37 replies to this topic

[TWoP Gadget]

VANDALS LEAVE THE CLINIC WITHOUT MEDICATION AND DR. COLE
WITH A TOUGH DECISION, ON ABC'S "OFF THE MAP"

"It's Good" - When a robbery leaves the clinic without any medication, Otis has to face his personal demons with sobriety in order to save a patient, and Ryan meets a young patient with a disease she is far too familiar with, on "Off the Map," WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

"Off the Map" stars Jonathan Castellanos as Charlie, 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, Martin Henderson as Ben Keeton and Rachelle Lefevre as Ryan Clark.

Guest starring Mark Adair-Rios as Armondo, Jayne Brook as Lynn, Alex Fernandez as Guillermo, Nicholas Gonzalez as Mateo, Cheech Marin as Papa and Judy Reyes as Eva.

"It's Good" is written by Joe Sachs and directed by Donna Deitch.

"Off the Map" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-14,L,S parental guideline.

[kariyaki]

I'm guessing I wasn't supposed to laugh hysterically at the shocking twist helicopter crash, was I? Check that -- say, "Are they fucking serious?" and THEN laugh hysterically.

Just because I can, I would like to point out that the helicopter sounds do not match the particular helicopter they were showing [/helicopter mechanic nitpicking]

I liked the scenes with Mina at the drug house and Ryan's Big Medical Secret. At least she's not pregnant, thankfully.

Lily at the waterfall was SO cheesy. But there were pretty naked people there so I'll keep my complaining to a mInimum.

[rove3]

The show is what it is and I find it entertaining enough. I'm actually surprised at how much I'm enjoying it. It's not my usual genre.

It sucks that Ryan seems to be dying though. Her and Zee are my two favorites out of the women characters.

Cole needs to summon up the spirit of John Locke to help him resist that heroin craving. He also needs to find a moth, for symbolic purposes.

Mateo at the waterfall. This show needs more shirtless men, for sure.

I'm fastforwarding through the scenes with Fuller and his barmaid girlfriend. Do. Not. Care.

[PortlandGirl]

I really enjoyed this episode. This isn't the greatest TV on the planet (no West Wing or Sopranos), but I'm finding it more and more entertaining. I also think the writing is improving a bit. It is less over the top and obvious and a bit more engaging. I also think the acting is really quite good - or just as good as other stuff on TV.

I like the Cole/Mina relationship a lot. I'm not necessarily pushing for a romance there, but I think they have nice chemistry and I like that this has built slowly. I also thought the whole heroin thing was mildly interesting.

Tommy needs to tone down the frat schtick just a little. He has to be careful not to become a caricature. The stuff with the shaman dude was mildly silly, but also kind of cute. I'm not into him and the bar girl, but whatever.

Liked the Ben/Ryan bit at the end. I really do want to see a romance there and truly hope we don't see either a) the wife wake up suddenly, which I'm basically expecting or b) Ben to also develop feelings for Lily. There are mild hints there, but I'm soooooo not interested in a triangle between them. Been there and done that on every Shonda Rhimes show in the history of the world.

I'm not sure what I think of Ryan's big secret. I find it a bit hard to swallow that she is a doctor, she has known about this for a long time and she isn't really doing anything about it.

Looks like we will see Cole struggle with his addiction again. I do wish this show would be slightly less predictable.

Martin Henderson continues to be smoking hot (the real reason I watch this show).

[frk]

This show is silly in all the best ways!

Mina is the best bad-ass of the show, but I was kinda wishing it was her and not Zea who came to Otis at the end. I like their not-friendship-friendship or sorts.

For Ben to say that to Ryan at the end was cheesy and felt like an too obvious way to make us care about her disease, something we might actually do if she'd had a bigger role from the start... Ben's been attracted to Lily since the first time he saw her so this declaration just feels like he's doing his best to not fall for Lily. Something he so will.

I quite like the fact that Z really didn't seem that upset about the break-in. Like a "ha! time to use the real stuff" :)

[Lebanna]

So Tommy is meant to be at least 33 (class of 2000). Interesting, since his character is so immature. The shaman thing was stupid, but at least the character showed some growth with his 'I like your hija' thing - though I don't think that would impress most fathers much.

I totally called that Ryan is dying of something weird and exotic that she picked up as a kid. Nice that it's also probably incurable. I'd prefer if Doctor Ben let his wife go, because two dying lovers is too many for anyone to cope with.

Otis and his drug thing are boring. Waterfall shower was pretty.

The crash actually surprised me - poor Carla probably losing both her daughters. But where was Turk? Nice that all their efforts probably just lead to an early death for everyone this episode. I'm starting to feel like this show is a bit depressing. At least the helicopter didn't take Otis' arm off (ER ref.).

[rove3]

For Ben to say that to Ryan at the end was cheesy and felt like an too obvious way to make us care about her disease, something we might actually do if she'd had a bigger role from the start... Ben's been attracted to Lily since the first time he saw her so this declaration just feels like he's doing his best to not fall for Lily. Something he so will.

See, I've never really seen that Ben is attracted to Lily in that way. All I've seen from his end is that he sees the makings of a very good doctor in her and he can relate to her experience and pain at losing someone she loved. But I've never really seen him look like he gives her much more of a thought than that. Lily, OTOH, is the one who seemed totally gone on him almost from the start. It was highly annoying and I'm very glad that she is starting to stand up to him more.

[Sunny Kerr]

If I were a betting woman, I'd put some money on the season ending with Ryan needing a heart transplant pronto (because TV shows don't generally portray years and years of waiting on the transplant list anyway) and dead wife being the donor. That way, Ryan can come back next season (assuming there is one), all magically healed and whatnot and now Ben is stuck between the woman he already had a thing with and who's now carrying his wife's heart to boot and Lily.

But I prefer Lily with Mateo. By a mile. Holy hotness in that last scene! Wooo!

Also, I like that Plastics isn't mature. That's his learning curve and the fact that he has to be in his 30s for the timeline to make sense (which, let's face it, is not a given) means nothing to me. I know older people who are even less mature. I'm guessing his parents' disappointment in him have less to do with ANYTHING remotely connected with his profession and relative success in it and a whole lot more to do with his apparent inability to engage in life in a real, serious manner. But, whatever, I don't really care. So far, he's still likeable, if not at all perfect. That works for me.

[PortlandGirl]

My take is that Ben thinks Lily is cute and is probably attracted to her a little, but isn't necessarily pushing for something to happen between them. Interviews with the actors seem to suggest that there is sort of a triangle there, but not exactly. The writers seem to want to keep it ambiguous. I also like Lily better these days since there is less of the obvious romantic crap with Ben. She is good with Mateo. It sounds like he is sticking around a bit.

I like that the relationships between all the docs is becoming more of a team, less of the attending/intern vibe that was there on day 1. I think it makes it more interesting if they are intertwined with each other. I am also greatly relieved that we don't have Ben or the other "senior" docs doing the whole condescending teaching thing they had going in the first episode.

I don't know what to make of the whole comatose wife. I really really really hope the writers don't reach for the tried and true soap opera storyline of having her wake up suddenly. We are all half expecting that right? It would be nice if they just let her die. That would show some maturity in the writing.

I am hoping this show sticks around, but not holding my breath. Too bad the first 3-4 episodes were so sucky. I think the show is genuinely getting better.

[rove3]

But I prefer Lily with Mateo. By a mile.

Ditto.

I don't know what to make of the whole comatose wife. I really really really hope the writers don't reach for the tried and true soap opera storyline of having her wake up suddenly. We are all half expecting that right? It would be nice if they just let her die. That would show some maturity in the writing.

I know that as soon as they showed that his wife was in a minimally conscious state I figured she'd wake up two seconds after Ben decided to fully commit to someone else. After reading Sunny Kerr's speculation though I think I prefer that over having the wife wake up. While giving the wife's heart to Ryan still smacks of soap opera melodrama, at least it will remove the whole back-from-the-dead possibility. Plus, it will have the added benefit of allowing Ryan to live. She of the great hair. :-)

[LibyoftheEast]

I enjoyed the episode, although I was doing the dishes at the same time so I may have missed some of it.

The helicopter accident at the end made me groan when it happened because it just seemed unnecessary in the context of the episode. However, it will probably lead to a pretty interesting next episode, so I'm game with it.

If we need to have a Ryan illness storyline, I suppose I like the one they presented to us.

[atruezoo]

I've really enjoyed these last two episodes.

I find the Mina, Cole, Zee thing interesting. They all have chemistry, and I love that none of them seems prone to tortured pining. Really enjoyed the Mina/Cole trip to get the drugs.

