show -- the acting was fair, the writing wasn't bad, the music was fine, the characters were fairly well developed. I just feel like I'm watching a bunch of cookie cutter people do their jobs in a cookie cutter hospital drama. The brain is a fascinating structure with a wide array of possible problems, but I do wonder just how many episodes they're going to be able to write before things start to get repetitive. Is anyone really going to want to watch a somewhat cranky doctor and his touchy-feely counterpart remove a brain tumor, week after week?
That said, I'm going to withhold judgement till after I've watched another episode or two. But I can't really see myself watching this in the long term. If you're going to rip off another network's show, you have to do it well -- and I'm just not sure that this is donee well enough.
Angela | Nov 26, 2006 1:27:08 PM | #I loved it. but that is probably because i don't watch house and i am studying the brain in my courses. the more i watch/learn/read/see, etc about the brain, the better! i just watched the 3rd episode tonight on tv, and watched episode 1 online during the commercials! I think it's great. but i am looking for the anatomy. besides, from what i've heard of house, he has no feelings, emotions, etc. it seems to me that this guy DOES. plus, bald men, black clothes, that's just sexy!! :)
emily | Nov 28, 2006 8:15:18 PM | #This show has potential if they dig deep into the mind. After all, the brain is still the most mysterious and least understood part of us, and it has alot of unanswered questions and many diseases for there is no cure. Let's watch and see.
Steve | Nov 30, 2006 2:35:52 AM | #I loved 3lbs! I was so disappointed when I found out it was cancelled. As far as I saw, there were only 3 episodes aired. That's not enough to make a show. Give it a chance, for pete's sake!
juniejane | Feb 17, 2007 8:39:19 AM | #
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