Necessary Roughness lands in the red zone

True confession: I’m pretty much a sucker for any of the original programming USA Network tosses onto our television screens. Sure they’re a bit formulaic – as New York magazine’s Vulture recently pointed out — but they’re fun, sometimes frothy, sometimes serious and I can think of worse ways to spend an hour, especially when it’s hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell outside and reruns are running rampant.

So when I began to see the now ubiquitous promos for a new USA offering called Necessary Roughness, I was almost automatically in. What sealed the deal was the football aspect, so prominently displayed in those ads. I’m a HUGE sports fan, especially of the games on the gridiron. And with the collective bargaining agreement brouhaha between NFL team owners and players threatening to kibosh the upcoming season, I’ll take football any way I can get it.

And if this pilot episode is an indicator of the flavor of the rest of the show, I think I’ll stay in, at least for a little while. The show’s not going to set the world on fire with awards and critics’ kudos, but it’s not bad, frankly.

Here’s the premise in a nutshell: Dr. Dani Santino, well-played by Callie Thorne, is a therapist who uses hypnotherapy to get to the root of her patients’ issues. In very short order, her world is rocked by a philandering husband, two teenagers running amuck and a high profile yet lucrative job opportunity – treating Terrence “T.K.” King, a wide receiver with  the fictional New York Hawks who has nimble fumble fingers and a self-destructive streak. I had a big moment of “Hey, it’s THAT guy” when Mehcad Brooks, T.K.’s portrayer, first appeared on the screen, having seen his work on both Desperate Housewives and True Blood (Eggs! R.I.P.)

Sure, the episode was riddled with some standard plot clichés – angry wife throws cheating husband’s belongings onto front lawn; troubled character finds success; teenage children rebelling and running amuck; predictably quirky supporting characters dotting the landscape (the great Concetta Tomei portrays Callie’s wise-cracking, gambling-addicted mom) – but the whole package and performances were enough to overcome that, at least for me. For the moment.

What makes this all work is Callie Thorne. Striking the right note between tough and frazzled and funny and serious, she navigates the waters of being a woman called in to problem-solve in a man’s world while the pieces of her personal life are tossed and turned. The football team entourage fascinates me, especially Scott Cohen’s character – the football team enforcer.  Are there really people like that on NFL payrolls? Let’s see more of what he does, please. I’m kind of take it or leave it with the love interest sidebar, although Marc Blucas is appealing. It’s the least interesting component of the program and hopefully will take a seat on the bench more often than not. (Had to get at least one football metaphor in this thing. There it is.) I’m also hopeful that the divorce subplot doesn’t get wrapped up too neatly or quickly, as I like Craig Bierko (who, thanks to Sex and the City, I will always think of as Porkpie Hat) as an actor.

Season previews indicate that Dr. Dani takes her Hypnosis Whisper ways to other high-profile clients, but I’d like to see continued focus on her work with T.K. This character struck me as a hybrid of individuals both fictional (Rod Tidwell) and real (myriad flamboyant NFL wide receivers *cough* Terrell Owens *cough*) but with enough uniqueness to at first blush not be a caricature.

All in all, it was a pretty good pilot that set things up for what should be an entertaining season. Perfect summer television fare. It will serve as, at best, a nice precursor to the upcoming NFL season and at worst, it will give me at least a little pigskin fix. (Are you listening, Roger Goodell?)

PS: Who gets a plumb job opportunity after a hookup at a bar? That would have made my life SO much easier right after I graduated from college. Shhh…

PPS: The show is inspired by the real-life story of Dr. Donna Dannenfelser, a psychotherapist who has worked with the New York Jets. Cool.

Clacked by Jane Graves
on Jun 30, 2011 @ 15:00 EST5EDT