I am – Hercules!! It’s a CBS medical drama from Peter Orko (“Dead Like Me,” “Boston Public”) about an irascible genius brain surgeon. It stars Stanley Tucci (“Murder One”), Mark Feuerstein (“Good Morning Miami”), Indira Varma (“Rome”) and Griffin Dunne (“An American Werewolf in London”). I haven’t yet found a review of it that doesn’t mention “House.” Tucci’s great. Really great. Way better than James Woods is in “Shark.” Feuerstein was a lot better on “The West Wing” - but who wasn’t? The script is more comfortable perhaps with the science than the characterization and dialogue. I didn’t hate it, but I’d be shocked if I started watching it. But what matters Herc’s opinion? Entertainment Weekly gives it a “C” and says:

… In this new CBS medical drama, no one pauses to explain that 3 Lbs. isthe weight of the human brain. That's about the only point of subtlety in the Nov. 14 pilot for this House wannabe … The only real reason totune in to the pilot is to catch the lovely Madeline Zima as a violinist stricken with a brain tumor. She played sweet-faced Grace Sheffield on The Nanny years ago; here she's a sad-eyed young woman who will make you weep...if you make it through the whole hour.

TV Guide says:

… Like on House, we go inside the body, zooming from nerve endings to the mind's exotic landscape, where surreal images convey mystery maladies. If only 3 LBS were as provocative. The conflict between all-logic Hanson and touchy-feely new associate Jonathan Seger (puppyish Mark Feuerstein) is awfully familiar. Still, the cases have potential. And I wouldn't be surprised if some of House's audience bleeds over to 3 LBS the way many Grey's Anatomy fans are drifting to ER on Thursdays. …

The New York Times says:

… The network chose the title “3 Lbs” to remind viewers that no matter how much the series looks like “House” on Fox and “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC, it’s about brain surgeons, and that is completely different.… The question is not whether “3 Lbs” is familiar and predictable, but whether “3 Lbs” is entertaining. It is, and mostly because it is so familiar and predictable. …

The Chicago Tribune says:

… the flirtations feel as mechanical as everything else in this cobbled-together drama, which, if it has one saving grace, gives Tucci a showcase for his finely honed wit. … It’s not quite “House” with a lobotomy, but so far, there’s no beating heart at the center of “3 lbs.” …

The San Francisco Chronicle says:

… Almost too fittingly, into a television season packed with good but not great dramas, comes yet another. Did a memo go out? "Listen, this year, we're opting for a whole lot of good. Nobody's allowed to be great. Good luck and pass it on." How else to explain CBS' brain-surgery hospital drama, "3 lbs."? … giving an hour to good-looking people telling decent stories is not much to ask, but "3 lbs." proves conclusively that reinventing the hospital drama is, in fact, brain surgery. …

The Washington Post says:

… Anyone who might -- on some wayward if not perverse impulse -- be pining for yet another prime-time medical drama should be warned that there is absolutely nothing new about "3 Lbs." … As the sensitive one (Jonathan Seger, who arrives at Hanson's brain clinic in the first few minutes), Feuerstein is all starry-eyed and soulful, making the doctor as obnoxious in a sappy way as Hanson is in his crabby way -- two equally objectionable opposites. … all plays as horribly posed and corny, and using Coldplay's affecting "Fix You" to accompany a montage sequence helps for only about three minutes. The significance of the song is obvious in context, but viewers who manage to slog through the whole hour might think that it's the show rather than its characters who need the fixing, and that's assuming a cure even exists. When, by the way, does Jack Kevorkian get out of prison?

The Boston Herald gives it a “C” and says:

… Given the setup, you may be expecting a show like ‘‘Nip/Tuck” or ‘‘House,” but ‘‘3 Lbs.” harks back to ‘‘Trapper John, M.D.” It’s more sedative than stimulant.…

Variety says:

… there's commerce, perfunctory competence and a whole lot of "me too"-ism here, but precious little magic. Just how House-like is Stanley Tucci's Dr. Doug Hanson initially? He doesn't like speaking to patients, fires off smartass remarks and is personally damaged in some small way that doesn't take shape in the premiere -- before the condition simply disappears in the second and third episodes, which is probably just as well. … during the premiere, Hanson casually refers to the brain as "wires in a box," which is precisely what legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow warned television would become should its stewards fail to safeguard its higher aspirations -- a particularly apt metaphor for a program this pedestrian. …

The Hollywood Reporter says:

… lacks a dramatic spark. Characters aren't fully formed; stories aren't arresting. Sometimes it even seems like the show was created from the transplanted organs of other series.… Tucci's skills as an actor are not debatable and his being recast into the lead (and given producer credit) likely took the show up a notch. Great care is evident in the way cases are explained and presented and in the production design. With all that, though, there still needs to be compelling characters and engaging stories, both of which are present here only in trace amounts …

10 p.m. Tuesday. CBS.





CW?? It’s a done deal!!! Cheapest “Mars” Ever!! Both seasons!! $29.99 Each!!