The summary line is not meant to be dismissive of this show. It's merely saying that the elements of this film was,to my viewing,more perfect for a continuing story instead of a finite,80/90 minute framing.
Another "Fish-out-of-Water" story: Dr.Benjamin Stone(Michael J.Fox),still as pitch-perfect,quasi-yuppiesque yet charming as ever,in what would eventually prove to be a bit of a last hurrah of his film appeal from "Back to the Future")is a rising success as a young doctor/surgeon in a large,east coast city(I cannot immediately recall the city;I want to say Washington D.C. or Philadelphia)who is out to interview for a prestigious opening at a high dollar medical practice in Los Angeles. Instead of taking a simple,six hour(roughly)flight to the coast,the good doctor decides to drive there. If you're on this site and/or familiar with this movie at all,you're probably not in any need of prompting as to just how plot shifting THAT decision will be.
Upon wrecking property in a charming and unapologetically hayseed hamlet of the the deep south(they seemed to mention or hint at it being Georgia)named Grady,Dr.Stone is stranded in this town for the better part of two weeks,both as part of a sentence and because his car is in desperate need of work. There,he meets practically all of the locals,and his initial annoyance with their culture melts into acceptance and even fondness,crowned by his interest in a pretty,headstrong young single mom(Julie Warner)who herself is studying to become a lawyer.
One of the many forays into American culture for Scottish-born director Michael Caton-Jones,this marked sort of a twilight in Mr.Fox's once nearly automatic career as a charming,leading man matinée draw(a period that would extend from 1985 thru 1993).Though he would continue to make front-line movies after this,this would mark the last of the healthy,carefree young adult movies that is and will always be remembered for. Soon after this film wrapped,Fox discovered and was soon officially diagnosed with Parkinsons. On top of this,his overidentifiablity from his earlier success made it far more difficult to copy this formula in future works(Life With Mikey,For Love or Money and Greedy were all VERY coolly received),and thus put him at the point of trying supporting work(An American President)and television ("Spin City"). What might be equally eye-opening(besides the choice smaller roles that might've come off as almost cameo-like from then rising stars Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda,as restless locals)was the not-tapped enough charm of Miss Warner as the love interest or the fine,unaccalimed bow of Barnard Huges and David Ogden Stiers as the town's incumbent doctor and mayor,respectively.
A charming,likable show that,if it is able to successfully draw in the viewer,might leave said viewer left wanting perhaps to get more out of this story and these characters. A missed opportunity at more,perhaps.
Another "Fish-out-of-Water" story: Dr.Benjamin Stone(Michael J.Fox),still as pitch-perfect,quasi-yuppiesque yet charming as ever,in what would eventually prove to be a bit of a last hurrah of his film appeal from "Back to the Future")is a rising success as a young doctor/surgeon in a large,east coast city(I cannot immediately recall the city;I want to say Washington D.C. or Philadelphia)who is out to interview for a prestigious opening at a high dollar medical practice in Los Angeles. Instead of taking a simple,six hour(roughly)flight to the coast,the good doctor decides to drive there. If you're on this site and/or familiar with this movie at all,you're probably not in any need of prompting as to just how plot shifting THAT decision will be.
Upon wrecking property in a charming and unapologetically hayseed hamlet of the the deep south(they seemed to mention or hint at it being Georgia)named Grady,Dr.Stone is stranded in this town for the better part of two weeks,both as part of a sentence and because his car is in desperate need of work. There,he meets practically all of the locals,and his initial annoyance with their culture melts into acceptance and even fondness,crowned by his interest in a pretty,headstrong young single mom(Julie Warner)who herself is studying to become a lawyer.
One of the many forays into American culture for Scottish-born director Michael Caton-Jones,this marked sort of a twilight in Mr.Fox's once nearly automatic career as a charming,leading man matinée draw(a period that would extend from 1985 thru 1993).Though he would continue to make front-line movies after this,this would mark the last of the healthy,carefree young adult movies that is and will always be remembered for. Soon after this film wrapped,Fox discovered and was soon officially diagnosed with Parkinsons. On top of this,his overidentifiablity from his earlier success made it far more difficult to copy this formula in future works(Life With Mikey,For Love or Money and Greedy were all VERY coolly received),and thus put him at the point of trying supporting work(An American President)and television ("Spin City"). What might be equally eye-opening(besides the choice smaller roles that might've come off as almost cameo-like from then rising stars Woody Harrelson and Bridget Fonda,as restless locals)was the not-tapped enough charm of Miss Warner as the love interest or the fine,unaccalimed bow of Barnard Huges and David Ogden Stiers as the town's incumbent doctor and mayor,respectively.
A charming,likable show that,if it is able to successfully draw in the viewer,might leave said viewer left wanting perhaps to get more out of this story and these characters. A missed opportunity at more,perhaps.