A Gifted Man "Pilot" Review

I thought the premise of A Gifted Man was misleading when I previewed the series last month. Well, it isn't. The series IS about a brilliant neurosurgeon whose life changes forever when his ex-wife appears to him after her death. It's not about his ex-wife finding peace after death because she's fairly peaceful in the after-life; she's only concerned with the work she left incomplete in life. Michael Holt, thee brilliant neurosurgeon, has a tremendous gift that's been limited because of the stigma attached to that brilliance.

Michael operates on the rich and famous. Anna Paul, his ex-wife, opened a free clinic several years ago to help the families who've been priced out by American health care. Their lives took different paths following the divorce. The divorce wasn't messy. Michael decided that he did not want to be married anymore; that he wanted to focus his energies on neurosurgery. Ten years later Michael ran into his ex-wife and had dinner with her. The next day he learns about her death two weeks ago. Michael reacts as anybody would--he freaks out and scans his brain for a tumor; however, he's healthy. Anna's just there. Somehow her spirit entered his life. Anna doesn't understand it either--she just knows she's with him for a time then she's not, and then she is.

Sick people aren't the only ones who need Michael's help. His sister, Christina, is single mother raising a rebellious teenage son. Christina struggles with money. She struggles raising her son. Michael doesn't ignore her. He helps her with money and he bails her son out of trouble; however, there's a distance between Michael, his sister and her son. Michael removes himself from the people who really need him. When Christina tells him about a free therapy session for her and her son, he rejects her request that he join the duo for each session, even though he's the most important male in Milo's life.

Michael's not a bad guy, of course. The character resembles any elite doctor in an elite hospital. The man moves a mile a minute. He's short and curt with patients. He doesn't coddle his team following a surgery (he aims to make his team stronger by not complimenting them). Michael's secretary, Rita, works tirelessly to maintain his schedule but she doesn't even receive a birthday wish from her employer on the day of her birth. Change would be good to him. A moment's breath to feel sadness for a lost patient and friend could be the difference between his former self and his future self, that is if he allows himself to feel these emotion.

Anna wants her former husband to help the people she left behind. I also think she wants to open the part of him that's been dormant or that he refuses to re-open. He's so afraid though. The fear stems from her presence in his life after death but the fear's deeper than just her presence. The shaman, Anton, who offers to extract Anna's spirit found a tear in his energy, or rather, an emotional tear. She found her way through a wounded shoulder. Wounds are emotional too. The expression on his face when he hugs his ex-wife conveys a multitude of emotions--joy and regret among them. Anthon nearly completes the extraction of Anna from Michael; however, Michael sat upright and stopped the extraction before its completion. Michael needed to face his ex-wife to complete the extraction. The meeting was his opportunity to speak the truth about his feelings for his wife and to ensure her that he'll be okay when she's gone. Anna smiles, confused about the purpose of their meeting, curious about Michael's claims that they'll be separated again. Anna explains her desire to complete her life's work through him. Most of all, Anna wants to see the love of her life for many days to come. Michael wants to see her too.

The elements are in place for a satisfying series. Michael's attitude about the rich and the poor changes as the worlds are juxtaposed. Michael saves the lives for two wealthy people--a young tennis star and a CEO. Neither express gratitude. The tennis player yells at him because she'll miss the chance to break a world record while the CEO passes away after disobeying Michael's simple orders to not drink or disrupt the surgical wound. The poor family he helps bakes him a cake following surgery on one of the children. Michael found room for everyone in his life--therapy sessions with Christina and Milo should soon follow.

The previews I watched last month were compelling. The honesty in the writing and the acting were evident in the three minute trailer. I thought the pilot might resemble the pilot of Everwood because there were similarities. Alas, A Gifted Man didn't match the brilliant Everwood pilot nor did it pack the emotional punch. I liked the pilot very much, nonetheless. I don't need another Everwood, though. I like how the series is content to tell a simple story about a doctor whose life's transformed by the death of his ex-wife. TV With The Foot doesn't always need shows about vampires to write about. I'm content with dramas like A Gifted Man.

Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ehle, Margo Martindale, and especially Julie Benz, delivered nuanced and effective performances. I was especially drawn towards Benz's Christina. She brought a different energy to a role that's been done many times before her. Christina wasn't pathetic or helpless. The character's just struggling. I look forward to upcoming episodes because I'm interested in learning more about Michael and Anna's relationship. I'm interested in seeing how all of these characters relate to one another and interact, which is all I ask from a new series.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK