1432 replies to this topic

[SisterOfSylar]

They've given us doctors, lawyers, spies (burned and not burned), detectives, a Marshall, and a gorgeous con man who's partnered with an FBI agent.

Now they are bringing us another doctor, a psychotherapist to be exact. Dr Dani Santori.

Necessary Roughness on USA

It debuts tomorrow, and I figured might as well set up a forum as it hadn't been done so far.

Here's a basic snippet:

A Long Island psychotherapist whose personal life unravels when she finds her husband cheating. Diving fully into her work, Dr. Dani Santino soon finds herself as the most sought-after therapist for high-profile clients. Athletes, entertainers, politicians and others living in the spotlight clamor for her unique brand of tough love therapy during their moments of crisis. Although her career is reenergized, it wreaks havoc on her life as a newly minted single mom of two teenagers.

Other articles:

IMDB Necessary Roughness

Hollywood Reporter

Chicago Sun Times

Washington Post

[AimingforYoko]

Heh, I would have gone with, "This time, Callie Thorne is NOT the crazy one."

[SisterOfSylar]

Heh. Sounds good... I just had a brain cramp on a title, but I didn't want to just title it with the name.

Wow, Callie's been in a lot.. Hey she was in White Collar. Did she play a few crazies? I may have seen her before in other shows, I just can't recall.

[callietwo]

We're in for Concetta Tomei, with whom I happen to share a birthday (which I did not know till I checked her imdb)

She does share a good resemblance to Callie Thorne so I think that's pretty good casting.

I am off to imdb CT as I have no idea where I've seen her before. Given that I'm pretty much USA channel's bitch where their light & fluffy drama's are concerned, I'm in at least to start.

[CoderLady]

Wasn't she a ruthless lying thieving villain of the week twice on Burn Notice? Didn't she get away from Fiona the first time by just walking off into a crowd of women and children by threatening to shoot a few if she was followed? And the second time almost scammed the entire team into letting her get away with a biological weapon? Good times...

Edited by CoderLady, Jun 29, 2011 @ 7:57 PM.

[Slade347]

Callie's most memorable role for me will always be Elena McNulty on The Wire. Well, that and (stepping into the shallow end of the pool) her brief appearance showing off her legs in Analyze That.

The constant commercials for this have dampened a lot of my enthusiasm. I'll watch it, though, as I almost always give USA shows a chance, and more often than not I end up sticking with them no matter how silly they get.

[CapsChick]

She's batshit crazy on Rescue Me and I love her. Looking forward to this.

[SisterOfSylar]

Wasn't she a ruthless lying thieving villain of the week twice on Burn Notice? Didn't she get away from Fiona the first time by just walking off into a crowd of women and children by threatening to shoot a few if she was followed? And the second time almost scammed the entire team into letting her get away with a biological weapon? Good times..

According to IMDB, she played Natalie Rice in two episodes in Burn Notice, she's also been in Royal Pains, White Collar... so USA seems to be good to her.

Recording this so I can at least watch the pilot.

[bbell]

She will have pro athletes and rap stars as clients. hopefully she can avoid getting shot in the foot by someone named Jr.

[caitlin claire]

What the hell just happened.

I...I kind of found Marc Blucas...charming? Hot? Wut.

I know they're about two different careers, but I kind of feel like this is what Fairly Legal wanted to be.

[callietwo]

Wasn't she a ruthless lying thieving villain of the week twice on Burn Notice? Didn't she get away from Fiona the first time by just walking off into a crowd of women and children by threatening to shoot a few if she was followed? And the second time almost scammed the entire team into letting her get away with a biological weapon? Good times...

Yes! I don't remember if she was on this season premerie or if I just saw her in the marathon before the premiere but it she plays evil bitch really well.

I really kind of loved this 1st episode. I suppose after it settles in, we will all find the problems it has, a la all the other USA shows but I am a HUGE football fan so it already was a go for me and the leads all sold it well. I'll definitely be back.

