Greetings,
When I did a One Seasoner's post about My So-Called Life, I pointed out how a lot of people where I lived liked the show, because it took place in our general area. That being the Pittsburgh area. And that's as good as it gets for those of us on the outskirts of the big city. Still, I think most people get a kick out of shows or movies that are set and, at least somewhat, shot close to where they live. My So-Called Life was one of those for me and my "neighbors", and so was the show Three Rivers.
Three Rivers was a medical drama that centered around doctors who did transplants, and every episode was about some crisis involving said transplants or the recipients or the donors and what all the people go through. And that's about it. Nothing wrong with that, on the surface. In fact, they managed to tell a few compelling stories about how this whole process can affect people. That was probably the strongest aspect of the show. However, it seems like there are only so many stories you can tell and things might get overly repetitive. It got to the point where every episode was extremely similar, just with different guest characters. And a show can't last long on that. Not that it didn't have its good parts, like the cast.
The cast of Three Rivers was pretty great. Easily, the biggest name on the show was Alfre Woodard, who I love, of course. Who doesn't? She played Dr. Sophia Jordan, head of surgery, however, she wasn't the star of the show. That honor went to Alex O'Loughlin as Dr. Andy Yablonski. Now he came with something of a built-in fan base from his days as vampire Mick St. John on Moonlight, another One Seasoner that I will cover someday. And a lot of people hoped he would become the breakout star of this show, as well, that could propel it to success. Other familiar faces were Katherine Moennig as Dr. Miranda Fostor and Justina Machado as Pam Acosta. The rest of the cast was filled with relative unknowns, like Daniel Henney and Christopher Hanke, actors who did a good job here, but who I just had never seen before. And that may have been another problem. While everyone in the cast was exceptional at the roles they played, I'm not sure if there were enough big names to attract a large audience. Oh, and about those roles that they played.
Yeah, I had a bit of an issue with the characters here. I wouldn't go so far as to call them unlikable, unless they were supposed to be, but I wouldn't call any of them particularly likable either. By that I mean I couldn't relate to any of them. With me, in order to get attached to a show, I have to get attached to at least one character, usually more, but that just did not happen here. I never honed in on anyone and thought, "Hey, I like that person, and I want to spend time with them every week". That can be a big problem.
Also, though I could get drawn into an episode as I watched, the show, as a whole, could be a little slow. When it got cancelled, that was the issue I heard people mention more than anything. I can see where they were coming from, and what with that and all the competition, it's not so surprising that it only got one season.
So, let's get to the question. Did Three Rivers deserve a second season? Maybe. I watched the show, and I would not flat out say that it was bad, like I have for others. It wasn't bad. It was fairly well-made, and it was certainly well-acted, but sometimes that is not enough. All the issues that made people not watch and caused ultimate cancellation, I understand them. But I think that this was one of those shows that just needed time. Not every show is like Lost, where the pilot is so overwhelmingly exciting and unique that it hooks in a huge audience and is an immediate hit. Some shows need time to find an audience and hit their stride, something that can often happen in a second season. These days, though, no one has the time to give to a show like this, especially when CBS had some shows starting that season that did become hits. So, I say it had potential to become great, but we'll never know.
Like I said, I watched Three Rivers, mostly because of its location and the fact that I was a fan of Alex O'Loughlin. And I enjoyed it a bit. I don't regret having seen the episodes that I did, because it wasn't that bad. And, as of right now, it is on Netflix, so if it sounds interesting or like something you want to check out, it is available. You probably won't watch it more than once, but it is worth at least one go round.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
