Herc’s Popular Pricing Pantry
New This Week
An hourlong that (barely) combines the hospital and crime drama genres, “The Mob Doctor”
It stars Jordana Spiro (“My Boys”) as a gifted surgeon who has to moonlight for the bad guys after her kid brother gambles his way into hot water with organized crime figures.
This is a great idea (or at least a great title) for a show, but the execution feels like a dose of anesthesia, with too much distraction provided by standard medical drama clichés and not enough actual mob doctoring.
I’d like to see a series about somebody like that fellow in “Breaking Bad” who was charged with patching up Gus, Mike and Jesse following their Mexican poolside showdown with Don Eladio. “The Mob Doctor” is so not that show. “The Mob Doctor” is just dull.
... from the pilot one thing is sure: the writers never encountered the adage “less is more." … The pilot is so packed with generic scenes of medical crises and mob muscle-flexing that it feels as if the creators went to a buffet of past series and desperately piled everything they could reach onto the mob doc’s plate. …
... the pilot teeters between odd and simply ridiculous …
... Someone needs to take a scalpel to the script and cut out the melodrama. The show should focus less on catty hospital politics and more on the inherently compelling conflict of a person who has good reason to do bad things, a la “Breaking Bad.” …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... Despite being jam-packed with plot twists, character reveals, surprises, a car chase, a couple of dead people and a lot of cell phone calls followed by "I have to go," it is a constant struggle for a viewer to avoid being bored to tears. …
... It’s never good news when you start to watch a new show and can’t get past quibbling with the whole concept …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
Fox's preposterous organized crime/medical show combo platter "The Mob Doctor" manages to be silly and sappy. ... Not grounded enough to be taken seriously and not clever enough to be truly funny, there's only one prescription for "The Mob Doctor": fuhgettaboutit.
Some TV series get by through sheer force of will. They embrace their inner stupidity and race along, figuring you’ll never catch up. Take Fox’s “The Mob Doctor,” whose title tells you everything you need to know about this show …
... why bother trying to separate the bad from the worse when it's all awful. Which is what happens when you concoct a show out of leftover scraps instead of new ideas.…
... even with a few unexpected twists, this show is about as typical as TV gets. … there's nothing initially compelling enough to warrant regular visits, much less house calls. …
... trying to reinvent the wheel has led to a truly flat idea. … Mostly, it's a hospital drama -- and a rote one at that. The side job stitching up bad guys seems tacked on for no reason, like racing flames on a Prius. Yeah, yeah, it's different. It's not just a hospital drama. See, she's a doctor and she works for the … oh, never mind.
TV-on-Disc Calendar
Last Week
Care Bears: Totally Sweet Adventures
Dalziel & Pascoe 7.x
Duck Dynasty 2.x Vol. 1
House of Payne Vol. 10
H20: Just Add Water 3.x
Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu 2.x
Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu 2.x (Blu-ray)
Murdoch Mysteries 2.x (Blu-ray)
Murdoch Mysteries 5.x
Murdoch Mysteries 5.x (Blu-ray)
Party of Five 4.x
Peter Gunn 1.x
Power Rangers: Clash of the Red Rangers Movie
Regular Show Party Pack
Rescue Bots: Energize
Tom & Jerry: Pint Sized Pals
Wagon Train 6.x
Worst Case Scenario 1.x
This Week
The Beverly Hillbillies: Return Of
Father Dowling Mysteries: The Complete Series
Foyle's War: The Home Front Files Sets 1-6
Law & Order: Criminal Intent 10.x
The Mob Doctor: The Complete Series
Petticoat Junction: Return to Hooterville
Superman: Brainiac Attacks (Blu-ray)
The 10th Kingdom: The Complete Miniseries
Xena 4.x
Next Week
Chance In A Million: The Complete Collection
Ghost Hunters 8.x Vol. 1
Jersey Shore 6.x