[jelaine]

Liked the pilot. I appreciate Dani's kind of badassedness, though the daughter can step the hell off. What a whiny little bitch and I don't think the separation had anything to do with it. Wasn't the hooker top before Dani kicked Daddy out?

Anyway, Riley grew up good. Liked the relationship with Dani, but Nico had something nice going on as well. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

I know they're about two different careers, but I kind of feel like this is what Fairly Legal wanted to be.

I think you might be right there. I like Fairly Legal, but mostly because I just love Sarah Shahi and Michael Trucco. Leonardo is kinda awesome as well.

Edited by jelaine, Jun 29, 2011 @ 10:27 PM.

[loriro]

I really liked this! I know it's pretty much fluff, but I liked the premise, liked the cast, and found myself smiling throughout the episode, so that's good enough for me. I'll be back.

[askew]

I just geniunely enjoyed this show. The lead character was very likeable as were all of the supporting characters except for her slimy soon-to-be-ex.

[SiobhanJW]

Really enjoyed this show! Glad to see Riley aka Marc Blucas back on TV(I know his name isn't Riley on the show.. but he will will always be Riley to me! Haha) Anyway looking forward to next week!

[biakbiak]

I will give this show another chance but I thought they were just ridiculously over the top trying to build up sympathy for the main character. Craig Beirko's character was so egregiously over the line with his comparing her to a pound dog seemed to come out of nowhere, as did the custody battle for one child who is nearly 18 and another who is 15/16.

The scene with her daughter blaming her for her being a fuck-up and her mother agreeing seemed to come so out of nowhere to pile on her life.

Also, I found the main player's breakthrough and the daughter's turn around just completely unrealistic that it annoyed.

I will give it a few more episodes because I like the cast and it's the summer, though to be fair it was so clearly superior to Fairly Legal I may even give it a whole season.

[CMac]

I am a testament to the fact that repetition works. When I saw the first commercial for this show, I wasn’t interested. But, the more commercials I saw the more I willing to give it a chance. I’m glad I did. The show entertained me. It’s a good summer show. I’m glad that Callie Thorne is able to break out of the pigeonhole that she’s usually cast in. I don’t know why shows feel that they always have to have a bad as kid on the show. The daughter is already off the chain and the previews look like she’s going to make things worse. Not looking forward to that. But I am looking forward to the different cases that Dani will take on. I think it’ll be a fun summer show.

[Girl Scout]

I know they're about two different careers, but I kind of feel like this is what Fairly Legal wanted to be.

I was just coming here to write that!

I'm a big Sarah Shahi fan, but the storylines in Fairly Legal are so boring. I wish she had gotten this show instead.

As for Callie Thorne, I remembered her from an episode of White Collar where she held her own with Neil Caffrey, so I think she's up to this. Riley got sexy and Eggs showed some real acting chops. I'm even liking Dani's second potential love interest, the guy from Kissing Jessica Stein. Honestly, one of the best pilots I've seen and mostly due to how likeable Callie Thorne is in this role.

[ljande]

I tuned in because of the ad nauseum ads that kept showing the athlete client, thinking it might be Eggs from True Blood. I really enjoyed it. The lead actress is someone I always think of as "Jersey Crazy", and she still kind of was, but in a good way. Looking forward to more episodes of this one. At this point I have more summer TV than regular season since all my shows keep being cancelled, lol.

[Yvaughn]

Whew! I came this close to not recording this show. Oh, sure. USA Network is probably my favorite channel, and shows like Burn Notice and Royal Pains and In Plain Sight and Psych all rank high on my DVR's season pass list. But....

I really disliked Fairly Legal.

And I hate professional sports, for oh so many reasons.

And I doubted I'd want to relate to a therapist in the midst of a divorce.

But hey. It's USA. I recorded it and then, just for kicks, I figured I'd watch the start of it after I finished watching my recording of Royal Pains... and I love the damn thing. My ears perked when I saw the name "Marc Blucas." Then Scott-freakin'-COHEN? If the ads had given even a little of the "guys playing football" time to those two, it wouldn't even have been a question.

