Mazel tov, Royal Pains

Here’s the thing about Royal Pains: it really shouldn’t be that great a show. The premise, as my best friend likes to remind me, is inherently flawed. Hank is drippy, holier-than-thou, and, well, my feelings on Jill are well-documented. And yet I still sort of love it, because I just find the secondary characters so gosh-darn lovable.

I honestly didn’t think I’d like any of the rich clients besides Libby and Tucker (good to see those crazy kids again, by the way), but New Parts Newberg really grew on me this episode. I find it really difficult to not like a woman who throws a Bark Mitzvah and treats her help like family. Almost as difficult, in fact, as watching Hank operate on the dog was. Rip open human bodies as much as you like, but the second you tell me a dog has a pocket of mucus and I’m covering my face and making horrified noises.

I also am extremely pleased with Divya’s arranged marriage storyline and can’t wait to see how it plays out in the rest of the season. Current theory: Divya’s hubby-to-be, Boris the landlord, and the chick who fell in love with Hank the first episode are all involved in the Sharks-With-Frikken-Laserbeams plot. (Which comes back next week, hooray!) See, model chick was trying to seduce Hank to the dark side, but Hank would not go, which is why Boris made him move into his pool house. Why Boris would need a concierge doctor to take over the world with his sharks with laser beams, I don’t know, but I look forward to learning.

Seriously sharks? With laser beams? In the Hamptons? Who even cares about the main characters when you’ve got that kind of premise?

Clacked by Julia Hass
on Jul 20, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT