Royal Pains 2x03: Keeping the Faith

It’s Kristi, and I’m back to share my thoughts on this week’s episode of Royal Pains. I wanted to apologize for not posting last week. I was out of town and wasn’t able to get anything written. It was a great episode though. This week’s was even better.





“Is Everybody Ready For the Big Show?”

Grabbed from the Royal Pains Facebook page.

The episode started with introducing the patient of the week, Donald. He was played by WWE’s The Big Show (whose real name is Paul Wight). He’s a popular movie star, his character being The Garbage Collector. Donald and his sister Faith were on a week’s vacation in the Hamptons. Throughout the episode, Donald had problems with his balance, tingling in his legs, and dizziness. One of my favorite parts of the episode was the birthday party scene. He was asked to wear his costume and act his role for the kids. He enlisted Hank’s help, resulting in Donald picking Hank up over his head and spinning him around, while all the kids were yelling, “Trash him!” It was so funny, but ended with Donald falling (while still carrying Hank) because he couldn’t feel his legs. There are a few more instances of this happening, until Hank figures out what is causing everything. It’s the denture cream he used when he wore his “trash teeth.” I really liked Donald. He was like a big teddy bear. It was fun to see him playing a character that was totally opposite of who he really was.

Grabbed from the Royal Pains Facebook page.

This brings us to Faith, Donald’s sister. She and Evan hit it off, but he started noticing some strange behavior from her; memory loss, lack of appetite. She insists that she is fine; she’s on a massive diet and under a lot of stress. Everything seemed okay until she began choking on her vitamins. Hank is able to extract the pills. He figures out that she had had gastric bypass surgery, and she hadn’t been following her diet properly. Both these storylines culminate in the realization for Faith that she needs to move on. So by the end of the episode, she has accepted a new job. I love the fact that Evan is the one that helps her come to the realization.


Now, to Boris. We first see him looking through some secret letters that he had received. It doesn’t look like any of them had been opened, but they were all from the same person, Marisa Casseras. If you’ve been watching previous episodes this season, you know that she is the first doctor Boris went to about his mystery disease. He and Hank have it out over Eddie’s presence at the house, and by the end of the episode we see Boris meeting with a young female doctor. She signs a confidentiality agreement and he tells her that she would make a wonderful concierge doctor. I, and probably many others, was thinking, “Whoa, wait, what?!” This does not bode well.


Finally, let’s talk about family. Eddie is now dating Ms. Newberg. He decided that he was going to stay in the Hamptons. Evan is excited about it, but Hank wants him to leave yesterday. He even goes so far to warn Ms. Newberg about him. After the blow-up with Boris, Hank and Eddie meet for lunch. They have quite an argument, and Eddie leaves in a huff, telling Hank that he is not going to leave, and there’s nothing Hank can do about it. He says, “I’ve already lost one son, I’m not going to lose the other.” This scene was so powerful. We really got to see the hate that Hank has for his father, and the love that Eddie has for his sons.


I think this was my favorite episode of the season so far. It had its funny moments and was balanced by the serious moments. The Big Show did wonderfully as Donald, and I love Henry Winkler as Eddie Lawson. I also can’t wait to find out what’s up with this new doctor.


Well, that’s it for now. Let me know what you think. I’ll be back to bring you more Royal Pains fun next week. Bye for now!


-Kristi

Royal Pains 2x01 Review

Episode 1: Spasticity

Hi everyone! This is Kristi, and I’m here with my first episode review/recap. I was so excited, I think I may have gone a little crazy with the notes I took. I’ll try not to get too rambly with it. There was so much going on. Enjoy!

Grabbed from the Royal Pains Facebook page.

HankMed and family drama:
The first thing we see is a recap of last season. It’s pretty detailed and hits many of the highpoints and important landmarks. Then we get into the continued storyline from last year, HankMed is broke and Evan has left, we assume to go find his father. In this scene, Boris (patient and owner of the guest house Hank and Evan live in) finds the note that Evan left Hank before disappearing. Hank is also missing in action. Divya arrives and calls him, not getting an answer. We soon find out that Hank is on his way to New York to find Evan and confront him about the fact that he lost all of HankMed’s money to their father, Eddie R. Lawson (played by Henry Winkler). He tries to call Evan, but he too is not answering his phone. Hank and Evan eventually meet up in New York and Hank eventually convinces Evan to come back to the Hamptons. He doesn’t come back right away though. He first gets stood up by Eddie, and arrives back several hours later.


