A bad, bad, sitcom-y hourlong about a lovesick hospital intern, “Emily Owens, M.D.” is 12 pounds of blecch in a 10-pound bag. It comes to us from writer-producer Jennie Snyder (“Lipstick Jungle,” “90210”) and stars Streep spawn Mamie Gummer (“Off The Map”), plus Justin Hartley (“Smallville”), Michael Rady (“Swingtown”) and Julia Sarah Stone (“The Haunting Hour”).
Snyder really racks up the clichés and confuses funny with annoying almost every time. “Emily” reminded me a lot of “Grey’s Anatomy,” another not-funny hospital-based romantic dramedy I’ve come to quite despise.
… Adult life may be like high school some of the time, but it isn't all of the time — and a show suggesting that it is becomes just as difficult to endure as some of the worse memories of high school itself.
... the pilot has the bland, fairy tale vibe of a Disney teenage drama. … The problem is more likely to be the generic nature of Emily’s misadventures, and the soap opera implausibility of the medical stories, which is extreme, even for the genre. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... loaded with stock situations, cliche-ridden interrelationships, and soapy subplots designed not just to tug at your heartstrings, but to beat them to a pulp in the process.…
... There’s something demeaning about the whole set-up, which tells us that all women, even surgeons, are just conniving glamour-seekers …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... There's a lot to mock in "Emily Owens, M.D.," but the lead character's cheerfulness makes all the silliness go down somewhat easier. …
... CW’s shoddy spin on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” slams into so many medical cliches, the show is almost D.O.A. by the first commercial break. …
... the new season's worst series …
... watching medical residents behave like 10th graders grows tedious quickly …
... Welcome to one of the most annoying and condescending shows you’ll ever hopefully not watch. …
9 p.m. Tuesday. The CW.
