"Looks like we might have an outbreak on our hands."
That's probably one of the last things you want to hear in a hospital but that's exactly where "Remedy" goes in Monday night's episode, "Shift/Change."
It's a storyline worthy of a season-ending cliffhanger but since "Remedy" isn't your average hospital drama, the writers figured, hey, why not bust out a hard-hitting storyline for Episode 4? Pfft, no biggie.
But it is. Because, sure, when I hear the word "outbreak," shrieking monkeys and that movie theatre scene from the 1995 movie starring Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo immediately springs to mind. You know the one: an infected person coughs, and we, the audience, watch in horror as the saliva and germ-y spores leave his mouth as it passes from person to person. Gag. Thankfully, that's not what happens on "Remedy" because this isn't a global epidemic and, well, no monkeys have been cast in any episodes (as far as I know). But what does happen on tonight's episode is much worse because it's much more relatable.
Two babies in Bethune's paediatric ICU die from a mysterious infection, and it's up to Allen (Enrico Colantoni) to find Patient Zero before the entire hospital suffers from a full-blown outbreak.
Since Allen is the chief of staff, he can't just do what what he wants to do, which is be a doctor and help the sick. And while he does take responsibility and does his best to keep the staff and patients safe, he has to balance it with all the bureaucracy that comes with making sure the hospital continues to run like a well-oiled machine -- in spite of what may be happening on the fourth floor. All this as the Heals on Wheels mobile clinic is cut (because it's not one of Bethune's core businesses), and having to worry about whether to cancel a drug company's charity casino gala at the hospital that night is enough to put anyone over the edge, but Allen handles it with a ballet dancer's grace and the patience of a saint.
Allen has both the facility's lawyer Robert Farina (Salvatore Antonio), and overbearing Frank Kanaskie (Patrick McKenna), the Housekeeping and Transport supervisor, breathing down his neck and it's a wonder the chief of staff doesn't lose it on them completely. I get that Robert and Frank are doing their jobs (Robert is, as per usual, trying to protect the hospital from any liability while Frank doesn't want to lose any of his people like support staffers have in the past) but, good gravy, cut Allen some slack! He's only one man and he's doing the best he can.
"Shift/Change" mainly centres on the potential outbreak and those whom it is directly affecting (there is one dad that everyone can identify with) but if you tune into "Remedy" for the characters, the hour still has that in spades. There is a lot of Allen, Sandy and Melissa (Sara Canning) and not enough Griffin (Dillon Casey) or Bruno (Diego Fuentes) but we finally -- finally! -- see Brian (Matt Ward) show something other than his robotic side. He has annoyed me since Episode 1 and the condescending way he spoke to fiancée Sandy last week made me want to throw him off the hospital roof, so it makes me believe there is hope for Brian yet. Hmm, that clown session might have worked after all.
I never thought I'd say this after watching "Poltergeist" and "It," but bring on more of the clown!
"Remedy" airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Global.
Global TV: Fall TV 2013-14
