Welcome to The TV MegaSite's Primetime TV Site!

(Best viewed in the most recent browser versions--update now!)

Please click on the menus above to browse through our site...

Primetime Show Reviews

"Three Rivers" Season Premiere Review by Suzanne
Airing Sundays on CBS at 9pm/8c

There are a lot of medical shows on the air, three of them new. I don't know if it's because of the success of "House" or "Grey's Anatomy", or because "ER" went off the air. The other two new shows, Mercy and Trauma, are very good. Clearly whomever developed and wrote those shows put a lot of thought into them, or they are just amazingly talented.

The third show, "Three Rivers", is not of the same caliber as those other shows. I am wondering if they just wanted some vehicle for the actor, Alex O'Loughlin, who was so popular on the vampire show "Moonlight" a few years back. Someone said, "Hey, how about a medical drama" and that's how we get this show. The best thing that could be said about it would be that it's a very pale imitation of ER. That might be giving it too much credit, though.

ER was a very good drama. The plot was gripping most of the time. The characters were very well-defined and interesting. They made you care about them right away. The ER was a very action-filled, hectic place, with the unexpected and shocking happening every week. You didn't know who would live or die, and things were seldom predictable. "Three Rivers" is not like that at all. It may be unfair to compare it to ER because it just started.

The actors in the show, including O'Loughlin, are very good, especially Alfre Woodard. The material is just lacking and doesn't give them very much to work with. They deserve far better than this predictable show.

Alex O'Loughlin plays a heart surgery, Dr. Yablonski. O'Loughlin was great on Moonlighting, but he's very blah here. As the vampire, he had an air of tragedy, danger, mystery...but not on this medical show, I'm afraid. He's just cute and earnest. I hope he and the rest of the cast find something better in the future.

I'm not saying it's a bad show, it's just not very interesting. It's mediocre. Shows like ER and Chicago Hope (and even Grey's Anatomy) raised our expectations about what medical dramas should be like.

Wikipedia

Watch the show online

More info about the show on our primetime forum!

Back to the Main Reviews Page

Back to the Main Primetime TV Page