Hart of Dixie "Pilot" Review

David Foster Wallace was born and raised in the Midwest and, later, moved to the east coast as an adult and working professional. He wrote about his Midwest upbringing in his various non-fiction pieces. The author tried to reconcile the naivety of his Midwest roots with his newly found East Coast cynicism. Wallace wrote about his cynicism in a review of a Dostoevsky biography, in a piece about the Illinois State Fair, in his 9/11 retrospective, etc. In his opinion, East Coasters are ironically detached from people, places, and things at all times whereas his Midwest brethren are more innocent and more sheltered--their experiences are completely different from those on the East Coast.

He raised the bar impossibly high for depictions of transplants.

It's unfair to open a review of The CW's Hart of Dixie with a paragraph about David Foster Wallace because the man was a modern literary titan. I thought about him throughout the pilot episode, though, because Rachel Bilson's Zoe Hart is an east coast transplant in the Deep South. Zoe used to work in a New York City hospital until a doctor advised her to spend 12 months in GP if she wanted to achieve her dreams of becoming a heart doctor. The reason the doctor advised her to spend a year in a general practice is because she lacks bedside manner (in other words, the aspiring heart doctor lacks a warm heart), so she finds the practice of an old man who offered her a job several years ago; however, the man passed away, leaving his half of the practice to the girl.

Blue Bell, Alabama, is the place where Zoe Hart moves to. Blue Bell's a typical small town where the residents know one another and resent the arrival of an outside, which makes it an insular and uninviting community. The small town's not unlike the fictional town of Everwood. The residents worry about how the true doctor of Blue Bell will react to the new doctor. The golden boy of Blue Bell's engaged to Zoe's worst enemy in the town. Everyone's aware of each other's quirks and tricks. Zoe, naturally, doesn't fit in with the community. She insults the southern belles (an example of that east coast cynicism), writes an ill-advised eye prescription for an older man so he can drive his car again, which leads to the town's golden boy being hit by the older man's car. The ill-advised prescription is front-page fodder. Zoe's openly resented by the town. She plans to leave for New York until she learns the truth about her half of the practice--Harley, the old man, was her father.

Hart of Dixie seemed like a throwback to TheWB series of old--the ones with heart, humor, and healthy dose of sentiment every week. The CW hasn't successfully developed a WB-type show in its five years of existence. The series will potential inevitably devolves into unwatchable melodramatic messes. The previews for Hart of Dixie offered the hope that it'd resemble those great, old WB shows. The pilot tries to capture the tone and atmosphere but it doesn't quite work. The small town's not warm and embracing like Everwood; its twenty something characters aren't as endearing as the ones who populated Felicity; the heart and sentimentality is lacking.

Red flags were raised during press tour when the creator /show runner talked about the origins of the series. For her, Hart of Dixie's a form of escapism from her stressful life in New York City. The assembled critics worried about authentic portrayals of southern life because the pilot introduced only two African-American characters in a state populated with African-Americans. The creator admitted that she didn't have too much knowledge about the south, before returning to her song-and-dance about the escapist adventure.

The casts of southern characters have heavy southern drawls. They're alternately warm and friendly or cold and cruel, depending on the person. For Zoe, it's the latter because she walked into a town without anyone's permission and assumed control of a practice without the other doctor's consent. George Tucker (Scott Porter) is one of the nice people along with a pregnant woman named Mabel. Zoe, at least, feels welcomed by those two. The latter character's actually her first case as a general practitioner. Zoe wouldn't develop a heart without helping a pregnant woman who had been controlled all her life by her mother. Zoe not only delivers the baby but also helps Mabel stand up to her mother. The entire town doesn't hate her. Blue Bell's mayor found her a place to live. Her nurse is the type of supporting character who will, you know, support her.

Rachel Bilson's way too adorable and nice to successfully portray a cold-hearted doctor. I wanted to hug her in every scene. She and Scott Porter have solid chemistry together. The situation between their character's been done time and time again (hell The Secret Circle's doing it now) but their natural interaction with one another hid its contrived and stereotypical nature. Bilson works well opposite any actor actually.

I wanted to like the show but I don't. The premise seemed promising; however, the revelation about her father essentially destroyed my interest in the show. The sources of conflict weren't interesting or believable. For instance, the conflict between the doctors was done already (and excellently so) on Everwood. The conflict between Zoe and her mother was flat. The series, for some reason, invented too many reasons for Zoe to remain in Blue Bell. If Zoe decided to stay because she wanted to help people, that would be enough. I don't need the decision to be about Zoe pissing her mother off. Once again, I hoped for a show that would resemble Everwood. Some pieces were taken from Everwood but the execution and tone's completely different. I'd write about what worked for Everwood, but I wrote about 24 episodes this summer, and I don't want to repeat myself. Trust me: it's completely different.

Networks tried to develop the next LOST. The CW's tried to develop another Everwood or Gilmore Girls. The formulas seem simple to replicate but the difference is always in the details. I appreciate The CW's effort. Hart of Dixie just doesn't work for me.

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