Throughout the episode Hank and Evan are at odds with each other, and Hank lets Evan know that he no longer trusts him. Evan tries calling old clients and even writing an infomercial to try to earn some of HankMed’s money back. Unfortunately, nothing works. By the end of the episode though, we see that Evan has sold his car and Hank is finally seeing how hard Evan is trying to make it up to him. They even play a little game of catch. The last scene of the episode has Eddie showing up at the guest house, to everyone’s surprise. He pulls a check out of his pocket and hands it to Hank. After passing off the check, Hank punches him. As Eddie falls, the screen goes black.


I’m glad that this was dealt with right away. Surely HankMed wouldn’t have been able to function much longer without any funds. The tension between the brothers was great and the two final scenes show how much they really do care about each other.


The patient of the week:
Meanwhile, Divya has met with the patient of the week. His name is Spencer “the Spaz” Fischer. He does infomercials. He’s been having dizzy spells and a run of klutz-y bad luck. Once Hank is back in town, they get several calls from Spencer. The first time they all three go over to Spencer’s house, they are led to him by lights placed in the floor. He is stuck in his father’s panic room. His back has locked up and he’s stuck hanging from the ceiling. They get him down and Hank treats him. We find out that Spencer’s father was an eccentric inventor who died after a bout of mental illness and then kidney failure. The panic room has tons of supplies and even medical equipment (I’ll come back to this later). Evan also finds the open/shut buttons for the panic room door. We are shown that the door is high powered and slams shut with a lot of force.


The second time he calls, he has nailed his hand to the wall. He voices concern at this point that he is worried he’s starting to lose his mind like his father did. Hank tells Spencer not to continue his dismantling of the panic room. He’s better off just leaving it alone and not going back down there. Spencer tells him he can take the medical supplies. Jill takes them and stores them in the basement at the hospital.


Spencer calls one final time. The call drops immediately, so Evan and Divya take the call and head to Spencer’s house. They notice that all the lights are blinking. They get down to the panic room only to notice that Spencer is stuck in the door which has slammed shut on him. They call Hank and the paramedics, and they get there soon after. Hank realizes that if they open the door, he’ll die, unless they can find something that will recreate the pressure. He remembers that there was this device, which wraps around the legs and waist and inflates, in the medical supplies they had given to Jill. He calls her and she races over with the device. Evan squeezes through the door and opens it; they put the device on and then take Spencer to the hospital.


Later, at the hospital, Hank reveals to Spencer that both he and his father had been exposed to Mercury from the medical supplies that were stored there. That’s why his father seemed to lose his mind and later died of kidney failure. Spencer’s dizzy spells were caused by the same thing. Hank assured him that’s he’d be fine.


I loved Spencer. He reminded me a lot of, well, me in the klutz department. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a spaz, but I have my moments. I’m really glad that everything turned out okay and he’ll make a full recovery.


Jill and the hospital:
We are introduced to another doctor at the hospital, Dr. Elizabeth Blair (Marcia Gay Harden). She is a surgeon and member of the board. She doesn’t agree with how Jill is running the ER and has heard complaints, specifically from Charlie Casey, Jill’s ex. Right before Jill receives the call about Spencer; she is in a board meeting where they are trying to decide if Jill should remain the head of ER. She runs out mid meeting to help Hank. When they all return to the hospital, Dr. Blair has taken the position of Head of Emergency Medicine away from Jill.


So far, I don’t like Liz. I can see her being a huge thorn in everyone’s side this season, especially now that she’s in the position she is. I’m glad that Jill put the life of another in front of herself, not that I doubt she would have in the first place.


Boris:
Boris meets with Hank early in the episode, and tells him that he is contemplating finding a new doctor, someone that will have fewer distractions. Hank assures him that he is going to do everything he can to find a treatment or cure for his mysterious illness. Hank comes to him later with a new plan. He wants to contact all of the past doctors and researchers Boris has gone to, and combine their research. Hank hopes that with the combined efforts of everyone, instead of just individually, they can come up with something before its too late.


I’m glad they are moving ahead with this storyline. I like the mystery behind it, but I really want there to be a breakthrough soon. I like Boris. Hopefully, they’ll find a treatment before it’s too late.


Divya and her engagement:
Finally, throughout the episode, there is mention of her engagement. She really doesn’t want to talk about it when Evan brings it up. It’s obvious that Evan is upset when he finds out she went through with it. She realized that she “had to let a dream go and face the reality in order to embrace what is most important, family.” She tells Hank she doesn’t want to move to London, but “sometimes you have to meet family halfway, even if you don’t get where they are coming from.” These two conversations go a long way to mending the brothers’ relationship.


