Type of Series: Sci-Fi; Hospital Drama;

    Similar Shows: None really. Mercy Point was an original. It had elements of er and elements of the Star Trek shows and Babylon 5. But it was nothing like them. Closest of all, I suppose, would be the first season of Chicago Hope, were every episode seemed to deal with the testing of some innovative new medical procedure. That was Mercy Point. That part of Chicago Hope, teamed with the quality of St. Elsewhere, and the heart and soul of Star Trek: Voyager.

    Typical Episode: A typical episode will have several story strands, one will feature an alien with a totally alien disease (i.e. a made-up ailment) which will require a sci-fi solution. There'll also be another strand in which a patient will wrestle with a much more human-interest type dilemma. Over the course of the seven episodes we saw quite a lot of people facing up to death, either their own, or a loved-ones. Finally a lot of the scenes will be devoted to the regular characters and their on-going (i.e. soap-opera-ish) personal dilemmas: sisters who feud; coping with lover's ex's; and so forth.

    In all three area's the show excelled. The aliens and sci-fi stories were fresh and interesting. This is what TV SF needs: a new perspective. And what better than introducing entire races of aliens in terms of the illnesses, thus showing moments of crisis for everybody. The more-human interest stories were also terrific, especially in cases where the patient was terminally ill. These scenes really did tug the old heart strings.

    And, finally, the soap-opera aspect of things was truly top notch. The pilot genuinely engaged me, but by the fourth/fifth episode I was hooked and dying for more.

    The Inner Light:

    Strengths: This show had many strengths. A great cast, great characters, exciting stories, credible FX and make-up. The theme tune was cool, too.

    Weaknesses: The android, though well played and written, was a total re-thread of Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also seemed to be making major advancements towards humanity with alarming regularity. In the shows short life, she came really, really far. Too far, when you consider that all of this happened as an aside. None of the developments were given centre-stage in an episode. In the finale we were given an explanation as to why so much had happened to her, but still... It was a lot of development for one short season.

    Impressive Characters: Alexandra Wilson's character, Dru, was easily the most impressive (and my favourite to boot!). She was the one with the most baggage, she was also the one who faced up to the most conflicts in the shows seven-episode run. Her sister was tough on her, her ex-lover was happily involved, the job was tough on her and she was also a bit of an emotional wreck.

    Most Impressive Actor: Alexandra Wilson.

    Boy, was she a revelation.

    When she appeared in Homefront, I thought she was quite weak and I wasn't sorry to see her written out in the show's 18th episode.

    Now I'm not sure what to think.

    Either my judgement at the time was incorrect (unlikely!) or Miss Wilson has spent the last seven years perfecting her art to a very high standard indeed.

    She was the central focus of most episodes.

    And deservedly so.

    Nervous intern. Heartbroken ex-lover. Lonely sister. Impulsive doctor. Feisty champion. Resourceful heroine. Respectful student. She conveyed it all. With aplomb.

    Other Impressive Actors: Maria Del Mar was perfectly cast as Dru's tough sister Haylen. In many ways, you could say that Mercy Point was the story of the Breslauer sisters. Since they had so much conflict in the early episodes, they had loads of screen-time and were (effectively) the stars of the show.

    Del Mar had the perfect air of authority for the part. Carrying the subtle (somewhat ambiguous) relationship between Haylen and Joe Morton's Dr. Maxwell also fell squarely on Del Mar's shoulders. She loved the guy. No doubt about that. But as a friend? As a lover? Which? And did she know herself?

    Julia Pennington had a go at putting on Brent Spiners shoes by playing ANI - the Android Nursing Interface. And very good she was, too. Initially I was concerned that ANI was developing very fast, but in the series finale we were finally told why she was changing so fast. Suddenly it all made sense.

    Pennington was great. In the show's short run we didn't get to see her do anything spectacular, acting-wise, since ANI was given very little to do, really. But Pennington was more than capable to convincing us that she was an android. She cried, she laughed, she flirted, and she did it all, as though it was totally new to her.

    As underused as Pennington was, she wasn't the most underused regular. Salli Richarson (who co-starred as Eliza on Gargoyles) claims that honour. Richarson played Lt. Kim Salisaw, a tough officer from a nearby military base - Powell Station - and the woman currently involved with Dru's one-true-love.

