Monday, April 15, 2013

Emily Owens M.D. Review



Review: Emily Owens MD
By: Ashley Matthew


                Emily Owens MD, a medical drama that premiered in late Fall of 2012, tells the story of a socially awkward intern at Denver Memorial Hospital named Emily Owens (Mamie Gummer). Shortly after arriving, Emily soon comes to realize her med-school crush, Will Collins (Justin Hartley) and high school rival, Cassandra Koppelson (Aja Naomi King) are also interns at the hospital, leading Emily to feel extra pressure. Luckily, she befriends two other doctors at the hospital, Micah Barnes (Michael Rady) and Tyra Dupre (Kelly McCreary) who help Emily through her problems including struggling with her feelings towards Will, dealing with her arch-rival Cassandra and competing for the opportunity to be a research assistant for world-renowned surgeon, Gina Bandari (Necar Zedagan).

A positive factor of this series is the realistic environment they put into it. While the doctors must help others with their personal struggles, the medical team has struggles of their own. From Dr. Bandari’s marriage issues to Micah dealing with his mother’s cancer, this show is certainly not lacking any drama.

Another realistic trait about this show is that unlike other medical shows, they actually show what the surgeries are like that the doctors perform. This makes the series not only more realistic but educational as viewers see what doctors must endure when they perform surgeries on patients.

In this series, Emily grows as both a doctor and a person. As the series progresses, the shy, geeky girl begins to transform into a confident, young woman through actions such as finding the courage to tell Will her true feelings for him and  struggling to move on after he rejects her for another woman.  

Emily’s confidence begins to build as she connects with her patients through their many personal issues including broken relationships and unachieved goals. Towards the end of the series, Emily learns to become more comfortable with dating as she tries out blind dating to help her get over Will. This successful use of character development helps to make Emily relatable to many who watch the show.

Another character that will evolve is Cassandra. At first, she seems like the popular, confident girl that Emily remembers from high school that will stop at nothing to get forward in her career and personal life even if it means stealing what should rightfully be Emily’s time in the spotlight. However, Cassandra has her own insecurities not only in her relationships but also with her chosen profession as a doctor. Through seeing Cassandra’s flaws, it becomes evidently clear that she is not as perfect as she makes herself out to be. 

As for the romance factor of this show, Will and Emily have little moments throughout the series that make his girlfriend jealous, particularly when Will becomes concerned about Emily potentially dating another man. Meanwhile, Micah vies for Emily’s affections. Micah and Emily appear to have a closer bond than Emily and Will due to both their growing friendship and Emily trying to avoid Will after he rejects her. 

By the end of the series, Emily finally prevails as she finds success in romance and her career. But is this truly the end? Although the show was cancelled by the CW network after only 13 episodes, fans are still trying to support the show through petitions on change.org, ipetitions.com and resuscitateemilyowens.com in the hopes of bringing the show back on air with new episodes. Until then, all 13 episodes can also be purchased on itunes.com and amazon.com as instant videos.

No comments:

Post a Comment