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Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures: I Guess So

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Written by April Yorke   
Tuesday, 19 January 2010 10:33

Vincent Lam, Shawn Ashmore, and Mayko NguyenWhile other people were watching 24 or the Golden Globes, I checked out the première of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures on HBO. Pilots are such a pain in the ass that it almost seems unfair to judge a show by them, but, as a pilots go, this one was pretty solid. Of the three main characters, we get to know Fitz (Shawn Ashmore) the best, which is to say the least: for everything we learn about him, it's perfectly obvious that there are two pieces we're missing. That said, the leads are solid, and the show seems content -- for now -- to let Toronto play itself.

I can't decide if the show's flashbacks-upon-flashbacks conceit is working in its favour dramatically. We know from the outset that Chen (Byron Mann) and Ming (Mayko Ngyuen) are married, and Fitz has returned to the scene as their sperm donor. We flashback to five years earlier, a.k.a. "the first time Fitz came back," to learn that Chen and Ming are dating, Ming and Fitz have unresolved issues regarding their med school relationship (to which we also flashback), and Chen is jealous of/worried about said issues. But when Chen proposes at the end of the episode and Ming hesitates, where's the dramatic tension there? I know they get married eventually. Chen's narration told me so at the outset. Yes, there's still a story to tell there, and yes, this dramatic conceit could pay off in the show's favour, Memento-style, but it still makes me nervous. I like the show well enough to keep tuning in but not much beyond that. 

Most importantly, and I sincerely hope this was not lifted directly from Vincent Lam's 2006 Giller Prize-winning text, someone pulled a Damon and actually said out loud, "dot dot dot." People, for the love of peace, do not start saying "dot dot dot." You can imply an ellipsis with a shrug of the shoulders, a lift of the eyebrow, or a shift of the eyes. You do not need to spell it out. Some chick, who I can't tell if she will be recurring, says to Chen that she's going to go powder her nose and that's his cue to leave or run, adding "and if you're not [here], dot dot dot." Dot dot dot? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"And if you're not, I'll take some other dude home with me"? "And if you're not, I will set fire to your car"? "And if you're not, space aliens will take my brain"? I hope that was a one-off and not something I can look forward to.

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Last Updated on Monday, 25 January 2010 03:32
 

April Yorke is a (Cult)ure Magazine contributor since Wednesday, 07 January 2009.

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