I really, really hope that Divya doesn’t leave. I really like her as a character and her dynamic with the boys. I also like the relationship that has developed between her and Evan. It’s a lot of fun to watch their banter. Please don’t leave, Divya!




Well, that’s my review/recap. Like I said, a lot happened, and it was hard to scale it down without missing anything. If there’s anything you’d like to add, or any thoughts you might have on the episode, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for reading.


-Kristi

Have you met Hank? Let us introduce you!

     Hey everybody! Jenna here. I'm very excited to introduce our guest blogger Christine. This is her first post in a 4 (maybe 5) part series where she will get you caught up on everything you need to know about the shows airing this summer. This post is for everyone, but especially for those who have not seen Royal Pains. So don't switch websites! Go ahead and read what Christine has to say!

     Summer may not officially start until June 22, but in my book, the beginning of June IS the beginning of summer. And why am I so pumped about summer? For the same reason YOU should be. It means the start of some of my favorite shows on USA Network. In fact, Royal Pains and Burn Notice premiere on Thursday, June 3. Mark your calendars (mine has been marked for months). You DON’T want to miss these amazing dramas.

     Now you may be thinking “That’s all good and fine for YOU, Christine, but I’ve never really watched (fill in the blank show), and I have no idea who the characters are or if that dude in the corner is a series regular or an extra, or why that last line was apparently significant based on the reactions of the people on-screen…and I’m not sure I want to invest the time in becoming involved with a new show.”

     I hear you. I really do. And that’s why I’ve put together the quintessential viewers’ guide for you all. It should hit on everything/one you need to know to enjoy the show. And for all you series regulars already out there, it will serve as a good reminder about what happened last season and what we should be looking forward to this season.

     Royal Pains is up first. It has one successful season under its belt, and Season Two is premiering on USA Network (obvs) Thursday, June 3 @ 10/9c (I’ve got your back, Midwesterners!)

More after the jump...

Happenings at the USA Network

A lot happened this past week for a lot of different USA shows. Here’s a rundown of what happened, in case you missed it!

Burn Notice

BIG news for all Burn Notice fans! Season 4 starts up on Thursday, June 3 at 9/8C but while you watch, you don't have to worry about the show getting cancelled anytime soon. Burn Notice has been renewed not ONLY for Season 5, but for Season 6 as well! The article about the renewal in Variety

says, "Network execs say seasons five and six will run a minimum of 15 and 18 episodes, respectively." This is incredible because no USA show has had over 16 episodes in a season before.

So keep watching and just sit back and enjoy. Burn Notice isn't going anywhere for a very long time.

Covert Affairs

The show doesn't premiere until July (date TBD), but USA is starting to advertise for its premiere.
The released its first trailer, and it looks SO cool!





You can join the Facebook Fan Page and follow CovertAffairs on Twitter. (notice there is no "USA" at the end b/c it's too long)

Also, follow Chris Gorham on Twitter. He's one of the stars.

After all of this, if you are still wondering what exactly the show is about, here's a synopsis:
Covert Affairs: New jobs are tough- especially when your new employer is the CIA. Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) is fluent in six languages, has traveled all over the world and is besting her fellow CIA trainees in every test, but that doesn't explain why she's suddenly summoned by CIA headquarters to report for active duty as a field operative a month before her training is over. What she doesn't know is there may be something-or someone-from her past that her CIA bosses are really after. With the help of Auggie Anderson (Christopher Gorham), a tech ops expert who was blinded while on assignment and is Annie's unofficial guide to this inscrutable world filled with intrigue, danger, and bureaucratic red tape, this quick study won't be kept in the dark for long.

Read more at: Daemon's TV

Psych

On Sunday April 18^th James Roday and Maggie Lawson will be on the Kevin Pollack Chat Show which airs live online at http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/live/ at 3pm Pacific (6pm Eastern). After it airs, it will be available for viewing here.

Also, the cover art for the Psych Season 4 DVD was released this week. Still no word on what extra features it will have but it will be released on Tuesday, July 13th. 

For more information, click here.

White Collar

The show started filming this week. Since Tiffani Thiessen is very pregnant, they filmed her scenes with Tim Dekay while still in LA. Production in New York started on Thursday. Jeff Eastin posted photos from both sets on his Twitpic page.

Royal Pains

Season 2 premieres on Thursday, June 3 at 10/9C after Burn Notice. The cast is currently in Puerto Rico to film their premiere!
In the meantime, USA is holding a contest to win a trip to the set in the Hamptons! To enter, click here.

As new seasons start to film and air, there will be more news for you and we’ll have more of these rundowns.

-Jenna