I like Plastics with the Medicine Man, too. It's just awkward enough to be believable, IMO.

My take is that Ben thinks Lily is cute and is probably attracted to her a little, but isn't necessarily pushing for something to happen between them.

ITA. He's probably used to young female docs coming in with the hero worship thing, but I really don't see him as all that attracted to her. Maybe I was supposed to see his anger toward her this week as jealousy, but I didn't. I also don't buy that he'd be drawn to her over the Red Head. (Then again, I never bought that on Grey's, either, though I was obviously supposed to, LOL).

While giving the wife's heart to Ryan still smacks of soap opera melodrama, at least it will remove the whole back-from-the-dead possibility. Plus, it will have the added benefit of allowing Ryan to live. She of the great hair. :-)

I'm hoping the great hair survives, too. But in Shondaland, back-from-the-dead is never ruled out.

Edited by atruezoo, Feb 17, 2011 @ 12:39 PM.

[Imonrey]

So once again I find myself asking "Is that a real thing?" Ryan was bitten by some kind of beetle (?) as a child; she was infected with some parasite that grew and grew over 20 years and now is unkillable? Is that a real thing? Zee and Lily scrape some weird pinching bugs off a tree and they automatically stitch up wounds? Is that a real thing?

How many men get to see Lily showering naked in the waterfall? She should invest in a curtain or something.

The part where the doctors were all standing around the appendectomy guy arguing about what to do as the camera spun around and around and around them was cheesy and dizzi-fying.

How did Mina know the lady passed out in the hammock was going to OD just by glancing at her? I mean sure, it's a good guess, but she could have just been asleep or passed out for all she knew.

So who all was in the chopper? All three of the patients from this episode? Appendectomy guy, spinal meningitis dude, and the two sisters?

As an experienced Greys viewer I always start the episode guessing which one of the patients is going to die. Which ever one is in the most dire situation usually lives while the one with the seemingly benign illness somehow ends up flatlining.

[Bluturtle]

Yes, Chagas disease is a real disease....caused by a bug bite and sometimes taking up to 20 years to see cardiac and digestive problems arise as a result of the parasite infection.

Chagas Disease

And, yep, Army or Soldier ants are used in the jungle as organic stitches. Get the ant close to the wound, and it will bite, closing the two sides of the wounds. The body can then be torn off, and the head remains attached to the wound site, effectively closing it.

Army Ants

[rove3]

The body can then be torn off, and the head remains attached to the wound site, effectively closing it.

Cool.

And I just figured that Mina was lying about the girl ODing in order to give herself the upper hand in negotiating with the herion dealer.

Edited by rove3, Feb 17, 2011 @ 3:22 PM.

[Lebanna]

How many men get to see Lily showering naked in the waterfall? She should invest in a curtain or something.

More to the point (and sorry for the image) but it occurred to me this episode that Lily's 'no curtains' policy is probably why Charlie has such a crush on her. Because, being such a popular hiking route, her showering habits would probably be pretty well known in the village.

I want to see the little old ladies giving her the evil eye for being such a hussy while poor Lily has no clue why.

Mina and OD girl - actually I wondered if they were trying to imply that she could tell something was up with the girl's breathing. But who knows, really.

[Snug]

Yes, Chagas disease is a real disease....caused by a bug bite and sometimes taking up to 20 years to see cardiac and digestive problems arise as a result of the parasite infection.

So if it's caused by a parasite, does a heart transplant even work? I mean, they have to suppress the immune system to prevent rejection. Isn't that an invitation for the parasites to have the party to end all parties?

In which case, if Coma Wife's heart goes to Chagas Girl, and is eaten alive by parasites faster than you can say "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," he ends up with "First I stole my wife's trust fund, then I stole her organs" guilt, with a side of "I couldn't save my girlfriend either" grief.

Now THAT is a soap opera.

[DS1]

The helicopter?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What? What?

[BooBear]

If I were a betting woman, I'd put some money on the season ending with Ryan needing a heart transplant pronto (because TV shows don't generally portray years and years of waiting on the transplant list anyway) and dead wife being the donor.

I would take that bet. I thought that and then dismissed it but ...then the helicopter crashed. I did laugh a little because a thought went though my head about it crashing but I thought... no that would be too obvious... yeh they did it anyway. Writers -- pace yourself. If you put your doctors up against a helicopter crash with no medicine or supplies, although I was unclear if the copter brought some, where will you go from there? So now I see that these writers will really go all out there.

Martin Henderson is smoking hot and was even more in the black shirt he was sporting last night. But I actually do think that he is causing confusion with his acting. He is acting the part like he is in love with Lilly, but the role itself doesn't call for it and they don't seem to have that kind of relationship yet. I can't quite figure where it is going but i think long term he and Lilly are going to be the main couple in the show. I do really like Mateo but can't help but think he is going to either die or turn out to be a criminal. Somehow he is temporary. Ryan to me seems like she has a bit of a friend / mentor relationship with Ben. Like they will be friends for life, doctors who value each other's opinions and abilities, love each other, but aren't really *in* love.

I thought the Otis story line was lame. When he showed up with the heroin he looked like a wild animal. Ok we got it, you are an addict, no need to go that far on the acting like you are out of control. Kind of a dink to Zee and not too bright, maybe you would have gotten a nice night from Zee to distract you had you not been such a jerk.

Also don't love Plastics with Cheech. Yeh we get it, natural can be better. We saw that 2 episodes ago. Is Viral Meningitis that dangerous?

My final question.... why are there so many American couples around this clinic, why are they all endlessly positive and gob smacking in love and what I must know... what is sooooooooo special about Alma. She seems kind of ugly to me and Plastics can't talk to her. Kind of seems strange that with Lilly, Mina, Zee, and Ryan hanging around, that can both speak his language, and share the commonalities of being rejected doctors in the jungle -- he would fall so far for Alma.

[statsgirl]

All through the episode, I kept asking why heroin and not hypnosis? Surgeries such as appendectomies have been sucessfully done under hypnosis. Given where they are, one of the doctors should have made sure he/she knew how to do it. Or at least call in Dr. Cheech.

In spite of my expectations (after being very disappointed in PP), I find myself liking this show. Some characters I like a lot (Mina, Zee) some are okay, and there's no one I really dislike except possibly Ben because he's such a Gary Stu. (And I hate the idea of him with Lily because that is sooo obvious and done to death).

The last 3 ABC shows in this time spot (Eastwick, Ugly Betty, The Whole Truth) have gone there to die so my fingers are crossed this one stays.

Isn't that an invitation for the parasites to have the party to end all parties?

Wouldn't you kill the parasites first with drugs, and then do the heart transplant? Even if the parasites are now dead, the damage to the heart remains.

Edited by statsgirl, Feb 17, 2011 @ 8:31 PM.

[DS1]

I like Mateo. He reminds me of Orlando Bloom.

I can't believe Tommy still can't conjugate hablar even though he spends all his spare time with a girl who speaks Spanish and nothing else.

[AuroraAustralis]

Ryan (her first name is Ryan?) , her issue reminds me of parvovirus in dogs. Oh god, I hope it's not going to be dead wife and a heart transplant.

Did they say wifey's been in veggieland for SIX years? Please tell me no one does that.

I don't like the way the drug addiction's being portrayed. I think for every recovering addict that's hanging on by his nails moment to moment, there are 20 that are pretty much fine.

What cracks me up about the hiking trail 'shower' is that's probably Waimea Falls park, which would be like showering in the panda exhibit at the San Diego zoo, privacy-wise.

[kbilly]

I can't believe Tommy still can't conjugate hablar even though he spends all his spare time with a girl who speaks Spanish and nothing else.

Oh I can't believe he pronounced the hard "h" and the "j" in "hija". That was ridiculous.

BooBear I had the same thought: Hmm, they seem to be lingering on this helicopter scene a lot, I wonder if it will crash. Naaaaah.

I thought heroin adventure was kinda lame, how he cried and couldn't bear to take one.more.step.

Snark aside, will still watch this show for Ben, just like I used to watch "Seaquest" just for Jonathan Brandis.

[klalaw]

I thought they telegraphed the helicopter crash with the music. As they were loading everyone up and it was getting ready to take off, the music seemed suspenseful to me, which made me think it was an odd choice, because surely it wasn't going to crash...?

Cheesy crash or not, I'm finally finding myself more interested in this show. The first week didn't do much for me, but I decided to give it a chance to see if it grew on me. Maybe it's just the addition of shirtless Matteo... ;-)

[Sunny Kerr]

Oh I can't believe he pronounced the hard "h" and the "j" in "hija". That was ridiculous.

It really was ridiculous, which is probably why I could. not. stop laughing.

