bbbutler-37914 If you live in Cabot Cove, I'd advise that you NEVER interact with Jessica Fletcher, the mystery writer turned homicide detective in the series Murder She Wrote. In spite of it's small town setting, EVERYONE who meets or has interaction with her becomes a victim or suspect in a murder. That's just too much for any one cozy New England town to accommodate.Similarly, if you live in the Hamptons (a much larger demographic), you can be sure that meeting or having any interaction with Dr. Henry (Hank) Lawson, the main character in Royal Pains, will guarantee that you may suffer from some exotic malady or injury. This in spite of the statistical probability to the contrary. Hence, being a viewer of the series, not a character in it, makes it much more likely that you will neither suffer the fate of many in the cast nor become swept up in the Sturm und Drang of the various romantic and familial relationships therein. Not only that, but you will also pick up on some great medical vocabulary and may become entranced with the clever "McGuyver-like" inventiveness of Hank's character. Warning: do not practice medicine, especially diagnose medical conditions, like Hank does. This series is NOT a reasonable substitute for a medical school education or a good model for choosing romantic partners.While this is not genius, groundbreaking TV screen writing a la Madmen or Twin Peaks, it is nevertheless good entertainment, suitable for "obsessiviewing" on the available video streaming service of your choice. Good character and plot development without leaving you unsatisfied with simple cardboard characters or nauseatingly predictable outcomes. It's fun TV. Don't expect more.UPDATE: Now having gotten deep into Season 4, I see two more interesting trends. First, there seems to be a subliminal running commentary on the state the medical profession in the US and its conflicts as an art/science (Hank's take) vs the business of medicine (his brother, Evan's take). I'm not sure if the writers are simply making observations about the eternal struggle of humanitarian concern vs the commercial impulse in the microcosm of the medical profession or they are actually promoting a vision that is neither the Affordable Care Act of 2014 nor the free market version of medicine of the ACA's opponents. Secondly, as I mentioned before, each episode is a medical education for the literate masses in the form of certain exotic syndromes or complex conditions that are demographically impossible to be represented in such a small population as the Hamptons; nevertheless they still manifest constantly--again, just as magically as dead bodies pile up every time Jessica Fletcher of Cabot Cove appears. If you're in the general vicinity of Hank Lawson, M.D., the likelihood that you may spontaneously faint, become dangerously dehydrated, experience a TIA, cardiac arrhythmia, etc., escalates exponentially, especially if you're a pretty female or rich and attending a gala event involved in some sort of "do or die" project, enterprise or competition.So, yeah, it's both fun and educational, though it still requires the standard "suspension of disbelief."

pjpjpj This is a very charming series unfortunately without much depth of plot or character development. Anyone stepping onto a ladder will inevitably fall and lapse into a seizure requiring complex emergency medical treatment. Once a character has been stabilized, they will subsequently be diagnosed with a rare disease and will eventually be cured after suffering numerous heart attacks, more seizures, various bacterial infections and so on. Almost no one dies.The show is mostly ruined by Paulo Costanzo as "Evan". I don't know if Castanzo's mother is the producer, but the show gave him way to many scenes in exchange for his contribution to the series, which is a minus nothing. Constanzo "infects" mostly every scene with his distracting lack of talent. Costanzo's "humor" is a hybrid mix of Seinfeld and Pee-wee Herman, both of which Costanzo channels in virtually every scene. Costanzo's delivery and timing are predictably predictable and downright annoying. Just as Evan annoys the characters in the show, similarly he annoys the audience with his predictable, unfunny antics, stupid facial expressions, using too many words, and childish Pee-wee manic behavior.Here is my prescription. To enjoy the show you need to edit out Evan. When you see Evan entering a scene in one of his little pastel suits, and silly hat du jour, together with his little, puffy pee-we pout -- quickly FAST FORWARD through the entire scene until he is gone. Trust me, you will have missed nothing.

Joangulfcoast Royal Pains.,., it's truly a royal pain. The show is so not believable. On the last episode, they had to drug Hank to get him to go to Boris's house? Oh please. The only good actor in the whole show is Boris. Coming from a medical family, watching Hank perform his medical miracles is just totally ridiculous....And who picked the two leading men? They could never be brothers unless they're from different mothers. So sorry to say that this entire cast is like a bunch of dorks. And who writes this stuff anyway? I don't think I have ever seen a show that is so not real. Then they bring back this doctor with the beard who looks like he just came out of the Amish country. With so many good shows on TV, how did this one slip by the reviewer's? Also, would somebody tell Divia to stop wearing such short skirts. She really should cover her bowed legs. I am so sorry for being so critical, but this show is just totally weird. I'm so glad there are other things to watch when this one happens to be playing!

Moses Bernard Royal Pain has been an entertaining spin on the common doctor/medical/hospital stories that you commonly get on TV shows. Mark Feuerstein's role as Hank is well executed, charming, witty and empathetic. Reshma Shetty's role as Divya delivered a nice mix of logic, common sense and more empathy to a character that I would describe as the motherly figure within the HankMed group. But with everything that is lush and green there's always something, or someone, they lets the side down. Where Hank comes across as a smart doctor, who just wants to do what he loves doing, his brother Evan, played by Paulo Costanzo, is the most annoying character I've come across on any program I've watched... His ability to screw up the simplest of things, or to selfishly take advantage of other peoples wealth/status, has made me pause episodes on numerous occasions. His character, or execution of said role, has given me reason to ponder why on earth I'm watching the program in the first place?! Then there's the role of Eddie R, played by Henry Winkler. The less I say about the character the better. Henry Winkler has always been a great actor, with an ability to shift from comedic to semi serious roles with ease. But writers of this show have missed a trick by making Evan and Henry overly money hungry buffoons!!!The show is very very entertaining.. And my score would have been two, maybe three, points higher were it not for the buffoonery of Evan and Eddie. Worth a watch, just brace yourself for a twist of nonsense every now and then!!