Thursday, September 23, 1999
NBC's 'Third Watch' worth watching
BY JOHN KIESEWETTER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
We've come to expect “Must See TV” on Thursdays from NBC, and one of the two premieres today lives up to that high standard.
Too bad Third Watch moves to Sundays after the preview tonight.
• Third Watch (10 p.m. today, Channels 5, 22; moves to 8 p.m. Sunday): For years we've watched ER doctors save the lives of injured or sick people.Think of Third Watch as the police, fire and paramedic officers who bring them to the ER.
John Wells (ER, China Beach) combines the police, fire and paramedic TV formats by setting the drama in New York's Engine Co. No. 57, called “Camelot” (it's at the corner of King and Arthur), and the 55th Precinct police station across the street.
Paramedic Monte “Doc” Parker (Michael Beach, Al Boulet from ER) is the heart and soul of the show, similar to ER's Dr. Greene, giving free medicine to indigent neighbors.
Viewers will need time to learn the large cast: Paramedics Kim Zambrano (Kim Raver) and Bobby Caffey (Bobby Cannavale); brash cop “Bosco” Boscorelli (Jason Wiles) and his partner Faith Yokas (Molly Price), a mother of two; and veteran cop John “Sully” Sullivan (Skipp Sudduth) and his rookie partner, Ty Davis, (Coby Bell), the son of his former partner.
Sully sets the tone when he explains to Ty that their priority is not enforcing the law: “We're solving problems. We go from job to job, solving problems as quickly as we can,” he says.
Third Watch has the potential to be a break-out hit. If viewers don't watch on Sunday, expect NBC to rescue it quickly.
• Stark, Raving Mad (9:30 p.m., Channels 5, 22): Days after Neil Patrick Harris' sitcom was announced in May, some advertising executives declared it the fall's big winner because of its no-fault time period, on NBC between Frasier and ER.
They said the same thing about Veronica's Closet, and we all know that the sub-par comedy didn't warrant the plumb spot. The same thing can be said about Stark, Raving Mad.
Mr. Harris (Doogie Howser M.D.) stars as Henry McNeely, the neurotic editor assigned to Ian Stark, a crazy horror writer (Tony Shalhoub, The Seige, Wings).
It's supposed to be Felix Unger paired with Stephen King. But all the parts just don't add up — the dog constantly in heat, Ian's goofy assistant (Eddie McClintock) and Henry's bizarre boss (Harriet Sansom Harris, Frasier).
Maybe creator Steven Levitan (Just Shoot Me) can figure this mess out. Maybe not. Does it matter?
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