Because, let's face it, if you didn't know (and we can discuss at lenght why it's preposterous that, a month in, he still wouldn't know, but they seem to be consistant with the fact that he does not know, so let's stay with that for the moment) how to pronounce the letters in Spanish and you read that word... that is how you would pronounce it. It's completely stupid, but in a completely, genuinely hilarious way. If you're me, anyway.

Edited by Sunny Kerr, Feb 18, 2011 @ 9:07 AM.

[broken site]

I think the reason the blonde doctor could tell it was an OD was because the leather tourniquet was still on the girls arm. If she passed out while injecting she would not have removed it.

[lemurgrl]

Snark aside, will still watch this show for Ben, just like I used to watch "Seaquest" just for Jonathan Brandis.

Sub in Fuller for Ben, and I'm right there with you. Somewhere in a landfill are quite a few middle school notebooks filled with "Mrs. lemurgrl Brandis."

Speaking of Fuller, I didn't mind the "hija" thing at all. I would imagine that if he's been learning any Spanish (up until now, of course, with his dictionary) it's been on the job, and not the classroom type of learning that would teach one things like pronunciation of the letters. I'm reminded of my first job as a hostess in a Mexican restaurant, before I'd studied Spanish... the first words I learned were "dishwasher," "fucking," and "silverware" because they were the words I heard the most daily. Functional, not conversational, is my point.

Against my better judgment, since it's surely going to be canceled any day now, this show is starting to grow on me. I think diverting Lily to Mateo had a lot to do with it, since we're not being smacked over the head with LilyandBen anymore.

[PortlandGirl]

I agree it is a real shame the show seems headed for cancellation with its dismal numbers. I think it could be viable with some improved writing. I think the characters are pretty engaging. I'm liking Lily a hell of a lot more with Mateo.

IF the show continues, I'm sure Ryan lives so the question is how. Hell, they basically cured Izzie on Greys with 4th stage melanoma, brain cancer, etc. I'm pretty sure that is a one in a million chance so they've got to have some cure for Ryan. I just can't see the wife's organs being used. That is way way way too cheesy. OTOH, this show is just that cheesy.

Martin Henderson is all kinds of dreamy, but he is probably the weakest actor of the bunch. I think he needs to find a touch more balance for Ben. He is too tightly wound right now.

At first all the characters seemed to fit into a nice little Greys mold, but I'm seeing less of that, which is a good thing.

[DS1]

I would imagine that if he's been learning any Spanish (up until now, of course, with his dictionary) it's been on the job, and not the classroom type of learning that would teach one things like pronunciation of the letters. I'm reminded of my first job as a hostess in a Mexican restaurant, before I'd studied Spanish... the first words I learned were "dishwasher," "fucking," and "silverware" because they were the words I heard the most daily. Functional, not conversational, is my point.

That's sort of why I'm amused he doesn't know how to conjugate hablar in the first person singular form.

Wouldn't he be telling everyone he meets "No hablo espanol"? (My Spanish is very basic so I probably spelled or wrote it wrong, but that phrase is very familiar to me because it seems to be so prominently used among non-Spanish speakers when they need to tell people they can't speak Spanish so that the other speakers will take the hint to speak English back.)

I sort of figured he'd know just a bit of Spanish by virtue of being American.

I realize they can't have him know even a bit of Spanish to make his interactions with the locals more humorous, but now that he has a Spanish girlfriend with whom he plays checkers all night long, he really needs to step up his game in the language department. How long can she listen to him say "Sweet!" and he listen to her say "Gracias." (I think that's what she says all the time. I'm not sure. She's very soft spoken. I wonder if that's why he likes her.)

Edited by DS1, Feb 18, 2011 @ 8:41 PM.

[lemurgrl]

Wouldn't he be telling everyone he meets "No hablo espanol"?

Good point... that hadn't occurred to me. Well, hopefully the immersion method will help! I did like that Lily has been shown speaking some Spanish, and that Mina understood what the drug dealer was saying (I know "policia" is pretty obvious, but she also knew the meaning of "trabajar.")

What cracks me up about the hiking trail 'shower' is that's probably Waimea Falls park, which would be like showering in the panda exhibit at the San Diego zoo, privacy-wise.

Pretty sure that's a set, actually... watch as the camera pulls away from the Lily-Mateo makeout, and you can see a straight border across the bottom underwater that indicates "pool" to me.