Checking in on 'Royal Pains'

I like Mark Feuerstein.

I liked him when he romanced Karen on "Once & Again." And I liked him when he pursued Donna on "The West Wing" (although that didn't work out so well for her, did it?)

I liked him in "Good Morning Miami" and in the movie "In Her Shoes."

Even when his character does bad things or when his series isn't the best, he's always one of those actors I'm happy to see. I kind of think he's due for a hit.

And "Royal Pains," premiering tomorrow on USA at 10 p.m. might be it. Feuerstein stars as Dr. Hank Lawson -- a man with a thriving medical career until a choice he makes in the ER gets him blacklisted at every hospital in New York. In the pilot, Hank's brother (Paulo Costanzo, you'll remember him from "Joey") convinces him to get away for a weekend at the Hamptons. And in a plot that only happens on TV, Hank is the only doctor who can save someone at a posh party. Suddenly he finds himself a concierge doctor to the rich. He's helping fix breast implants that have gone wrong and teens who are hypochondriacs

He also meets the local, and of course very cute, doctor (Jill Flint) who wants to help him and Divya Katdare (Reshma Shetty) who wants to work for him. The pilot is a perfectly pleasant 90 minutes (the show will run until 11:30 p.m.). And I think the show will fit nicely in with the other character-driven shows on USA. After all, I watch "Monk" not for the crimes but for Monk and the way he goes bout solving them. Ditto for "Psych" and even "Burn Notice" (more on that later). As their tagline "characters welcome" indicates, USA has cornered the remote on producing shows with intriguing characters even if sometimes they are trapped in somewhat mundane shows.

My concern is that although Hank is interesting and there are some funny moments, the storyline drags and the medical cases are not that interesting. We don't need the show to be "House" but I think they are going to have to amp up Hank's cases to make the show something people want to tune into each week. For now three out of five stars.

Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) is back for a third season of "Burn Notice" Thursday night at 9 p.m. (take note, it's now on an hour earlier.) In the past, I've complained that maybe not enough happens with the show, that the plot doesn't advance with enough alacrity and that sometimes you can see the twists and reveals from the moment the episode begins.

While it's still easy to play predict-a-plot (I had the bad guy in tomorrow's premiere at "hello"), last season's finale was a bit of a game changer. Now instead of being off the radar, Michael is on everyone's radar. Michael's gotten what he's wanted -- he's no longer been burned -- but he'll quickly discover that's not necessarily a good thing. It's a risk that I think will pay off for the show. What will also pay off is that Michael's relationships with both Sam (Bruce Campbell) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) have changed as well. All of this will help to advance Michael's story arcs while keeping the caper of the week.

What's also great is that all the best parts of "Burn Notice" are still there. The show is still witty, the jokes still pop and I can't get enough of Sharon Gless as Michael's mom. Three and a half stars.

With all that's premiering tomorrow night, aren't you relieved that I'm here to tell you that you can skip "The Listener" (Thursday, NBC, 9 p.m.). In the summer of "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here," I would like to support NBC for putting on scripted TV during the summer. But, alas, I kind of have nothing nice to say about "The Listener." Craig Olejnik stars as Toby Logan a paramedic who can hear other people's thoughts and uses his powers for good. Nothing about the show really works. Not Toby's contentious relationship with his ex-girlfriend Olivia (Mylène Dinh-Robic). Not the crimes he's trying to solve (they're convoluted and clichéd). And not the Detective (Lisa Marcos) who always turns to Toby to help her solves crimes. One and a half star.

After you've watched "Royal Pains," "Burn Notice," and, if you must, "The Listener," let me know what you think. Also I would like to start a movement than no more shows can be called "The (Blank)." We already have "The Mentalist," "The Cleaner," "The Listener," and coming soon "The Philanthropist." I say enough! Who's with me?

Where Have I Seen Them Before?

It's a slow week for familiar faces but don't worry a slew of people we know start showing up next week on "Raising the Bar" and other shows. But I did have to point out that Tyler Hoechlin, Martin on "7th Heaven," was baseball player Owen Scott on the season finale of "My Boys."

"My Boys" Season Finale

Speaking of "My Boys," what did you think of the finale? I have always kind of rooted for Stephanie and Kenny to get together so I was very happy with, although not that surprised by, this little development. How about you? And the sequence with Mike trying to strike out Cubs players is definitely one of the funniest moments of the year.

Amy Awards

Just a reminder that you have until Sunday, June 7 at 5 p.m. ET to email me your nominations for the 2009 Amy Awards. You can talk up your nominations by posting below but you must email me to have your vote counted. Next week, I'll announce the nominees for the 2009 Amy Awards and the voting will begin.

Remember you can now follow me on Twitter.

That's all for today. I'm back on Friday with quotes of the week and to talk about the season premieres "Army Wives" and "Raising the Bar."  Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a topic for discussion? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com. Talk to you on Friday.

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