I am really enjoying this thing. Dani is the perfect mixture between kick-butt and refreshingly human. More important, it ended happily-- TK caught the ball, the slimy detective was dispatched with, the teenaged daughter had a less-than-selfish moment. Maybe it's not wholly "realistic," but neither is Dr. Hank's ability to McGyver a portable CAT-Scanner out of duct tape and Perrier bottles, or Michael Weston's ability to survive against insurmountable forces and Fiona. I would be seriously put out if Dr. Hank didn't save the patient or Michael didn't get the bad guy. That's not why I watch USA (and is, by the way, why I watch so little TNT, and even less FX). I'll use the same measurement for Necessary Roughness, thanks.

Oh sure, I'm concerned that her mom or best friend could end up way too annoying (Dani's been separated for 6 weeks and it's time to go out and get laid?!) And I was saddened that a glance at imdb.com shows Matthew (MB) and Nico (SC) only showing up in the pilot episode (*sniff*). If they show up again, this show is a lock for me. Even if they don't, I'll be tuning in pretty regularly to see how the story progresses.

Edited by Yvaughn, Jun 30, 2011 @ 2:14 AM.

[DolfinWings]

Liked the pilot. I appreciate Dani's kind of badassedness, though the daughter can step the hell off. What a whiny little bitch and I don't think the separation had anything to do with it. Wasn't the hooker top before Dani kicked Daddy out?

She's definitely using the separation as an excuse for her bad behavior. Separation probably escalated the behavior, but she was probably already on that path.

What I didn't get is why she blamed her mother as an example for her bad behavior. Her mother has a Ph.D. Has a career and takes care of her family, and stands up for herself. How exactly is she a bad example? She was just preying on her mother's self- esteem on that one.

[swanpride]

I was totally surprised...I really disliked the lead actress during her stint at White Collar, I thought that a show about a therapist couldn't be interesting enough, never mind who the clients are, and the whole divorce angle made me weary. But, well, it's usa, so I gave it a shot.

What can I say: The pilot totally sold me on the actress. She was genuinly likeable. As is the potencial love interest. The ex-husband is an asshole, but one of the every life variety - I can imagine that she overlooked his faults for years. I'm also sold on the daughter. Yes, the divorce was a cheap excuse, but that doesn't mean that she isn't suffering through all this. My parents divorced when I was a teen, and for a while, I lashed out, too. The main problem issue in this situation is that one feels betrayed by the parents (because they pretended that they had a good marriage when in fact, they hadn't), and that one doesn't want to become some sort of pawn between the parents. If anything, I found the son strangely calm about the situation (but nevertheless likeable, too).

Not sure about the friend, and I already dislike the mother. I think she is fairly useless, and truthfully, I'm tired of all this meddling mothers in TV. Plus, it would be much more interesting if the lead had to fend for herself.

The dialogues were very good (I'm not a dishwasher. I'm not a piper.), the story griping with some boots of ridiculousness (She can't leave her teenage kids alone for a couple of hours?), and I actually look forward to next week. I hope that they drag out the divorce theme for a while (without making the ex too much of a villain).

Well, some of my excitement might steam from the fact that I had very, very low expectations - but I will watch again next week to see where this goes.

[Big Bad Wolf]

Very promising and enjoyable pilot; I just hope the show continues to live up to at least the majority of the promise.

I've seen Callie Thorne in plenty of things over the years, and always found her okay, nothing amazing, but I loved her in this. Her portrayal was feisty and funny but engagingly serious when it needed to be. A+ for CT. Dialogue etc. was also mainly well written for the character. Yays! for some good writing for a female lead.

I also liked most of the supporting players, particularly the three main guys. My jury is out on the family and best friend, but I didn't hate them. Well, except the husband, who we were obviously supposed to hate. I hope that storyline stays in the background and doesn't become irksome. Some very promising chemistry between Scott Cohen (Nico) and Callie Thorne - I'm hoping they'll go somewhere with that in time.

And I was saddened that a glance at imdb.com shows Matthew (MB) and Nico (SC) only showing up in the pilot episode (*sniff*).