    Where the producers slipped up was in not making Salisaw more sympathetic. Were the character more likeable, a truly gripping dilemma could have opened up (a lá Brian, Jordan and Angela on My So-Called Life). But very little time was given to the character of Salisaw, so our loyalties were always with Dru.

    On a couple of occasions she was actually the mouth-piece of an evil and unseen authority, thus driving the character further and further into the realm of complete baddie.

    That said, Richardson was terrific and likeable in the part. As written it would be hard to imagine who Dru's ex-boyfriend saw in the military lady, but Richardson made us believe.

    Even More Impressive Actors: Brian McNamara appeared as hotshot young doctor Caleb Jurado, the most immediately clichéd character in the show. In the pilot, which introduced him via his reckless nature, you were inclined to dislike the character. Seven weeks later, thanks to McNamara's genuine performance, you were honestly fond of the guy.

    Some scenes, as written, could have worked against the characters likeability. For a start he showed an enthusiastic disrespect towards the stuffy alien doc, Batung, which could have come off as smart alec-y and irritating.

    But McNamara pulled it off.

    Plus, he was the perfect romantic leading man for Alexandra Wilson.

    Joe Spano is a long-time favourite of mine. He's an actor that lends great sincerity to his roles. He was perfectly cast as a Air-Crash investigator on a two-part X-Files a couple of years ago. When Mulder started talking about aliens and abductions, the investigator became totally outraged that such a serious tragedy was being trivialised in this way. Who better to play that kind of role than Spano? He is so sincere in his performances.

    Of course, he is best known, for his role on Hill Street Blues. And deservedly so. He was quite wonderful in that role.

    And so it was with Mercy Point, where he played Dr. Harris DeMilla, the man-in-charge. His best moments came in the fifth and sixth episodes when DeMilla found his hospital being segregated against his will and he found himself in a position of having to champion the principles behind the founding of Mercy Point. Who better to play that kind of role than Spano? He is so sincere in his performances.

    Haig Sutherland played Nagnom, an alien orderly, somewhat similar to the police-house caretaker on Alien Nation. Except that Sutherland was genuinely charming and funny. Particularly in the episode where his lunch was mistaken as a toy and taken away from him, or the one where he was brought in an grilled by the murder investigators who found that, unlike most of staff who were tight-lipped, it was virtually impossible to stop Nagnom from launching into unrelated and uninteresting anecdotes.

    Possibly the best thing about Sutherland's performance, though, was the fact that we got the impression that Nagnom had a crush on Dru. A plot-point I would have loved to see get developed in future episodes.

    Last, but not least, was Joe Morton, the actual nominal star of the show.

    Joe was utterly perfect for the role of Dr. Grote Maxwell ("Grote"??!!). In that the lead actor should set the tone for the cast.

    Morton is completely believable. To be honest, he failed to impress me in either TriBeCa or Prince Street (where he seemed somewhat dwarfed by the other cast members), but he more than made up for that here.

    Slowly.

    I didn't warm to his performance in the pilot, or possibly even in episode two. He seemed too down-to-earth, almost.

    Eventually, though, I saw that as the key to enjoying his performance. The fact that he was so... dull.

    And I mean that in a good way.

    Honest.

    On Mercy Point, all the other characters were dynamic and larger than life in ways. Jurado was flashy. Dru, DeMilla and the others got loads of big heartfelt speeches.

    In the midst of all this, Grote Maxwell seemed kinda ordinary. Kinda like... a doctor going about his job, irrespective of the fact that he was working in outer space.

    And this is the exact quality Morton brought to the role. When you look at it this way, you see that Morton would have been perfect in St. Elsewhere. He's totally convincing as a doctor.

    Even in outer space.

    Impressive Episodes: All of them, really. But #5: "No Mercy" deserves special mention for it's gut-wrenching (and totally unexpected) cliff-hanger. One of the regulars goes up against a serial-killer and just when you are expecting a down-pat ending, all hell breaks loose and we see our hero being sucked out into space...

    Overall though, the series finale is probably the most impressive episode. Taken as an indication of the type of story-telling Mercy Point was capable of doing, it demonstrates that the series had a lot of potential.

    "Persistence of Vision" has the regulars deal with a patient suffering from hallucinations as a result of too much time spent in deep space. He's become somewhat deranged, and maintains that he's on a mission from God. Dr. Jerado is the first to buy into this stuff, and slowly - one-by-one - the other members of staff start to wonder whether the guy to simply deluded, or if he is responsible for the strange things that have been happening since he arrived.

    And therein lies the key to the episodes strength. And, indeed, the series' strength.

    How can Strange Things be happening in a Sci-Fi series? One where everything is strange. Unless, of course, the writers/producers/cast have done such a superb job of making the fantastic seem normal.

    Which is what Mercy Point did. From the get-go, everything you saw and heard seemed perfectly normal and believable. No mean feat considering that you were mixing two very well established genres. TV has always had hospital dramas and sci-fi ensemble shows. One is always very down-to-earth, while the other (by it's very nature) has to be up in the clouds. Making the two co-exist successfully is a mammoth task. You'll certainly believe the hospital stuff, but when a sci-fi element shows up, will you still believe?

    With this cast, this crew, these writers, you will believe.

    The opening to episode five is a case in point. The afflicted alien is a puppet. A chunk of rubber, lying on the table.

    It could be ridiculous.

    But not with Joe Morton playing the attending surgeon.

    Impressive Writers: Trey Callaway, co-creator; Milo Frank, co-creator, Brent V. Friedman (Dark Skies) supervising producer; Gary Glasberg, executive story editor; Michael Kattleman, executive producer; Vehan Moosekian (Tour Of Duty) co-executive producer; William Redner, associate producer; Scott Sanders, executive producer; David Simkins (Lois And Clark, Brisco County Jr.) co-creator; Deborah Star Seibel: producer; Joe Voci (Cupid), executive producer; Lee David Zlotoff (MacGyver, Hill Street Blues): executive producer.

    The people behind Mercy Point have an impressive track record in TV. But, to their credit, this show stands side-by-side with everything they have accomplished in the past.

    Less-Than-Impressive Characters:

    Less-Than-Impressive Actors: The guy who played the pharmacist in "No Mercy" was crap.

    Less-Than-Impressive Episodes:

    Less-Than-Impressive Writers: I've read one or two pieces where the writers/producers talk about doing mature/adult plots on Mercy Point, and their desire to do the type of adult story-telling not normally seen in SFTV.

Excuse me!

What's that about?

Haven't these people seen the Star Treks, Quantum Leap, Highlander and the myriad of other "adult" sci-fi shows that have dotted our dial through out the nineties.

Then there was the guff about showing a much more bloody side of Sci-Fi medicine.

[cough!] Where were these guys when The Burning Zone was on?

    Continuity: Strong.

    Episode Guide: The Episode Guide Pages is a great place to go for Episode Guides.

    Episode List: The following seven episodes were shown on Sci-Fi here in Ireland, Thursday nights at 8pm, just before Babylon 5. The timeslot now goes to PSI Factor.

    Reviews:

    Other Info: The Mercy Point Encyclopedia is an excellent guide to the three episodes that aired on UPN. The Alexandra Wilson Page is a site dedicated to the career of the show's star, and Salli-Richarson.Com is an offical site for her rival on the show. Meanwhile TeeVee is a site with a review of the show. Not that they like it, mind you, but it is a good review all the same. And Tatooine Episode Guides gives plots details for episodes one to three.

    Miscellaneous Comments:    Sunday, 21 February 1999

    Mercy Point was a great show, and I'll miss it. I liked the pilot a lot and the show grew on me as the weeks passed. I was even able to convert someone else to the fold.

    But the show is gone.

    The e-mail address at: upn is www.programming@upn.com. So if anyone wants to e-mail them and tell them you're disappointed it was cancelled, please do so.

    Alternatively, a letter to Ms Bonnie Hammer, Senior Vice President of Programming, Sci-Fi Channel, 2030 Avenue of the Americas, F115, New York, NY 10020-1513, suggesting they air/pick-up the series might be in order.

    Anyone who saw the full seven episodes can call themselves lucky, it was a great show.

GRADE: A+

Review by Michael Leddy

Comments are welcome: rikerdonegal@hotmail.com

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