Sullivan's Crossing

Based books by the same author as Virgin River, this has exactly the same template. Big city girl moves to a small town to escape her problems, drama ensues with some romantic tension between main character and handsome local. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Each episode. If you enjoy that formula, you'll probably really enjoy this show. It's campy and soapy, and generally a cute formulaic romance drama.

A note though, calling this "Canadian" is being generous. It's supposed to be set in a Canadian maritime town, yet most of the characters have obviously very American accents and don't sound like locals in Nova Scotia would sound at all. They also seem to have ignored the fact that culture and laws are markedly different in Canada than in the US, and consistently make references that aren't accurate for Canada. If you want something authentically Canadian, this won't do it for you.

What a horrible piece of writing, Totally ridiculous.

A half inch drill bit in the 'so called wilderness' what a joke.

The acting is blah, the story is lame.

Half the episodes are just the same scenic drone shots of Nova Scotia. We watched 2 episodes hoping it would get better, but it just got worse, we fast forwarded to the rock climbing part, and rescue, what a joke.

I am running out of bad stuff to say, so I did like the old Indian guy, the rest of the cast was so stereo typed, the dialog so predictable, it was insulting. And Netflix advertises it as the #2 watched series, what a joke. There are so many better things to watch than wasting your time on this piece of junk.

Doctors are Godlike. Surgeons are Zeus like neurosurgeons are more godlike than Zeus. Maggie is not showing the temperament or confidence of a neurosurgeon, and is too young to have been through the many rigorous years necessary to become a neurosurgeon. I'm on episode six, and I find that to be the biggest flaw.

A real neurosurgeon would have sloughed off all of the issues associated with the lawsuit, and left them to the lawyers. Neuro urges are probably sued 2 to 3 times a year. And the neurosurgeon would not likely be in the ER, and would not flip between patients. Still, as a soap opera, Maggie is attractive and lovable.

The reason I started watching this is because I saw an article about it saying that this show may be better than Virgin River. I rate THAT show 10/10. But THIS show, the soundtrack is annoying. And the sound increases too many times that I find myself having to adjust the sound. The main character, Maggie is a neurosurgeon. Initially seeing her in action was fine but the way she handles stress and so forth makes me frown. I was a critical care Respiratory Therapist. Now I'm disabled due to an injury with chronic pain. Stuff I've been through in my professional life and in my personal life, my stress relief is screaming in a pillow or back then, working out. I know people react differently but her responses to her problems just seem too cheesy. I just think there was a lot of over acting. I don't remember who wrote the article but, better than Virgin River? Nah ah, no way, no how. I will continue to watch cuz I'm watching it while none of my other shows are on. But, if there is a season two, I'd have no idea if I'd watch it. Right now, it's on while I'm watching it so it doesn't hold my full attention. Oh, I'm going to be a little too immature right now with this next comment. But, the boyfriend of Maggie, Andrew, who is played by Allan Hawco is definitely not who'd I consider a good catch. His beard and mouth, all I see is Homer Simpson. I fast forward or don't look at the TV cuz, eww. Five stars cuz it's something to watch and put on TV to pass the time for me. But I guess I can compare it to a Hallmark movie. So if you like Hallmark, over dramatic and cheesy, you should like this.

Edit: I didn't realize there was a season two when I was writing the first review. I shouldn't have said what I said because I tend to have to finish shows. The only time I don't finish watching, is if it's really boring that I can't stay awake watching. Anyhow, I added an extra star because I think season two is better than the first season. Still can't watch Allan Hawco.

If you like Virgin River you'll love Sullivan's Crossing.

Plotlines are predictable but the character development has come a long way from the beginning. Sully is a character you can really pull for. Morgan Kohan is really settling in to the leading role. Being able to lean on veteran actors like Tom Jackson, Scott Patterson and Chad Michael Murray has given her time to lean in to her character and Maggie has become relatable and warm, something not there at the start.

If you love the books you may not embrace the differences but that's not unusual. Nice scenery of the Canadian Maritimes...

BTW DON'T read the lone critic review unless you want to laugh. Not sure what show they think they're reviewing but Nova Scotia looks nothing like the Rocky Mountains...