The three guys are in all the promo photos, and with CT in the main photo. They are integral to the show. I think this is just a case of IMDb being f-ed up (otherwise this is the worst case of changing a show from pilot to series I have ever seen).

[Gibasi]

Count me in as totally surprised by how good this was. I agree it was much better than Fairly Legal which I don't even watch anymore despite my love for Sarah Shahi. I loved Callie Thorne and kept getting those Shahi vibes because Callie Thorne's name is Dani-Life anyone? And who knew Marc Blucas would be sexy?? I will definitely be tuning in again.

[kkowalski]

The three guys are in all the promo photos, and with CT in the main photo. They are integral to the show. I think this is just a case of IMDb being f-ed up (otherwise this is the worst case of changing a show from pilot to series I have ever seen).

I found the IMDb only updates the credits when and episode airs. In other words, if MB and SC are in other episodes (yes, please!), they will not show up in their credits until after the fact.

I follow Callum Keith Rennie, and discovered I don't need to watch any more of The Killing (which is good, because I kept forgetting about it and it was on opposite a show I loved).

[Whiteotter]

I kind of feel like this is what Fairly Legal wanted to be.

Couldn't agree more. I think a big part of what makes this such a potentially successful series is that both Dani and Matt seem to know who they are. Their issues/frustrations are based on their current circumstances - cheating husband and kids acting out, for Dani; players having issues and "breadsticks" (heh), for Matt - and not from character or personality issues. I wouldn't have thought CT and MB would have such great chemistry (although I loved them in their past roles - Riley! Hi Riley!), but they sold me on it in a matter of minutes. Really excited to see the rest of the season.

[Yvaughn]

The three guys are in all the promo photos, and with CT in the main photo. They are integral to the show.

Thanks, Big Bad Wolf and kkowalski -- I'm so happy to stand corrected! I checked the USA page for NR and they were there, too. *whew!*

I agree--I'd love to see the chemistry b/t Nico an Dani go somewhere "in time." For now, it's excellent background energy. But damn, I love a competent man. (The special forces pancake cooker was a treat, too).

And yes, a huge difference b/t this and Fairly Legal seems to be that the majority of the problems are not of our protagonist's making.

Edited by Yvaughn, Jun 30, 2011 @ 11:08 AM.

[swanpride]

The problems are also closer to everyday life, despite the setting of the show. Divorces, rebellious teenager, weight loss...those are problems everyone easily can understand and emphasis with. Fairly Legal had too much of "spoiled rich people are whining about strange business problems".

[Big Bad Wolf]

I found the IMDb only updates the credits when and episode airs. In other words, if MB and SC are in other episodes (yes, please!), they will not show up in their credits until after the fact.

That should be the way it works, but the site is inconsistent, for e.g. CT is shown as having been in 3 eps when only one has aired, but SC and MB not on there at all when the pilot has (last time I looked, anyway).

Anyway, I'm sure those three lovely hot guys are around for S1, and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of all of them.

[callietwo]

he problems are also closer to everyday life, despite the setting of the show. Divorces, rebellious teenager, weight loss...those are problems everyone easily can understand and emphasis with. Fairly Legal had too much of "spoiled rich people are whining about strange business problems".

Good point!

The main problem issue in this situation is that one feels betrayed by the parents (because they pretended that they had a good marriage when in fact, they hadn't)

Often the teens will blame whatever parent sticks around because it's easier (and 'safer') to lash out at the parent they feel is going to stick around regardless of how they behave.

But I didn't get a sense that Dani was pretending that she had a good marriage.. it felt to me that she was totally shocked by the betrayal and was just hurt to the core.

Of course, allowing my own life situation to color this- I had what I considered the 'perfect' marriage, right up until the day my ex told me about his affair and then finding the photographic proof. Color me floored by it all. (ugh)

I so totally could relate to all of this- Dani's shock of betrayal, the daughter going off the rails, the son who appeared to breeze through the entire divorce- was like the writer peaked into my life! And if the writers keep looking in they'll find the daughter gets her act together just as the son's falls apart. Oy.