Anyone looking to shatter their mind into irretrievable pieces should check out ABC's new drama "Body of Proof." It's not that the show is particularly ill−constructed or poorly acted — in fact, it's all quite carefully planned out. Writer and creator Chris Murphey has strung together every predictable plot possible to produce a nightmarish deja vu.
The show combines all the cliches from medical dramas with those from crime and mystery dramas, and the result is a lumpish hybrid of "House" and the "CSI" franchise. It stars Dana Delany ("Desperate Housewives") as Dr. Megan Hunt, a former neurosurgeon who had to quit her job after a traumatic car accident. She now works as a medical examiner for the Philadelphia Police Department, finding evidence for murder cases in the bodies she inspects.
If it sounds all too familiar, that's because it is. Trying to set the show apart from the anonymous mass of forensic−themed drivel in today's TV lineup, Dr. Hunt explains her "unique" approach to solving mysteries in one of the pilot's opening scenes: "The body is the proof. It will tell you everything you need to know."
Wait, so … she's going to look for clues of the murder on the murdered body? Why didn't I think of that? The concept just doesn't hold up — there's nothing original about finding evidence from an autopsy. And it's not like Hunt spends the whole episode examining the corpse either — each episode's storyline ultimately pans out like any other murder mystery, with police investigations and interrogations and so forth. Just in its first episode, "Body of Proof" has already contradicted the philosophy it champions.
Unfortunately, the character development doesn't fare much better than the tired plot. Hunt is portrayed as an emotionally cut off but brilliant workaholic who loses her husband and custody of her daughter (cue sympathy here) as a result of her self−absorbed schedule.
Yet Hunt's tough and witty exterior begins to break down after her car accident and career change, and viewers get glimpses of this change through unbearably sentimental conversations between her and her partner, medicolegal investigator Peter Dunlop (Nicholas Bishop).
At the moment, it is unclear how many episodes it will take for these two to get together, but viewers can look to the protagonists of "Bones" or "The X−Files" (1993−2002) to make a decent prediction. My guess is that it will happen sooner rather than later: Dunlop is already averaging one deep conversation about life and family with Dr. Hunt for every two scenes they have alone.
I pity Bishop for some of the lines he has to say, especially the ones that try to force absurd parallels between the murder victim's life and Dr. Hunt's.
This trite scenario is an example of two major problems in the show's execution. The first is that the characters have all known each other for over six months at the start of the show, so it feels like viewers have been thrust into the action midway through. It's hard to believe Hunt and Dunlop's sappy friendship because it literally hasn't been developed at all. Viewers will get the feeling that the characters are all in on something and hiding it when in fact there's nothing underneath.
The second and much broader problem with "Body of Proof" is that it chooses unimaginative ways to develop meaning and complexity. While the murder mystery takes every twist and turn possible, none of it seems to contribute much to the idea that "the body is the proof." Hunt occasionally says something about the victim's corpse and spends maybe 10 minutes on camera with it (tops), but, overall, it appears to be a tacked−on concept.
As the show progresses, the writers must flesh out the theme of the body in a more compelling way so that the title actually makes sense. A dead body full of hidden surprises at the beginning of every episode just won't be enough to sustain an entire TV series. Well, it actually will be, judging from the number of successful "CSI" spin−offs, but this show has the potential to do more. If it abandoned some of its formulas and delved more into an exploration of the human body and all its functions, faults and implications in the characters' lives, "Body of Proof" might be worth watching. For now, it's dead in the water.
