A Gifted Guy

Shot in NY by CBS Television Art galleries. Executive producers, Neal Baer, Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, Susannah Grant director, Jonathan Demme author, Grant.Michael Holt - Patrick Wilson Anna Paul - Jennifer Ehle Rita Perkins-Hall - Margo Martindale Anton - Pablo Schreiber In the event you slice it lower to its bones (a appropriate example for just about any medical program), "A Gifted Guy" owes a debt to "A Christmas Carol": The series features Patrick Wilson since the self-absorbed neurosurgeon who encounters a belated spiritual epiphany, releasing do-gooder impulses that transform him from gifted bastard into something closer to Dr. Kildare. The semi-religious component (embodied here with the ghost of doctor's past) will most likely play well with CBS' heartland audience, nevertheless the long-term prognosis dangles on when the series will discover a pulse beyond just older audiences inside an up-for-grabs Friday timeslot. Wilson's Dr. Michael Holt is arrogant and brilliant before an unpredicted visit from his ex-wife Anna (Tony champion Jennifer Ehle). Yet that chance encounter assumes another hew when he discovers she died right before their meeting (why he didn't find out about this earlier can be a mystery that's better left overlooked), leading him to supply his services to have an overcome clinic his ex had championed. Out of the blue, Holt is showing an even more humane streak and undertaking professional bono surgical treatments -- a large change that's not lost on people around him, including his sister (Julie Benz) and office manager (Margo Martindale, created for better stuff in comparison to pilot presents). Sis even enlists a spiritual guide ("The Wire's" Pablo Schreiber) to determine if there's a means to exorcise Anna's gh-gh-ghost. Created by Susannah Grant and run by Neal Baer (your physician who done "ER" before "Law & Order: Special Sufferers Unit"), "A Gifted Guy" is obviously serious, in the "Marcus Welby, M.D." kind of way. Publish-purchase tinkering also enhanced the pilot, with Anna becoming Holt's conscience with techniques that better describes her presence, while getting rid of some humor utilizing their only-he-sees-her encounters. Beyond creating the premise, the opener features three medical plots -Body of a tennis prodigy, another devoted to some hard patient (Bill Irwin) and finally Michael's grudging efforts to help an unwell kid. It's tricky, but fairly effective. Granted, there's a good amount of medical shows built around wish-fulfillment hopes for doctors who truly care, with nary a mention of the insurance forms or HMOs. It's just that prescription medication is ongoing to develop harder in addition to politically thorny. Most most likely, the series' beating heart lies between two comforting notions -- the existence of a larger spiritual world as well as the good a committed physician can accomplish here in the world once touched by an angel or inserted while using milk of human kindness. Whether there's enough material to sustain a collection stemming from Michael's pivot toward greater generosity of spirit due to Anna's gentle prodding remains unclear. CBS' ratings anticipation cannot be unreasonably high, and Wilson feels as if a star who many CBS audiences will consider not just as gifted but as "that nice-searching youthful guy." Nonetheless, people getting a stake in "A Gifted Man's" fate must practice the identical regimen many follow simply because they have surgery: Put depend upon the surgeon, yes, but furthermore pray for the use of a greater energy.Camera, Tom Weston production designer, John Kasarda editors, Mark Manos, Michael Schweitzer, Nancy Forner casting, Bernard Telsey, Risa Bramon Garcia. 60 MIN.With: Julie Benz, Bill Irwin. Contact John Lowry at john.lowry@variety.com