Jersey Shore: The Complete Series
A Mind To Kill: The Complete Collection
No Job for a Lady: The Complete Collection
Quincy, M.E. 5.x
Roseanne 7.x ($12.99)
Roseanne 8.x ($12.99)
Sesame Street: Best of Friends
That '70s Show 7.x ($12.99)
That '70s Show 8.x ($12.99)
March 26
The Borgias 2.x
The Borgias 2.x (Blu-ray)
Carol Burnett Show: This Time Together - Collector's Edition
Continuum 1.x
Continuum 1.x (Blu-ray)
Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot: The Complete Series
Kingdom: The Complete Series
Lee Marvin Presents Lawbreaker
Mad TV 2.x
Men At Work 1.x
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1.x
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1.x (Blu-ray)
Mystery Science Theater 3000 XXVI
Star Trek Enterprise 1.x (Blu-ray)
Midsomer Murders: Tom Barnaby's Last Cases
Veep 1.x
Veep 1.x (Blu-ray)
April 2
Dead Man's Gun 1.x
Dead Man's Gun 2.x
Flipper 2.x
Flipper 3.x
Flipper 4.x
Highway Patrol 2.x
Highway Patrol 3.x
Highway Patrol 4.x
Route 66 4.x
Tombstone Territory 1.x
April 9
Adam 12: 13 Episodes
The Dick Van Dyke Show 1.x (Blu-ray)
Family Ties 6.x
Howdy Kids! A Saturday Afternoon Western Roundup
Inside Men 1.x
Leave It To Beaver: 20 Episodes
Merlin 5.x
Merlin 5.x (Blu-ray)
Route 66: 10 Episodes
April 16
Ben 10 - Destroy All Aliens
Counting Cars 1.x
Flash Gordon: The Complete Series
Fraggle Rock 2.x
In The Heat Of The Night 8.x
Last of the Summer Wine: Vintage 1998
Psi Factor 4.x
Secrets of War - Espionage - 10 Episodes
Secrets of War - Shadows of The Reich - 10 Episodes
Stoney Burke: The Complete Series
April 23
A Haunting 5.x
Iron Man: Armored Adventures 2.x Vol. 4
Iron Man: Armored Adventures 2.x
Maverick 2.x
Merlin 5.x
Merlin 5.x (Blu-ray)
The Restless Gun: The Complete Series
Sylvester & Hippety Hopper
Touched By An Angel 7.x
April 30
Ben Hur: The Complete Miniseries
Combat 1.x
Friends 1.x (Blu-ray)
Friends 2.x (Blu-ray)
My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: April
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds (Blu-ray)
Star Trek: The Next Generation 3.x (Blu-ray)
Tom & Jerry Kids Show 1.x
May 7
Dick Van Dyke Show 2.x (Blu-ray)
Drop Dead Diva 4.x
Felicity 3.x
Felicity 4.x
Flashpoint 5.x
Flashpoint 5-Season Pack
Fringe 5.x
Fringe: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
Gunsmoke 8.x
Gunsmoke: Eight Season Pack
Have Gun Will Travel 6.x
James A. Michener's Texas: The Complete Miniseries
K-9: The Complete Series
Private Practice 6.x
Rookie Blue 3.x
Royal Pains 4.x
Superman: Unbound (Blu-ray)
30 Rock 7.x
May 14
Bearcats!: The Complete Series
The Chipettes: The Glass Slipper Collection
Dexter 7.x
Doctor Who: The Visitation
Fraggle Rock 3.x
Fraggle Rock: Meet The Fraggles
Fraggle Rock: 30th Anniversary Collection
Power Rangers Samurai Vol. 4
Rizzoli & Isles 2.x
Super Mario Bros. 3: The Complete Series ($14.99)
Taz-Mania: Taz on the Loose
Top Gear 19.x
VR Troopers 2.x Vol. 1
May 21
The Aquabats! Super Show! 1.x
Call The Midwife 2.x
Call The Midwife 2.x (Blu-ray)
The Gene Autrey Show 5.x
Hanna Barbara: 25 Cartoon Collection
Laverne & Shirley 6.x
The Legend of Korra, Book 1: Air
Perception 1.x
Pound Puppies: Mission Adoption
Saving Hope 1.x
Teen Wolf 2.x
True Blood 5.x
True Blood 5.x (Blu-ray)
May 28
Annoying Orange 1.x
Beetlejuice 1.x
Beetlejuice: The Complete Series
Longmire 1.x
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2.x Vol. 2
Superman: Bizarro
Superman: Brainiac
Superman: Metallo
Tiny Toon Adventures Vol. 4
June 4
Adventure Time 1.x (Blu-ray)
Adventure Time 2.x
Adventure Time 2.x (Blu-ray)
Burn Notice 6.x
Falling Skies 2.x
Pretty Little Liars 3.x
Rawhide 6.x
Superman: The Best Of
Wilfred: The Complete Australian Series
June 11
Big Bad Beetleborgs 2.x Vol. 1
The Newsroom 1.x
The Newsroom 1.x (Blu-ray)
Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Vol. 2
Tom & Jerry Golden Collection Vol. 2 (Blu-ray)
June 25
Fat Albert: The Complete Series
August 27
Homeland 2.x
Homeland 2.x (Blu-ray)
Sons of Anarchy 5.x
Sons of Anarchy 5.x (Blu-ray)
September 24
American Horror Story 2.x
American Horror Story 2.x (Blu-ray)
