Review – Trauma

Trauma – NBC – 9:00/8:00pm Monday – USA

Last year the one time great, but always long winded, ER came to end on NBC. They finally pulled the plug on the aging medical drama. So naturally with a brand new fall season NBC decided they needed a fresh start. A new look. Out with the old and in with the new. Which explains why this year rather than having one old behemoth of a medical drama sitting on their schedule they’ve decided to pick up two brand new ones. There’s the absurd nurse drama Mercy, and Trauma an action packed medical drama about paramedics.

Set in San Francisco Trauma tells the story of a bunch of troubled paramedics as they rush about the city rescuing people and leaping away from explosions. In the opening scenes we meet Nancy who’s having an affair with her ambulance partner. She’s super happy. They’re both super happy. Ten guesses as to whether this relationship survives the opening credits.

After her partner slash lover rescues an electrocuted victim he hops in a rescue helicopter with Rabbit, a rebel medic who doesn’t play by the rules. While taking off they have a ridiculous encounter with another helicopter and fly crashing and burning to the ground. Along with FlashForward’s pilot, this fall season isn’t shaping up as a good one for helicopter safety.

After the opening credits it is one year later and Nancy’s a changed woman. Rabbit has been out of work since the crash and he’s on his way back. In general things are looking pretty dour and serious for our medico pals. As the episode progresses we’re treated to sour looks, troubled hearts, a massive pile up on the freeway and more explosions.

The whole pilot plays like one big ‘top this’ exercise as each explosion and rescue tries to top the last. Trauma even use the ol’ “he can’t breathe! Quickly cut a hole in his throat!” medical technique that has already been used this season in Mercy. Hell, it was in the pilot for Sea Patrol as well. Do writers not know any other emergency medical procedures other than the cut a hole in somebody’s throat and shove a straw in to help them breathe technique?

Trauma is a show that should be laughed out of the emergency room but is saved by a pretty top notch cast. Nancy’s played by Anastasia Griffith who played Katie Connor on Damages. Rabbit is the always fantastic Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis from such things as Once Were Warriors, Sunshine and yes, even 10,000 BC. Joining them in the cast are Aimee Garcia as an Iraqi vet (yes, another one! Just like on Mercy.) who is also the new helicopter pilot. Antwone Fisher himself, Derek Luke, shows up as an ambo with marital indiscretions. And the always pleasing Kevin Rankin (wheelchair bound Herc from Friday Night Lights) is here to play the smart arse as per usual. Seeing Trauma is from FNL creator Peter Berg there’s even an appearance from Buddy Garrity as a drunk driver thrown in for good measure.

Compared to the awful Mercy Trauma feels like the greatest show to have ever existed but it’s nothing more than a competent action medical drama that goes through a series of motions we’ve seen a thousand times before. For Trauma to really take off the cast are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting. These characters are going to have to pop a bit more than they did in the pilot and make us really care about them if Trauma is to have any kind of shelf life.

Good, Alright, Bad Or Ugly?
Alright