NBC's "Saving Hope:" A Television Review (Pilot)

Director: David Wellington.

Writers: Malcom MacRury and Morwyn Brebner.

Cast: Michael Shanks, Erica Durance and Daniel Gillies.

From playing a doctor of anthropology in "Stargate SG-1" to becoming a doctor of surgical science in "Saving Hope," Michael Shanks has a perfect vehicle in this new show by NBC to showcase his talent. He comes through as very sentimental and it suits Shank's personality fine. The character of Dr. Charlie Harris may have been developed with him in mind.

This actor is well known in science fiction fandom for playing Dr. Jackson, a character with a strong code of ethics. As Dr. Harris, he’s a character who tends to be detached from life. He does not understand the emotional roller coaster rides his patients are going through when they show up to Hope-Zion hospital for his expertise.

While life for the doctors and nurses who works at the hospital unfolds, Harris finds himself at a crossroads. After a car accident puts him into a coma, he finds himself separated from his human body. During this time, he will start to learn about all the lives that come and go in the hospital, and that includes interacting with the other ghostly residents.

After encountering another lost spirit, maybe what Harris will learn is about the missed opportunities of those who do not understand life. When he was alive, he is a methodical surgeon. In his world, life is based on extremes; there is only a yes and no.

His foil happens to be Dr. Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies, The Vampire Diaries). He wants to be empathic with his patients. In the case of Sean, who is in to get his arm amputated because of a cancerous growth, while Harris is okay to cut it off, Goran needs to understand the reasons why.


If that is not bad enough, Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance, "Smallville"), the woman that Harris was about to wed at the episode’s start, struggles between her feelings with a man she once dated (Goran) when he takes up residency, and wondering if Harris will ever awaken.

Although this series has plenty of very good character drama going for it, some viewers may be wondering just when will the paranormal activity happen. That will most likely never happen if the pilot is any indication. The camera shifts between two point of views, in what Harris sees and in what the viewers see, which is sometimes flooded with tons of lens flare, which is often distracting than stylistic.

Shanks provide most of the third person narration and that makes this series very talkie. As he probes into existentialism, philosophy, sociology and the meaning of life, any chance of monster hunters gracing the screen will not happen.

In what will get explored is with the decisions any patient has to make. Can they choose a happy life or face a miserable one? And what about those patients who die? Do they have regrets or is their business finished? As the first spirit pointed out, all that exists beyond the hospital is an empty void. This entity was once a patient of Harris, and he reveals that he would rather stay where he is than move on.

That can be scary stuff, and maybe future episodes will expand on this subtext. Living in limbo can be a sorry state and with this show, Hope-Zion does not mean Heaven. This series will no doubt be a slow boil before any of the philosophical debates get explored.

While the idea of the ghost of Dr. Harris waxing poetic about the lives lost and lessons learned may seem boring, hopefully he will take what he is revealing and make something positive out of it. Many books about near death experiences mention how many people have changed as a result of it, and maybe that will happen here.

At least the writers have created a layered product that can be talked about around a dinner table. Hopefully this series will not turn into a product akin to Patrick Swayze’s Ghost. Viewers wanting heavier paranormal nuances will have to wait for the next episode. The teaser suggests a tale similar to The Sixth Sense, and that can lead to some potentially interesting ongoing story-lines.

But as for whether or not this product can turn three well-known stars from geek fandom to become a mainstream name, that remains to be seen. Typecasting can be evil, and so far, Gillies, Durance and Shanks are doing a favorable job in shedding their roots. Hopefully the series can find a balance in catering to two types of audiences by being a drama and ghost story at the same time. All it needs to do is to inject some supernatural substance from The Others, and it can succeed.

Overall: 6 out of 10.

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