Having the lowest-rated season premiere of a scripted program in network television history certainly seems to have harmed the chances of "Do No Harm" remaining on the air. Then again, even without that dubious distinction its doubtful the new series would have lasted more than a year anyway. While its entertaining and intriguing, the show lacks the necessary logic to make its story believable.
"Do No Harm" is obviously a modern take on Stevenson's classic "Jekyll and Hyde" , to the point that the name of protagonist Dr. Jason Cole is a nod to his literary predecessor ("J. Cole" sounds like "Jekyll" when you say it fast). Cole is a surgeon who genuinely cares about his patients and is willing to go above and beyond to help them. But he's living with a disturbing secret - every night at exactly 8:25, Cole's destructive personality named Ian Price takes over his body, intent on creating as much havoc in Cole's life as possible before he returns to latency 12 hours later. Cole had previously been able to suppress his malevolent alter ego with the aid of an experimental drug, but Price has become immune to its effects. Now Cole must reconcile his life with Price while also trying to find a way to eliminate him.
What's really hurting this show, and what will probably bring about an early cancellation, is its numerous illogical plot holes. First, Cole somehow manages to convince his fellow doctors that he cannot work at night because he has diabetes, which is apparently incapacitating once the sun goes down. Then there's the fact that between his two personalities, Cole stays awake all day and night yet shows no sign of fatigue especially when performing high-risk operations.
Steven Pasquale is compelling in his versatile portrayal of both Cole and Price, but in such a far-fetched show his talent is wasted. The supporting cast is also very good, but their screen time is unfortunately limited in favor of squeezing in medical procedural stories that would make more sense in a series like "ER" than in a show like this.
If "Do No Harm" sounds interesting to you, then watch it while you can. It probably won't be around after another episode or two.
Sean Quinn can be reached at sean. quinn@student.shu.edu.
