If you are looking for a show with adrenaline, an exotic location, medical drama and a hot cast, flip to ABC every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. to watch "Off the Map."
With only four episodes thus far in season one, "Off the Map" is growing in appeal. The producers and creator of Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Jenna Bans have redefined a medical drama.
Based in the South American Amazon, six doctors who have lost their way in life struggle to find out why they wanted to become doctors in the first place.
Stars such as Valerie Cruz as Zitajalehrena Alvarez (Zee), Caroline Dhavernas as Lily Brenner, Jason George as Otis Cole, Zach Gilford as Tommy Fuller, Mamie Gummer as Mina Minard, and Martin Henderson as Ben Keeton all have different stories to tell while saving the world in the middle of the jungle.
Notable actors that really make "Off the Map" stand out are Mamie Gummer, Meryl Streeps' daughter, who has had many Broadway and feature film appearances, and Rachelle Lefevre, who plays Ryan Clark on the show and played a lead character in the Twilight Saga's "Twilight" and "New Moon."
This young and fresh cast lights up the screen and caters to a medical-loving audience. On a previous episode, Drs. Lily Brenner and Ben Keeton travel into the middle of the Amazon to save a tourist who is being squeezed to death by an anaconda snake.
At first, their obvious reaction is to sedate the snake and remove it from the tourist's body, before he is squeezed to death.
Dr. Keeton then realizes that the snake is keeping the tourist alive because it is holding his crushed pelvis together. These compelling moments, where Dr. Brenner and Dr. Keeton struggle to use the environment and their intelligence to save the tourists life, make the show a unique must-watch.
"Off the Map" is different from any other medical drama on television because it is not based in a typical hospital. Zee, Otis and Ben teach the new doctors how to save lives in the harshest environment with limited resources.
Using the Amazon as their first aid kit, and overcoming any medical obstacles that gets in their way, "Off the Map" is a suspenseful show that reaches new heights.
Christina Brattoli can be reached at christina.brattoli@student.shu.edu.
